EBay eliminates seller fees for sneaker listings over $100

Dive Brief:

EBay is eliminating seller fees for North American customers for some sneaker listings, the company announced yesterday. Sellers will not incur a listing fee if the starting price of the sneaker is $100 or more; sellers will not incur a final value fee (also known as a selling fee) if the selling price prior to shipping, taxes and fees is $100 or more, per an eBay FAQ for sellers page.
The company also announced the "December Drop" series in collaboration with sneaker and apparel sales marketplace Stadium Goods. The drops will include the "biggest styles of 2019," including four days of Adidas Yeezy 700 releases below the retail price of $215.
Ebay sold nearly 6 million sneakers in 2019 and currently has around 1.5 million average daily live sneaker listings. The marketplace sells a sneaker every 1.5 seconds, according to the company.

Dive Insight:

The collaboration with Stadium Goods positions eBay to better compete in the ever-crowded sneaker resale space. Farfetch in December 2018 bought Stadium Goods for $250 million in cash and Farfetch shares, following LVMH Luxury Ventures' investment into the reseller. But Stadium Goods has an authentication system, whereas eBay relies on sellers to list items in good faith. The site's eBay Authenticate service offers verification services for handbags, watches, jewelry and collectibles, but has not yet expanded to sneakers.

The partnership may provide a credibility boost for would-be sneaker buyers who would otherwise hesitate to explore the platform. EBay recently hosted a pre-release of the Air Jordan 11 "Bred" sneaker via Chris Holbrook, the sneaker seller who goes by Sneaker Jesus. The drop sold out in less than four minutes, according to eBay.

Beyond its temporary partner in Stadium Goods, eBay has to contend with resale platforms StockX and GOAT, the latter of which recently expanded to offer apparel and accessories. StockX, which earlier this year achieved unicorn status after a funding round pushed its valuation to more than $1 billion, has a slew of celebrity investors. But it stumbled this summer in its handling of a security breach that compromised customer information.

Meanwhile, eBay has been re-evaluating its own place in the e-commerce landscape. The company announced last month it will sell event ticket arm StubHub to Viagogo for just over $4 billion in cash, with that sale expected to close in early 2020. That announcement came not too long after the news that CEO and President Devin Wenig would step down after four years in that role. He took the helm after eBay split with payments processor PayPal.