A Bid for Sartorial Improvement
I am a self-confessed Ebay addict. The ping in my inbox of a ‘Watched item ending soon’ email to is like the flashing lights of a fruit machine to a gambling addict.
I love the thrill of the chase and as any seasoned Ebayer will tell you, the last 3 minutes of an auction is the most exciting. There is no two ways about it, it’s acceptable gambling for the consumer generation.
I’ve won and lost a number of times. A particularly good purchase was a genuine Marc Jacobs handbag, which unfortunately for the Seller ended early on Christmas morning. With my Christmas bonus burning a hole in my pocket I set my alarm for 6.37 in order to place what I hoped would be the winning bid for Salmon coloured leather tote of gorgeousness. £ 147 clinched the deal. It arrived, in an original box, with labels and receipt from Harrods. This was the real deal.
My Ebay life hasn’t always been so sweet. There are the fake Seven jeans I bought at great expense, and the guy that charged me £3.50 for a postage on something that eventually arrived in a letterbox envelope with a second class stamp on it. My father gave me a great bit of advice once, that is wonderfully appropriate for Ebay - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
In this month’s Vogue Emma Elwick goes to prove quite what a marvellous website Ebay is. She bags a Givenchy blouse for £ 50, a $ 6 Salvatore Ferragamo sweater dress and a Chanel jacket for £ 55, to name just a few of her many purchases. Of course since devouring the article it’s been difficult to tear myself away from the site. I’m yet to find such quite amazing bargains but as an Ebay disciple there’s no doubt I’ll keep the faith. It’s all about timing and luck after all.
Read about Emma’s top tips for bagging a winter wardrobe to kill for on page 213 of the current issue.