eBay has always been a refuge for dealers and collectors looking to find an estate-fresh bargain, but within the past two years, the online sales juggernaut has expanded and rebranded its luxury goods palette, first with top-tier auction houses and now with top-tier dealers. eBay Collective is a place to sell and buy quality works of art, antiques and furniture at the gallery level, ensuring authenticity and expertise. Jill Ramsey, eBay’s vice president of soft goods, spoke with us about what is in store for eBay’s new luxury brand.

 What kind of material does eBay Collective present?

eBay Collective provides a luxury shopping experience for furniture, art, antiques and modern design. While some of these items have been available in other areas of the site, eBay Collective brings them together in a single, curated experience that only offers product from vetted galleries and dealers known for exceptional, high-quality items. Key categories within the platform include furniture, decorative objects and art.

How is eBay Collective different from other online luxury goods sales platforms?

The inventory available includes one-of-a-kind objects that are not widely available in traditional galleries or brick-and-mortar stores. We also provide shoppers with buying guides, educational articles and collections curated by interior designers.

There is some unique functionality in the Collective experience – such as “Shop by Style” and “Shop the Room,” which provide inspiring looks for shoppers and also direct buyers to similar products available in eBay Collective that can be used to achieve a similar aesthetic.

Can you tell us about the acquisition of Corrigon and how users can utilize that tool?

eBay has integrated “Shop the Room” artificial intelligence technology that is powered by eBay’s recent acquisition of Corrigon. With “Shop the Room,” image recognition technology allows shoppers to find items within an inspiring scene. When visitors hover over an image, the tool searches eBay Collective’s listings to surface inventory that matches or is a close match to that particular portion of the image.

Many people believe the online platforms to be largely driven by interior designers and decorators; do you agree with that? Do you have any programs in place to cater to that trade?

eBay Collective is designed to appeal to interior designers, collectors and consumers who appreciate antique and design furniture and art. eBay Collective’s sellers are trustworthy galleries and dealers with established businesses, who provide high-end, distinctive, unique products and are looking to grow their businesses. The eBay money-back guarantee provides peace of mind, and our rewards program, eBay Bucks, provides added financial benefit for buyers.

Of course, the interior design community is an important customer segment, and eBay’s breadth of inventory in the Collective and on core eBay makes the site a one-stop shop for design professionals looking to save time by researching and sourcing all of their interior design needs in one place. The eBay Collective Interior Designer Insider program provides special benefits to interior designers who make a purchase on eBay Collective by March 31, 2017. While eBay Collective is a fixed-price experience, dealers can leverage our “Best Offer” format to offer trade discounts to this important customer segment.

eBay is the one-stop shop for everything on the internet. How does your sales strategy adapt from selling universal variety to heavily curated and luxury works?

The newly designed shopping experience boasts high-end goods from reputable dealers.

eBay Collective provides an elevated shopping experience with a unique look and feel, enhanced by our partnership with Architectural Digest, that matches the beauty of the items offered for sale on the platform. Every dealer is vetted and approved by the eBay Collective team before being curated into the experience, and the items in eBay Collective are one-of-a-kind or rare pieces that many buyers do not have the opportunity to see in-person unless they happen to live in the same city as those dealers.

The destination provides premium storefronts for sellers that enable them to showcase their own brands and facilitate repeat sales. The destination will also provide value added content for shoppers in the form of buying guides and educational articles.

What are the requirements for dealers who would like to sell on eBay Collective? What is the vetting process like?

Galleries and dealers who are selling on eBay Collective are identified by our team or referred from other approved dealers, vetted through a series of criteria, and then invited to join. There is a monthly fee structure for joining as a seller and the fees are proprietary to eBay, but it is a success-based metric. Galleries and dealers are provided with dedicated eBay customer support, including assistance with training, listings and shipping.

How many dealers are you looking to bring on board?

As of December 2016 there are 24 dealers on board. We continue to actively grow our dealer base and inventory selection so that we can offer our shoppers the best choice and most relevant items that they are looking for.