Online Vintage Trend

It is a well-known fact that eBay has almost 20 years experience marketing fashion for vintage clothing and accessories. Now it seems eBay has competition on their plates now that various start-up companies are breaking a piece of the ‘fortune pie’ for themselves in the business of fashion resale. 

At the end of last year, no less than 5 notable online vintage fashion sites were launched creating a surge in online resale fashion sales. One of the most popular fashion resale sites Covetique (launched over a year ago) is one of those sites cutting off a big slice of the pie. The company, what has been described as “eBay meets Net-a-Porter”, has hundreds of sellers online. They also market to shoppers previously-owned designer brands like Azzedine Alaia and Proenza Schouler which gives them an upper-hand when it comes to resale.

Proenza Schouler  SS 2010 line
(Courtesy of fabsugar.com)

Azzedine Alaia Fall 2011/2012 Collection
(Courtesy of: fabsugar.com)

The CEO and co-founder of Covetique Nicola McClafferty, (who takes 37.5 percent commission on sales), has said “We take the pieces in, photograph them and manually check quality and authenticity.” McClafferty also says of the site, “We want the overall buying experience to be as close to a luxury retailenvironment as possible.” 

eBay taking the backseat to vintage fashion sales could be due to their broad range of targets. For eBay’s marketplace in business, vintage fashion falls less and less specialised in its large spectrum. Some of these start-up sites even create personal profiles (not unlike eBay) detailing their sizes, styles and preferred designers. 

Though eBay might provide the same fashion elements as the newer resale sites, perhaps the online shopper is looking for that specific environment to get what they want quicker and more easily. These consumers may want the work done for them like some of the newer sites offer.

So i believe the challenge for these new start-ups will be focusing on the target consumers’ needs. What they market should be even more exclusive and appealing than eBay’s in order to draw more people to their site instead. They should also make sure the quality and authenticity matches what is promised, as well as making the purchasing process as hassle free and simple as possible to gain their buyers’ support. 

The marketing pitch for this new trend is about ‘keeping your wardrobe moving’, even if it’s something pretty and fashionable, it doesn't need to be kept around long. Online shopping consumers are used to fast fashionand flash sales nowadays, buying even more items then they did a decade ago. And with our post-recession economy at hand, many are turning to pre-worn goods to satisfy their fashion appetite. 

Zeynep SS 2013 line
(Courtesy of: kadinvekadin.net)