EBay joins forces with InstantLuxe.com to sell second-hand luxury goods

By

Anne-Sophie Savenier

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jun 23, 2017

Last January, eBay heralded the forthcoming launch of eBay Authenticate, a service designed to authenticate the premium-brand products sold on the website. Now it has gone a step further, by joining forces with InstantLuxe, a web marketplace for second-hand goods owned by French department store group Galeries Lafayette.

The partnership has spawned eBay Luxe, a section created to host the InstantLuxe.com e-store, selling second-hand luxury articles that are certified authentic.

eBay Luxe will be accessible from all of eBay's local websites and will showcase more than 1,000 certified articles, including handbags, small leather goods and even jewellery - rings, bracelets and necklaces, all of them by major labels. They all come from InstantLuxe, which will feature the same range on its website. "Our teams have done a huge job to synchronise sales. As soon as an article is sold on either website, it will be automatically withdrawn from the other," said Yann Le Floc’h, CEO and founder of InstantLuxe, to FashionNetwork.

Strategically, it is a win-win partnership for the two pure players. It is a way for InstantLuxe to accelerate its growth through greater visibility, especially internationally.

As for eBay, it is crucial for the US e-auction/shopping giant to position itself on the bargain luxury segment of the market, which according to consultants Bain & Co. was worth over €16 billion in 2014. Something which is possible only if the authenticity of the goods on offer is guaranteed.

"Ever since its inception, eBay has been constantly engaged in the fight against counterfeiting. The partnership with InstantLuxe.com, a benchmark player in authentic second-hand luxury goods, is the best way of showing our users that we do not simply want to offer them rare, unique directional articles, whether new or second-hand, but that these articles are also certified, and they can be bought with complete peace of mind," said Céline Saada-Benabe, General Manager of eBay in France.