The Vogue Bible for Shopping eBay

I first began shopping on eBay in high school, when OG blogger Jane Aldridge published her guide to vintage shopping on the site. For me, this was insider gold—her advice demystified the online auction website and revolutionized how I shopped for vintage clothing. I still use many of her tips today—using varying phrases, say, when it comes to searching for what you’re looking for: If you want something from YSL, try searching “vintage Yves Saint Laurent,” “vintage YSL,” “YSL jacket,” and on and on.

Since then, I’ve also developed a system of my own for scouring the site. I’ve kept it close to the vest—aka the Notes app of my phone—until now. Below, you’ll find my expert advice for shopping eBay, with a bonus: the rest of Vogue’s fashion team has weighed in, too.

Become a Search Pro

Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue’s archive editor, is another longtime fan of the auction site—she even had a column at style.com (which eventually became Vogue Runway) called “Laird Loves eBay.” Here, she demystifies her search process for striking gold—and reminds us that it applies to things other than clothing.

“Contemporary fashion illustration is something I’ve written a lot about, but the drawings in archival issues of Vogue are hard to beat. To start, I search terms like ‘vintage Vogue.’ Then I switch the page to gallery view, increase the number of images to 120 on the page, and search for ‘vintage Vogue 1930s’.” The result? A cover by the French surrealist painter Pierre Roy that will be hanging in her home very soon.

Try Going Off Vibes

Occasionally, I know exactly what I’m looking for, like a Christian Lacroix Bazar suit or a pleated Suzy Perette dress. But I have the most fun (and make the greatest discoveries!) when I search more for style terms that I love. It can be as vague as “’70s disco” or as specific as “Basque waist,” “micro-pleats,” or “embroidered floral appliqué”—all of these terms, plus the word ‘vintage.’ Sometimes, it’ll send me down a joyous rabbit hole of a new seller’s wares, while other times it’ll turn me on to a new designer I’ve never heard of—best case scenario, I’ll scoop a total steal of a buy.

Shop Japanese

“I have the luxury of having [former Vogue writer] Liana Satenstein as one of my closest friends, and she’s taught me everything I know about buying vintage,” brags Vogue Runway production and editorial assistant Irene Kim. “I’ve learned to search for designer pieces from Japanese sellers on eBay, because the chances of it being cheaper are so much higher. Also, Japanese sellers often have rarer luxury pieces that I’ve never seen before. The sellers are generally extremely detailed and organized, and will list exactly what condition the item is in, as well as any flaws.”

When to Be Specific

“I tend to be hyper-specific in my search terms,” says Replica Hermes Bag Reviews Senior Fashion and Style writer Christian Allaire. “I’m always on the hunt for certain pieces from the runways, so I will always include the seasons in my search, like ‘Prada Fall 2017 fur belt,’ or ‘Prada FW17 fur belt’—and I will alternate between the two formats, as both can yield different results.” One of my own favorite ways to shop vintage on eBay is to zero in on specific designers—particularly the lesser-known talents who deserve more recognition—Jacques H. Réval is one I’m always on the hunt for. A Parisian couturier who ran a small atelier in the 1960s, Réval’s designs stand out for their bold embellishments and sculptural silhouettes. Thanks to eBay’s global reach, you can often find rare pieces like the dress I recently scored: A crisp black-and-white wool crepe A-line trimmed with gold chains and tassels, complete with its original metal Eclair zipper.”

Use the Watch List

If it’s something that’s a ‘maybe’ for me, I always add it to my watch list. The reason is two-fold: I don’t want to lose amidst all my scrolling, but also, maybe the item would switch to a yes if the price was a little lower. I find that about half of sellers will offer you a deal (typically somewhere between 5 and 20% off) if the item doesn’t seem to be selling , and that’s where I’ve managed to win some of my now-favorite pieces.

Buy Now vs. Bid It Out

Allaire isn’t afraid to fight it out for a vintage item, though there’s a method behind it. “I am a big vintage denim lover, and I have won bids on some amazing Orange Tab Levi’s from the 1970s on eBay. With pieces that are a little more generalized, I don’t mind engaging in a bidding war—because if you lose, there are countless other options to try again for. The same goes for things like vintage Ralph Lauren shirts (love) or Barbour jackets; eBay has a huge selection of them, so why not bid to get it for the lowest price possible?”

I’m more of a ‘Buy Now’ sort of shopper. I’m generally hunting for rare items, and if I am lucky to find them, I don’t waste time. (Another tip for scoring hard-to-find runway pieces: Always filter your searches by Newly Listed—you want to be the first to see it. There’s nothing worse than someone else scooping them up before you!)

Research the Seller—and Reach Out

Before you buy, look into where the item is coming from. At a minimum, you want it to come from a smoke-free home—and I try to look around in the background of any listings photos to understand the environment it’s coming from. “Normally I like to buy from sellers with hundreds—if not thousands—of reviews,” says Vogue fashion writer Hannah Jackson, though she admits she'll make some exceptions, like for the sparkling Mugler top she recently bought. “Since the seller included a picture of the label, detail shots, and offered a fair price, I felt secure. I also ran a quick reverse Google image search just to make sure it was the real deal.”

Vintage sizing can be tricky, so don’t be shy about messaging sellers for more details. Patience—and precision—pays off.

Plus: Vogue Editors On Their Latest eBay Scores

My mom has the best bag collectsion ever, but unfortunately for me, she's not willing to share—I can only borrow occasionally—which was why it was time for me to invest in my very own Louis Vuitton Thompson Street bag. Honestly, all of the colorways are so fun, although I do think red is the most classic, but for some reason, I'm drawn to the color purple these days. Not only is the shoulder strap adjustable, but the bag is incredibly roomy. If you are one of the lucky few who still carry around a full-size continental wallet, this will fit that, but for those who don't, you have room for a book, a card holder, a cell phone, and many many lip products.

Vintage Prada shoes are a holy grail amongst vintage enthusiasts—so much so that I wrote an entire piece for our April 2025 issue about them. Any time I can add to my collectsion (in a very annoying 35.5 size), I do. My newest addition is the trompe l'oeil stiletto boot from FW 2011. It's mod, it's modern, it's a lot of fun. Shoes like this do a lot of heavy-lifting when it comes to building the perfect outfit—either making a simple black dress fun or an over-the-top look (more my speed) even more outrageous. Next up: Finding the dress Lindsey Wixson wore on the runway in the same show.

When it comes to Comme des Garçons, I'm a longtime fan, first-time caller. I sprung for a piece that had been on my watchlist for ages: an elegant black jacket with a velvet stand collar and slits on the sleeves and side seams. It's from the year I was born, so it felt kismet.

We may still technically be living through winter, but I am already shopping for summer (already in vacation mode). I've been longing for a vintage colorful Missoni top and came across this rainbow delight on eBay. It's the perfect little polo—a little beachy, a little '70s disco. All I need now is a tan and a piña colada.

I’ve been collectsing vintage designer suits on eBay, and the latest is one of the most unique I’ve discovered yet! It’s a Jil Sander pantsuit from an era that I’m still researching, though I have to assume it’s either nineties or noughties based on the shoulder pads and shine. The fabric is a bizarre iridescent lavender that looks a little bit periwinkle and a little bit gold, depending on which direction the light hits, and the cut is slim, streamlined, and Sander-esque. The asking price was just a little high for an item that the seller said was a favorite piece they wore often, so I made a Best Offer that felt very fair, and it only took one counteroffer with the seller to agree on something that worked for both of us! It’s light as a feather—I could roll it up and pack the entire thing in a single shoe duster if I needed to, which means I can actually bring it with me on trips that allow for a little fun in the dress code.

This was my first time shopping for vintage on eBay, and—many, many tabs later—I know it won't be my last. I approached my online shopping spree with fervor and a plan. As someone on the plus-size/in-between-size side of the fit spectrum, I took advice from this Teen Replica Hermes Bag Reviews guide and went to my friend Willa Schwabsky, a costume designer and stylist, who took my measurements so I could shop with them in mind.

I enjoyed filtering vintage dresses by decade, taking a ride in the fashion time machine. The process gave me a new appreciation for the vintage pieces I already love in my closet, as I searched for other items from some of the same designers. One of my favorite finds was this shirt from an Adidas x Missoni collab. I'm excited to work my new-to-me pieces into my spring wardrobe!

Roberta di Camerino is known for her velvet bags, but I’ve been interested in the straw bags she made, which I always associate with the first wave of post-war Made in Italy fervor. This one has butterfly-themed hardware.

Spring 1997—once on the cover of Vogue, and from the same collectsion as the Gucci G-string… need I say more? A slice of fashion history!

What a surprise to see Fashion Conservatory—a dealer I’ve shopped with before and always trust—selling on eBay! I adore them for their very vintage pieces (don’t come here for Ford-era Gucci). My latest score is a striped 1950s dressing gown from Garfinckel & Co., once Washington, DC’s most fashionable store, where, on the famed third floor, women could buy copies of the latest Paris fashions or the best American design. The dress itself is irresistible: bold black and yellow stripes, a nipped waist, and a sweeping skirt. Black and yellow is such an underrated combination—graphic, cheerful, and unmistakably chic.

One of the most treasured sections of my wardrobe is a small but mighty collectsion of jazzy Dries van Noten shirts—a not-insignificant portion of which I acquired on eBay. As temperatures begin to thaw, I’m already thinking about summer ‘fits—and I’ve always wanted a piece from the iconic Dries x Verner Panton collectsion. (Fun fact: I attended this show, and wanted to buy it all immediately, only for the pieces to sell like hotcakes—meaning none of it went on sale, shifting everything into a price bracket I couldn’t afford—devastating.) So imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this killer linen short sleeve number, featuring Panton’s iconic wave patterns in a delicious shade of honeycomb. I’ll be wearing this all summer long—and, I'm sure, for many summers to come.

These Prada mules are so stunningly perfect (sexy yet understated, my exact size, and low-heeled enough for me to actually wear them out and about) that I couldn't believe I managed to snag them on eBay. Dreams do come true!

Mark your calendars: the Replica Hermes Bag Reviews Vintage Market is back for round two. With thanks to eBay, there will be an impeccable curation of vintage and pre-loved pieces ready to find a new home in your wardrobe. If you haven’t already—now is the time to secure your tickets, simply RSVP and make a donation here.