eBay Delivers Hard to Find Designer Deals and Service

Pictured: Versace for H&M Cruise Collection Top, purchased via eBay (image provided by H&M with permission)

eBay recently reached out to me with a challenge via the GlamNetwork. Could I put together a hot/haute summer outfit with $150.00 US to purchase items from eBay? Child’s play for The Recessionista! I’m a regular eBay user, and have written about the power of using eBay to find designer items many times on my blog.  I am both an eBay buyer and an eBay seller.  Since January of 2002, long before I ever thought about writing a fashion blog,  I have been a member of eBay, using the auction site to get some incredible deals.  Some of my epic finds include Chanel jackets, pins and pearls, Ferragamo shoes, Celia Birtwell dresses, Lulu Guinness bags, Alice Temperley dresses, Stella McCartney items and Giles Deacon fashions.  And those are just the highlights. It’s no exaggeration to say I’m a power user of the service. One of my favorite uses for eBay is to buy fashions from the UK. There are many fashions that I love, which have not been sold in the United States and eBay provides me with a convenient way to acquire my British (and European) fashions.  For this challenge, I chose items from the H&M for Versace Cruise Collection.   This collection was only sold in Europe & the UK. Despite that, magazines, blogs and websites were all talking about this collection.  Naturally, it immediately went on The Recessionista’s list of coveted items.  But how to get it? That’s when I had my “ah ha” moment as Oprah would say. Why not try to purchase items from the collection via eBay?  With that Epiphany, the search was on.   It took several tries before I was able to purchase the items that I wanted on eBay via International sellers.  For this challenge, I purchased the lavender top (pictured above) and the charm bracelet (pictured below.)  Later I got greedy and went back and purchased a Versace for H&M gold ring.  The prices were just too good, and I was able to snap up all three pieces within the budget provided.

Pictured: Versace for H&M Cruise Collection bracelet & ring  (photo: M. Hall)

The items were reasonably priced, with the sellers only marking up their H&M purchases by about 10 to 15%, which I found very modest for a profit margin.  Sometimes I won’t purchase H&M items on eBay because they are steeply marked up and the quality is not top notch.  In the case of the two items I purchased from the Versace for H&M Cruise Collection both items are stunning and well done.  The lavender top is beautiful and fully lined with a Versace charm placed prominently on the center straps for stunning effect.  The bracelet is the perfect summer charm bracelet.  Don’t take my word for it, just look at the picture above!  The butterfly charm is the centerpiece of the piece, simply because it is the largest, and it is stunning.  The lavender flower and palm tree are smaller, but equally fetching.   I’ve been wearing the top and the bracelet with white Capri pants or  jeans (blue or black.)   The jewelry and the top make for a stunning ensemble.  Best of all, I know it’s unique.  I haven’t seen any fashionistas in the United States wearing these pieces. I have received lots of compliments on the pieces and questions about where I got them. I just smile. Let people think I went to Versace on Rodeo Drive.

The most interesting part of the story here, beyond the elegant summer style of the pieces, is the customer service I received from both sellers. The bracelet arrived quickly from a seller in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, the lavender top was misplaced in the US mail.  The seller in the UK checked her Royal Mail tracking slip and saw that it had not been delivered.  She emailed me with the tracking number to ask what had happened. But, she went a step further. She actually called me on the phone from England to ask what had happened!  When I spoke to her on the phone, I told her I couldn’t believe she spent the money on a transatlantic phone call, when she had sold me an item for approximately $40.00 US.  “Well, it’s my job to follow-up,” she simply replied.  I couldn’t believe that I had received that level of customer service.  With the tracking number she sent, I was able to retrieve the item from the Los Angeles Post Office.  I’ve now bookmarked this seller on eBay and will be buying from her in the future. I couldn’t have received a better level of service from a luxury retailer like Harvey Nichols. I got the items I was lusting for plus customer care,  all at a reasonable price.

From the new to the hard to find, when it’s on your mind, it’s on eBay.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by eBay via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of eBay.  The words in this post are my own and the story is true.  I buy from eBay or a regular basis using my own money.  It is a service I truly believe in and use.