Buy now, bid later… eBay shares fell 8% yesterday after the OG marketplace dropped a mixed earnings bag. Last quarter, its sales jumped 5% to $2.5B, but its profit forecast was a bummer. eBay has upped spending on new shopping categories like auto parts and refurbished goods. App downloads and users have trended down as e-comm competition heats up. Now eBay hopes that designer digs can give it a badly needed bump.
$400 vintage Prada… eBay’s long been a secondhand-shopping go-to for bidding on collector baseball cards and “gently used” couches. But the 2000s icon has lost market share to bigger rivals like Amazon and Walmart. So eBay’s doubling down on the luxury market to boost earnings and differentiate itself from budget-friendly rivals.
Supremium: eBay recently expanded its designer-certified program to include streetwear biggies like Kith, Supreme, and Off-White.
AI-verified: This month eBay acquired AI biz Certilogo, which creates virtual tags to track brand-name goods. Last year, eBay sellers listed 100K+ handbags and 1M jewelry items every day.
Richer isn’t always smarter… eBay’s entry into luxury could be too little too late: last week Louis Vuitton parent LVMH and Cartier owner Richemont reported a surprise dip in US sales as folks cut back on material splurges. Meanwhile, prices for secondhand watches from sought-after brands like Rolex have fallen 30%+ from last year.