eBay accepts luxury trade-ins at New York pop-up
For 48 hours, luxury shoppers in New York City can make purchases with used goods as currency at an eBay pop-up shop.
The e-commerce giant is operating the eBay Luxury Exchange on West 47th Street in New York City from Wednesday, Nov. 16 through Thursday, Nov. 17, from 11a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. Customers can have their luxury items appraised and assigned a value with which they can shop the store's inventory of designer watches, handbags, and jewelry.
Once shoppers find an item(s) within their "currency" value, they can make the exchange and leave the store with their new luxury goods. Customers can also visit the store’s on-site photo studio and opt to list on eBay themselves instead of exchanging.
eBay expands luxury offering
The launch of the eBay Luxury Exchange pop-up comes on the heels of the recent expansion of its “Authenticity Guarantee” to jewelry. eBay introduced the Authenticity Guarantee in 2020 as post-sale authentication service for all watches sold for $2,000 or more in the U.S. The retailer rolled out the guarantee shortly after introducing a similar fraud prevention initiative for sports memorabilia sold on its site.
Watches marked with the Authenticity Guarantee badge, which denotes the watch’s eligibility, are routed to a third-party authenticator for thorough assessment after purchase and before being shipped to the customer. Upon receiving the watch, the independent authenticator confirms the item is consistent with the listing title, description, and images; then performs a multi-point physical authentication inspection is performed, focusing on assessment of the crown, bezel, dial, case, clasp/buckle, hands, end links and serial number. Finally, a security tag is attached to the watch.
Once verified, the watch is then shipped via expedited, two-day shipping from the authenticator facility to the customer with signature confirmation upon delivery. eBay covers the cost of authentication, as well as the two-day, secure shipping from the third-party authenticator facility to the buyer. All watches verified as authentic come with an authenticity guarantee card detailing information such as the brand, model, reference number, movement type, case material, bracelet type, and serial number, as applicable.
The eBay Authenticity Guarantee program now includes sneakers, watches, handbags, trading cards, and fine jewelry. The retailer is also preparing an upcoming brand campaign, "Everyone Deserves Real,” which spotlights how the pervasiveness of “fakery” in popular culture contrasts with the “real world” of eBay's authentication service and its expert authenticators.
“It's never been easier for luxury enthusiasts to refine their collections in a trusted environment, and we wanted to create an ‘in real life’ experience that reflects what's happening on eBay every day," said Tirath Kamdar, GM of Luxury at eBay. "The Luxury Exchange gives shoppers an opportunity to appraise and sell their valuable goods, and add something new to their personal collections – just in time for the holiday season."
Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay reports it enabled over $87 billion of gross merchandise volume in 2021.