Should apparel brands make it easier for their customers to sell their clothing on eBay when they're cleaning out their closets? That's the pitch eBay is making with its "Resell on eBay" QR code that can be added to tags on everything from shirts to jackets.
eBay's head of fashion said the new resell feature helps brands keep their product out of landfill, "while giving consumers an incredibly easy way to give their item a second life." The graphic accompanying the announcement shows a tag that invites owners to check the authenticity of the product using eBay's subsidiary (Certilogo)'s URL and code - there's no mention of eBay on the tag itself.
The feature will be built into a Certilogo's Secure by Design(TM) digital ID, accessible by scanning a connected product's smart label. Here's how it works according to today's
announcement from eBay:
"When a user scans the Digital ID on a product's smart label, a "resell your garment" button is displayed on the item's digital profile. Once a user clicks on the button, they will be directed to check the authenticity of the item through Certilogo's AI based authentication system by signing in with their eBay account.
"When the authentication process is complete, an eBay listing will be pre-filled with information from the brand about the item. The user is then redirected to the listing page on eBay, where they can fill in any missing fields or edit the information already pre-filled before officially listing the item for sale on eBay."
When eBay acquired Certilogo last year, eBay CEO Jamie Iannone wrote in a post on LinkedIn, "Thrilled to officially welcome the Certilogo team to eBay. Luxury fashion continues to be a key focus for us, and Certilogo is a leading provider of AI-powered digital authentication that will allow us to deliver more trusted experiences with customers and their favorite designer brands. Looking forward to what's ahead!"
Certilogo founder and CEO Michele Casucci referred to the QR code as a "Resell on eBay" feature and said it was a natural next step for the company as there were already 540 million products connected to its secure digital IDs. "Being able to securely resell your products with ease only makes the circular shopping experience more accessible for everyone."
Resellers have already been using Certilogo's smart-label feature to authenticate items, and some note the Certilogo authenticity label in their descriptions when selling
Stone Island branded goods, for example.
Even if they don't want to resell a sweater they picked up at a thrift store on eBay, by scanning the code, they'll be taken to a page that provides pre-filled information about the item that they can use to sell on any platform. Resellers currently use bar code readers when hunting for books and other commodity items - Certilogo's smart tags could also help them when product-sourcing in the wild.
Presumably it will be up to companies who use Certilogo to decide if they want to add the resell on eBay component to the smart label on their items, and it will be interesting to see which companies deem it worthy of their brands.
Will Brands Advertise eBay on Clothing Tags?