eBay to Open "Hard to Find" Holiday Gift Shops

Speakeasy-style stores bring the hottest authentic sneakers, handbags, watches, trading cards and collectibles to enthusiasts. All it takes is finding the shops themselves.

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eBay Inc.

Nov 17, 2021, 08:56 ET

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With the perfect holiday gifts more out of reach than ever, eBay is hooking up shoppers with the season's most sought after items through its Hard to Find Gift Shops. The new storefronts will pop up in select locations across the country - Detroit, Miami and Houston - beginning on November 19.

The Hard to Find Gift Shops will be just that - hard to find. Open to the most resourceful customers, a helpful location hint will be shared on eBay's social channels the day before the shop launches, with the final location being revealed 24 hours later.

With the perfect holiday gifts more out of reach than ever, eBay is hooking up shoppers with the season’s most sought after items through its speakeasy-style Hard to Find Gift Shops. The shops will bring the hottest authentic sneakers, handbags, watches, trading cards and collectibles to enthusiasts.

The Hard to Find Gift Sneaker Shop will bring the most coveted authentic sneakers to sneakerheads in Detroit, including sold-out-everywhere-else styles from top brands and collaborators such as Jordans, Yeezy, OFF-WHITE and Fragment Design.

"This holiday season will put even the most serious shoppers to the test, but eBay was made for moments like this," said Jordan Sweetnam, SVP and General Manager, eBay North America. "We created the Hard to Find Shops to bring our unmatched selection to life - from the rare and coveted to the sold-out-everywhere-else. The experience mirrors the impossibility shoppers are facing this year - and reminds them that eBay has something for everyone on their list."

Each shop will focus on one hot holiday category and will be brimming with gifts for enthusiasts:

The Hard to Find Sneaker Shop | Detroit, November 19 - 20
Sneaker collector and seller Jaysse Lopez, Urban Necessities, brings his diverse collection of today's top styles to the shop. The event will also feature a rare display of all 50 pairs of the Off-White x Nike Dunk Low collection.
The Hard to Find Collectibles Shop | Houston, December 3 - 4
In partnership with top eBay sellers, including two from Houston, the shop will be stacked with high value trading cards, collectibles and memorabilia.
The Hard to Find Luxury Shop | Miami, December 10 - 11
Find iconic Hermès Birkin and Kelly bags, Gucci's Psychedelic and Floral Collections, and rare timepieces from Richard Mille, Audemar Piguet, Rolex and more.

Shoppers outside of these three cities are not out of luck, and can score the same inventory at ebay.com/hardtofindshop.

This season, in particular, shopping early doesn't guarantee finding everything on one's gift list. A recent study found that 70 percent of millennial and Gen Z adults who have started their holiday shopping have reported that a product they wanted to purchase in a store was out of stock. One-third of those shoppers say this has happened multiple times as they've begun their holiday shopping¹.

For more of the season's hard to find gifts in these top categories, visit ebay.com and follow @eBay on social media.

By the Numbers

Sneakers:

eBay's sneakers business in the US continues to grow at healthy double digit rates.
15 pairs of sneakers are purchased every minute. That's one pair every 4 seconds.
The top 3 most popular sneaker brands on eBay in 2021 are Nike, Adidas and Yeezy (based on number of items sold).
An average buyer who purchased a $100 pair of sneakers spent $500 in sneakers and $2,000 in other categories.

Watches:

Luxury watches on eBay continue to grow at double digit rates.
The average luxury watch buyer who purchased a $2,000+ watch spent over $9,000 in watches and $8,000 on more than 50 items in other categories.
The most expensive luxury watch sale on eBay in 2021 was a Patek Phillipe Grand Complications Nautilus which sold for $230,000.
Top 3 most popular watch brands on eBay in 2021 are Rolex, Omega, & Gucci (based on number of items sold)

Handbags:

Since launching Authenticity Guarantee for luxury handbags in June, growth has significantly accelerated.
The average handbags buyer who purchased a $500+ handbag spent over $2,000 in handbags and over $5,000 in other categories
Purchases of luxury handbags from top designers and brands like Dior, Chanel, Gucci and Prada are up 4% year over year.
The most expensive handbag sale on eBay in 2021 was an Hermes Ostrich Birkin in Beige which sold for more than 60,000 USD.

Trading Cards & Collectibles:

eBay's Trading Cards category is growing significantly faster than the total marketplace.
In the first half of 2021, Trading Cards hit $2 billion in transactions - equal to all of 2020 and a 175% increase year over year.
In 2020 in the US, a sports trading card is purchased every second.
There are an average of over 318 collectibles listed per minute on eBay.

About eBay
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global commerce leader that connects millions of buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets around the world. We exist to enable economic opportunity for individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations of all sizes. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, California, eBay is one of the world's largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value and unique selection. In 2020, eBay enabled over $85 billion of gross merchandise volume. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.