ASOS get set to compete with eBay
10/08/2010 at 15:13
ASOS are gearing up for the launch of a 2nd hand clothes marketplace with the hiring of Leighanne Miles, the ex Mothercare head of group ecommerce. According to Retail Week she will develop the buyer and seller experience for the ASOS with the marketplace due to be launched later this year.
ASOS marketplace will be a fixed price marketplace aimed equally at consumers wishing to recycle their wardrobe and pro-sellers who want an additional venue for selling. Unlike eBay however it will be focused on fashion so is more akin to the eBay Fashion Outlet and the Clothes, Shoes and Accessories category.
ASOS already have a ready pool of customers buying on the site, and with the addition of the marketplace sellers will be able to offer non-ASOS branded clothing to ASOS buyers. With retailers like ASOS opening up a fashion marketplace it shows eBay is doing the right thing by heavily promoting fashion, but will they be able to win against brands like ASOS?
Interestingly ASOS users are already calling for PayPal to be an available payment method, so although eBay might be a competitor it’s possible they could profit from the ASOS marketplace with processing fees and take a cut of every transaction.
If you sell in the fashion categories would you consider adding the ASOS marketplace as a selling venue? Do you think they would be better placed to deliver fashion conscious buyers and compete with fashion on eBay, or are they coming to the market too late to gain critical mass?
Many thanks to John Hayes, Head of Marketing and Communications at Summit Media for the info for this article
Heather Taylor says
3:44 pm on 10/08/2010
Interesting article. ASOS already use PayPal as a payment option on their main site so I would assume they’d use it for their marketplace as well (but then again, I shouldn’t assume anything!) It will be interesting to see how it all progresses.
Martin - The Whirlpool Bath Shop says
4:49 pm on 10/08/2010
Never heard of ASOS.
Stuart says
8:58 am on August 11th, 2010
Well I would say go and have a look at the site. They have come from no where to revenues of ten’s of millions in less than ten years! They must be doing something right!
If they plan to have a marketplace I hope to be on it as there customer base is perfect for us! Will wait and see what happens.
BigPoppa says
12:50 pm on August 11th, 2010
I remember when they started out. it was called “as seen on screen”. They used to sell items that were replicas from films, like clothes, belts, hats etc.
The site used to be great, since they changed to more generic stuff and basically a clothes website, I don’t visit (or spend) anymore.
Sue Bailey says
3:47 pm on August 11th, 2010
Oh, THAT’S what it stands for!
EventHorizon1984 says
10:11 pm on 10/08/2010
> Chris Dawson
> ASOS are gearing up for the launch of a 2nd hand clothes marketplace
They’ve been around a fair amount of time.
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://asos.com
> Chris Dawson
> Interestingly ASOS users are already calling for PayPal to be an available payment method
Stated on the main page is the banner, “ASOS now accepts PayPal”.
Unknown how long that banner has been up, as the Wayback Machine last lists 21 October 2009.
http://web.archive.org/web/20091021114312/http://www.asos.com/
And that would be three (3) people. Making comments over a year ago; in 2009.
1) TheStylePA
“I am all for integration with Paypal. Makes life a lot easier, and I also try to sell as much as I buy where I can. I would give it a go.”
April 14, 2009 9:52 PM
“About TheStylePA
I am a blogger with a serious passion for fashion.”
(http://www.thestylepa.com/)
2) Kirstina88
“Paypal is a must with this kind of thing. Gives you the extra security and protection, rather than waiting for a cheque.”
April 15, 2009 8:13 AM
Person has made two (2) posts on the site.
3) UrbanMessin
“and security from Paypal payment processing sounds perfect!”
April 16, 2009 1:31 PM
Person has made one (1) post. Interestingly a post which repeats the “security” meme of the previous poster.
Sooo speaking of security:
2008: “eBay’s head of public affairs, Daniel Feiler, who admitted to a newsletter recently that PayPal’s fraud rate was 0.3% of all transactions”
2005: “”Visa said the technology might reduce its fraud rate to $3 per $10,000 of transactions from the current $5 per $10,000″;
i.e. 0.03% and 0.05%.
Speaking of a timely article:
Who will market to the marketers?
http://tamebay.com/2010/08/who-will-market-to-the-marketers.html
“protagonist realises that the crowd is entirely composed of tourists”
“Are any of them your customers, or even your target market?”
/*
“our LiveWorld moderators or community managers are acting as agents of the brand on the brand’s digital property, and that not explicitly disclosing that they are paid by LiveWorld is much like a part-time employee/contractor from the brand itself wouldn’t be expected to state so”
“I would also draw a distinction between posting as “the brand” and posting as an individual (ghost-blogging for a CEO, for example). In the latter case, we’d be passing ourselves off as another person–which we’re obviously not–rather than as the brand, which we DO represent.”
Bryan Person, LiveWorld Social Media Evangelist
BigPoppa says
1:15 am on August 11th, 2010
Is it just me or does that make no sense…?
Gill says
11:43 am on August 11th, 2010
Not just you, BigPoppa…
JohnC says
6:07 pm on 11/08/2010
I don’t understand it either, but I feel the need for a tinfoil hat coming on.
EventHorizon1984 says
9:23 pm on 11/08/2010
> BigPoppa says:
> August 11, 2010 at 1:15 am
> Is it just me or does that make no sense…?
Do explain what you are talking about.
Noted ASOS has been online for years.
Mr. Dawson’s statement, “ASOS are gearing up for the launch of a 2nd hand clothes marketplace”, gave the impression that ASOS was new. Then again Retail Week didn’t get that right either.
Given that ASOS is years old, and “ASOS users” made comments over a year ago, it’s less of a “launch” and more of an improved presence.
Chris Dawson said “ASOS users”, and we checked and found one blogger with a strong interest in shopping (ASOS user). And two others who posted and essentially (after a year) were not seen again on the site; unlikely ASOS users.
However the comments of three “ASOS users” are moot since the ASOS main page states “ASOS now accepts PayPal.” The paragraph “Interestingly ASOS users are already calling for PayPal” should have been past tense.
Or changed to:
“Interestingly ASOS accepts PayPal, so although eBay might be a competitor” …
When someone says a group is for/against something, we’re curious as to who the individuals or group are. Aren’t you?
Also noted that while the usual PayPal meme is “security”, which those latter two posters stated, the fact is the number one payment processor has a fraud rate that is 1/10th of PayPal’s.
Which incidentally explains the beefed up effort by eBay to reduce fraud on the site.
Comment was made to partially flesh out the article. Why is that a problem?
> Gill says:
> August 11, 2010 at 11:43 am
> Not just you, BigPoppa…
Do explain. Keep in mind the TameBay Comments Policy.
> JohnC says:
> August 11, 2010 at 6:07 pm
> I don’t understand it either, but I feel the need for a tinfoil hat coming on.
hmm. Anonymous poster taking a cheap shot.
TameBay Comments Policy:
By leaving a comment, you agree:
2. that anonymous, spam or fake comments may be removed without notice;
3. that you will not make personal attacks on TameBay writers, other commenters or named members of eBay staff;
/*
“You can be friendly and chatty, but not rude.”
Digby
BigPoppa says
10:03 pm on 11/08/2010
Erm…ok.
JohnC says
10:12 pm on 11/08/2010
“Anonymous poster taking a cheap shot”?
Didn’t realise that EventHorizon1984 was a real name.
JohnC says
10:20 pm on 11/08/2010
And the fact that at the bottom of the article it says:
“Many thanks to John Hayes, Head of Marketing and Communications at Summit Media for the info for this article”
Gives some hint that marketing might be involved.
Chris Dawson says
10:57 pm on August 11th, 2010
Credit where credit’s due, John used to work for ChannelAdvisor but has moved to a new company but still thought we’d be interested in this snippet of news and was kind enough to drop us an email
Bunchy says
11:32 pm on 11/08/2010
I’d definately consider it as a viable venue if the price was right.
It will be interesting to see how it copes with the presentation of it’s third party operation. Will it integrate these sellers’s products in with it’s current stock (like Amazon) or will they keep them seperate like ebay have done with the outlets?
Emily says
12:33 am on 13/08/2010
I am very excited to hear this news. Although I am unsure of one thing – as a third party seller, will I be able to sell new clothes on there as a retailer or will I be limited to selling second hand stuff I no longer want?
John Pemberton says
1:19 pm on 13/08/2010
About time they lauched a 2nd hand clothing marketplace. Its the lift this category needs, as there is no alternative to eBay.
Amazon only have new clothing. I will follow this with much interest.
Sue Bailey says
7:47 pm on 13/08/2010
I’m thinking of setting up a site to sell hoodies and knock-off designer gear. I’m gonna call it ASBOS.com.
Martin - The Whirlpool Bath Shop says
9:24 pm on August 13th, 2010
I thought it was called thehut.com
Sue Bailey says
9:29 pm on August 13th, 2010
Harsh
Steve Antony Williams says
10:50 am on 17/08/2010
ASOS is one of the best out there.