annabel tollman

Fashion's Elite Warming Up To Fashion.eBay.com

Filed under: Apparel, Auctions, Shoes, Men's Style

You may already be wise to the wonder of fashion shopping on eBay. You might not get to try things on, but if you know, for example, that you wear a 38 in Louboutins, eBay may well be the cheapest place for you to get the latest pair. The same goes for knowing your size in various clothing brands and your measurements for vintage items (that's a little more risky, but you can usually return things that don't fit). Well, as Deidre mentioned earlier this month in Can eBay Capture The Fashion Market?, they've created a whole new section to try and do just that: Fashion.eBay.com.

On April 26, at a dinner hosted by celebrity stylist Annabel Tollman (shown), the site was unveiled to fashion's elite. Its features include style tips and buying advice from industry experts like Tollman herself, Kate Young and Britt Bardo, advanced searching criteria like color, fabric, and vintage, and help for sellers to make sure their items are properly described so that they can be found more easily.

Casual sellers will also probably be into the new mobile app -- you can literally take a photo of your item with your phone and post it to eBay in minutes. More advanced technology to actually show items on your body (like Cher in Clueless) is in development. Additionally, you will be able to shop on your phone and place items you like in your "Closet," which you can then share with friends to get opinions.

About 55 percent of items sold on eBay are now either "Buy it now" or "Best Offer," so you don't have to think of it as just an auction site anymore. If the whole thing seems a bit overwhelming and messy to you, I suggest checking out this new subsection. Fashion.eBay.com makes the whole experience easier, and can be very helpful for, as Tollman put it, "girls like me with champagne taste and a lemonade budget."

Whether it will it stand up to Net A Porter and Gilt Group remains to be seen.

Tags: annabel tollman, britt bardo, ebay, fashion, fashion ebay, kate young