EBAY / FASHION VAULT

eBay is working with high end retail brands to launch a flash sales feature in the Fashion Vault section of their site. In a move that throws them into direct competition with sites such as the young but uber-successful Gilt Groupe and GSI Commerce's Rue La La, eBay plans to hold sales which offer discounts starting at 50% off retail prices within a limited window of time.

The first sale will include products from The French Connection Group. eBay won't own or take care of fulfilment for the goods sold, however it is becoming increasingly involved with which products are listed on the site - moving away from its original business model of being a third party sales platform.

Although online high-end fashion retail is very much an established trend - the aforementioned Gilt Groupe has raised close to $50M in funding to date - we wonder whether eBay will see much joy from this new feature. Gilt's success has been driven through an invite only exclusivity and partnerships with brands from Alexander Wang to Cavalli and Emanuel Ungaro. Can eBay really move from a garage sale approach to luxury goods of a similar calibre?