World's Largest Luxury Fashion Consigner Automates Manual Processes
The reigning top seller worldwide on eBay and authority in the consignment industry featured on The Today Show, New York Times, The Oprah Magazine, and Fast Company, among others.
eCommerce
Commerce Studio
A hodgepodge of business management tools was not keeping up with business growth.
Customized solution automated eBay's Best Offers optimized returns and listing management.
Shaving hundreds of hours off of manual processes allowed the company to focus time and resources on taking the business to the next level.
Company
In 2001, former lawyer Linda Lightman took a leap of faith when she started selling items on eBay. Today, the multi-million dollar business occupies a 93,000 square foot office space "filled with fashion and fun". Focusing on the resale of authentic designer clothing, shoes, handbags, accessories, and home goods, the fast-moving business turns most items around in just a few days.
Challenge
With the business growing rapidly and a large warehouse of inventory flying off the shelves, the current listing process was not cutting it. Each item they sell is unique and the listings must be created from scratch. Items were being listed using a mix of tools that included Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
In addition, it was difficult to track performance using disparate tools. The company was manually aggregating all of its data and tracking payments.
To top it off, Linda’s Stuff was now the heaviest user of eBay’s Best Offers, and their team was spending countless hours (including nights and weekends) manually clicking into each offer and replying. With 85 employees, Linda’s Stuff was in desperate need of a solution that could support their growth and become the central source of data.
Solution
When Vice President Max Lightman partnered with Commerce Studio (formerly Cloud Conversion), a custom package was crafted to meet the unique business challenges of a consigner. The goal was to automate Best Offers, accounting, listing, track consignment, and become the central database for their business intelligence. Max also had an interest in expanding the business to other channels outside of eBay. The Cloud Conversion and ChannelAdvisor solution set gave Linda’s Stuff the functionality they needed to become a multi-channel merchant selling through eBay, Rue La La, Jet, Pricefalls, Trademe, and even their own Shopify store.
Results
Soon after onboarding, Linda’s Stuff was saving hundreds of hours by automating their manual processes. They were able to focus their time and resources on taking the business to the next level. Best Offers was no longer a challenge, meaning the management team could now take a real vacation! Performance metrics are available at their fingertips, and accounting is completely automated with Quickbooks.
In a world of cheap, fast fashion, Linda and her team have found a niche in the marketplace. With Commerce Studio, they are set to grow without adding overhead.