eBay announced a new program for luxury goods called “Certified by Brand,” writing in Thursday’s announcement that it was partnering directly with brands to scale their presence in the secondary market, while providing shoppers access to a wider selection of coveted and collectible luxury goods.
The program is akin to eBay’s Certified Refurbished program in that only brands or brand-authorized sellers can participate, something that “regular” eBay sellers have said hurt the visibility of their refurbished products.
The new Certified by Brand program will include watches, handbags, and fine jewelry from a growing roster of luxury’s foremost brands, eBay said. “Listings within the program will include either “Direct from Brand” or “Brand Authorized Seller” badging and information on Certified by Brand within each item listing, making it easy for buyers to identify listings in the program, similar to how eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee check mark distinguishes inventory.”
eBay will share sales data with brands who participate in the program and will give brands the ability to influence pricing its marketplace, writing, “eBay’s Certified by Brand program provides brands and brand-authorized sellers access to both the platform’s 133 million active buyers, and consumer insights from eBay’s global network of buyers.”
Brands participating in the program will be able to control their “brand equity and image,” eBay explained, “with access to various eBay platform channels to amplify their own messaging to help drive growth and move inventory.”
eBay explained how buyers would shop participants’ listings on eBay.com with “differentiated badging” as follows:
1) Certified by Brand: Inventory will be brand-backed and all watch brands come with a minimum one year warranty, and jewelry and handbag items include a certificate of authenticity with purchase, instilling continued confidence in every transaction. Listings within the program will be represented by two badge categories:
- Direct From Brand: Listing is either new or pre-owned inventory and either comes directly from the brand’s manufacturer or has been previously authenticated by the brand.
- Brand-Authorized Seller: Listing is either new or pre-owned inventory from a seller who has been authorized by, and supplied inventory from, the brand.
2) Authenticity Guarantee: Launched in the US market in 2020 with watches, eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee service vets and verifies eligible watches, handbags, jewelry, sneakers and trading cards, at no cost to the buyer or seller. The service has expanded to include 5 categories on eBay available for select products in 5 countries. Certified by Brand inventory it will not qualify for eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee service. Read more about Authenticity Guarantee.
eBay will continue to add brands and authorized sellers to the new Certified by Brand program over the next few weeks, and more are slated to join the program over the next year with plans for expansion to other markets. It published more information and FAQs on the eBay website.
Luxury categories (and refurbished goods) are part of eBay’s Focus Category strategy. As Pymnts reported, eBay had invested in luxury resale platform Cudoni in January, but the site subsequently shut down citing the economy. Pymnets said “eBay’s investment in Cudoni aimed to reinforce its renewed focus on resale and regain its position in the category after falling behind its competitors.”
eBay also launched a new hub in the UK last week showcasing vintage and refurbished furniture. The “Better Than New Homeware” Hub is a “a curated destination designed to help shoppers consider pre-loved first when updating their interiors by choosing vintage, refurbished or repaired pieces that are better for both the planet and easier on wallets too.”
If I wanted a brand name luxury the last place I would buy it from is Ebay. I would rather spend my hard earned dollars at the brands store. Better selection, no worries about getting it, better warranty and most likely a lot cheaper.
eBay ONCE again hurting its own sellers
Oh wait – some will say “but eBay DOESNT compete with its sellers ….” give me a break.
@Geta- chuckle chuckle- along with my needed household things i can buy on ebay, now i can buy luxury items… lol theyve got it all thunk out
(filed under ‘Branding’)
so, lets see, if you can jump this 4′ hurdle, we’ll give you 4’1″ bonus
just another big F U to most sellers
the walmart dopes keep getting dopier
What happens to the listings from sellers who are not the makers or “authorized” by them ? (by law you dont need to be (first sale doctrine and lanham act) …
does this mean someone woke up the sleeping VERO tiger (by yanking its tail) and we are going to go through a few rounds of “since we dont recognize you as a seller, everything you have must be fake aka kill those listings?
Does it mean that the “beloveds” listings will always come first (first page top of the fold) ?
What special privileges are these brands going to get?
How much cash will be sloshing around certain eBay employees bank accounts?
Soon eBay will be gating sellers just like the big Amazoo.