Ebay Attempts to Launch “Fashion” Outlet, Fails Miserably

We were all kinds of skeptical upon first hearing about eBay’s new virtual outlet mall last month, but being the adamant online shoppers and competitive deal-finders that we are, we were willing to try anything (well, at least once).

The misleadingly titled Fashion Outlet launched yesterday, and it is essentially laid out as a store (normal eBay) within a store (eBay’s Fashion Outlet) within a store (eBay’s various Fashion Outlet stores). Confused yet? Needless to say, the whole digging around thing one usually encounters at an off-price retail outlet wasn’t exactly eliminated by the virtual platform.

While cruising through the different storefronts, cringing at offerings such as ruched maxi skirts and cowgirl-printed graphic tees (we kid you not) we couldn’t help but question the point of it all. Ebay in and of itself already has a boatload of great fashionable steals just waiting to be discovered. It’s like someone over at eBay saw everyone else coming out with online discount sites and just couldn’t resist jumping on the bandwagon. Reality check: Sometimes it’s better to keep doing what you do best, don’t you think?

Take a look for yourself if you must, but basically, the moral of the story is, pass on eBay’s Fashion Outlet if you’re in search of actual fashion – with a capital F – and stick with the Gilt Groupe, Outnet’s and Bluefly’s of the interwebs for REAL designer brands at discount.