eBay UK goes free to sell pre-owned fashion as it encourages consumers to unlock £16.3 billion of unworn clothes sat in UK wardrobes

• Both buying and selling pre-owned clothing is now free of fees on eBay UK
• New eBay features such as AI-powered listings and eBay Live will make buying and selling fashion easier
• New research from eBay UK reveals that the nation’s wardrobes are full of cash potential
• In 2023, eBay saved over 1.6 million kg of waste going to landfill through the sale of pre-loved fashion on the platform, equivalent to the weight of over 4 million shirts

eBay UK has announced that it is now free for individual sellers to sell fashion items, a move designed to encourage fashion lovers to put more cash in their pockets while supporting circular fashion.

It will be free to sell all pre-owned clothing*, including everything from the items you have worn once, many times, to brand new items with tags on that you have just never got around to wearing or returning. Existing individual fashion listings will benefit from free selling, even if they were listed before 8th April.

Pre-owned fashion lovers already benefit from zero buyer fees and are protected with eBay’s Money Back Guarantee and expert customer service team, at no additional cost.

The move from eBay comes alongside new research revealing that 70 percent of the nation wears 50 percent or less of their wardrobe on a day-to-day basis. 92 percent of the nation say they have over one item of clothing they haven’t worn in the last 12 months.

Despite this, only 25 percent of the nation sells their unwanted clothes. Shoppers are missing out on potential big bucks: the average consumer is holding onto over £400 worth of clothing that they don’t wear. As a result, it’s estimated that the nation is sitting on £16.3 billion worth of clothing that they don’t wear.

Brand new features to transform the platform
Alongside removing listing fees, eBay UK is transforming its platform to make buying and selling pre-owned fashion a breeze.

AI-generated item descriptions are now available to all UK sellers. This new feature suggests attention-grabbing item descriptions at the touch of a button, cutting down listing time significantly.

eBay fashion buyers can enjoy a new personalised shopping experience with a new fashion destination. Customised feeds and fashion visual searches will help shoppers find their favourite items quickly.

eBay Live, a highly interactive livestream shopping experience, will be piloted in the UK with select sellers in the coming weeks. eBay Live allows eBay users to attend live auctions, shop exclusive deals and buy in real time. It has been successful in the US since launching in 2022 with hundreds of live events hosted every week.

Encouraging more of the nation to buy and sell pre-owned clothing is essential for enabling a circular economy for fashion. In 2023, through the sale of pre-loved fashion, eBay saved over 1.6 million kilograms of waste going to landfill, equivalent to the weight of more than 4 million shirts. eBay UK enables millions to buy and sell pre-loved fashion and every minute, 5 pre-loved dresses, 2 pairs of pre-loved jeans and 8 pre-loved tops are sold on eBay in the UK.

Kirsty Keoghan, General Manager of Global Fashion for eBay, commented: “Free fashion selling has come at the right time for a nation sitting on billions of pounds worth of unwanted clothes. We know selling clothes can sometimes feel like a chore, so free selling and new updates like new AI-powered listings, will help more of us to sell clothes easily – putting more cash in pockets. By encouraging more people to buy and sell pre-loved clothing, we’ll keep more clothes out of landfill as we collectively enable a circular economy for fashion.”

*Seller fee removal applies to pre-owned clothes excluding sneakers, watches, handbags and jewellery.