EBay: Helping businesses get more involved in circular fashion is the next challenge

Ecommerce platform Ebay, one of the pioneers in selling pre-loved items online, is investing in startups not just to stay abreast of emerging technologies in the market, but to further a broader ambition of making recommerce more efficient, scalable and mainstream.

Kirsty Keoghan, general manager of fashion for Europe at eBay, told the audience at the GCV Symposiun in London last month that the company’s greatest constraint is no longer consumer demand but enabling businesses to participate efficiently in resale.

“We know how to help individuals sell on eBay. We’ve been doing that for 30 years. What we didn’t necessarily have were the capabilities to help businesses be successful in selling pre-loved fashion and luxury,” she said.

As second-hand markets mature, competitive advantage increasingly depends not on attracting buyers alone but on expanding supply and reducing the operational complexity of bringing used goods back into circulation.

That challenge is particularly acute in fashion, one of eBay’s largest strategic categories.

Building and investing in innovation

Rather than building every solution internally, eBay has deliberately looked outside. Its Circular Fashion Fund, launched three years ago, began as a mentoring programme for early-stage businesses before evolving into an investment pipeline for eBay Ventures. The initiative gives the marketplace early access to technologies that complement its platform while helping startups scale independently.

That distinction is intentional. It avoids corporate investors from becoming the sole engine of a portfolio company’s growth, says Henri Jaanimägi, founder and global head of eBay Ventures,.

“You should be an important customer. But I would hate to have a scenario where you’re the only kingmaker.”

This philosophy also helps eBay decide what to not outsource. Core marketplace capabilities — such as AI-powered listing tools built on decades of proprietary marketplace data — remain internal. But specialist technologies that sit adjacent to the platform, including hyperspectral imaging for textile identification or AI systems that sort second-hand inventory, are better sourced through startups.

Investment decisions are always a case of balancing sound financial investment judgments with eBay’s strategic priorities. EBay believes corporate venture capital should be used to reinforce financial returns with strategic priorities.

“It always needs to start with how it helps the long-term strategy of eBay,” Jaanimägi said.

The focus extends well beyond traditional ecommerce, spanning resale infrastructure, rental platforms, repair services, authentication technologies, fraud prevention AI tools and live commerce.

Unlocking the circular economy

Artificial intelligence increasingly sits across both camps. On the consumer side, eBay is using AI to simplify listing, allowing sellers to photograph an item while the platform generates product information automatically.

“We’re also using AI behind-the-scenes to detect counterfeit listings before customers see them and improve efficiencies inside our authentication centres,” shared Keoghan. “More than 15 million luxury items have already been verified in our authentication centres in this manner.”

But the largest opportunity lies beyond technology itself. Jaanimägi estimated that only around 15–20% of potentially reusable goods ever enter resale markets.

“The remaining [inventory] remains trapped in wardrobes, donation systems or waste streams because selling it is too cumbersome and not fun.”

Much of eBay’s venture strategy is therefore aimed at removing those frictions.

Investments such as UK-based Fleek, which uses AI to identify valuable garments within bulk second-hand inventory, seek to increase the volume of goods that can re-enter commerce rather than simply compete for existing supply.

The next phase of recommerce

The longer-term opportunity extends beyond resale infrastructure. Jaanimägi pointed to live commerce as an underdeveloped channel in Western markets. While live-stream shopping accounts for roughly 40% of online commerce in China, penetration in Europe and the US remains only a fraction of that, presenting significant room for growth in categories such as vintage fashion and collectibles.

For Keoghan, success ultimately means resale becoming invisible as a category. Consumers, she argues, should simply choose the best product for their needs, regardless of whether it is new or pre-owned.

If that happens, eBay’s investment strategy will have achieved its broader purpose of not simply funding innovation but quietly reshaping how goods circulate through the global economy.

Missed a session at the GCV Symposium 2026?

Read the briefings and watch the video recaps of every session here.