Chanel climbed to No. 3 among eBay’s most-purchased luxury brands in the first nine months of 2026, as the marketplace saw an influx of listings from earlier designer eras.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company’s fall/winter Watchlist report, released Nov. 10, links fashion’s creative-director changes with renewed attention to the collections their predecessors left behind. Chanel ranked No. 5 in 2025, while Louis Vuitton and Gucci retained the top two positions in the report’s five-year rankings.
“This season’s Watchlist reads like a style diary of everyone shopping on eBay: the eras they’re revisiting, the pieces they’re investing in and the moments in culture they can’t stop thinking about,” Brie Welch, eBay’s resident stylist, said in a statement.
As Matthieu Blazy’s first Chanel collection reached stores, eBay searches for his name jumped 291 percent from March to April 2026. Listings for pieces from Karl Lagerfeld’s tenure were 87 percent higher in September 2026 than a year earlier.
Searches for Jonathan Anderson rose 92 percent from December 2025 to January 2026, when he presented his first Dior couture collection.
At Gucci, searches for Demna increased 42 percent from February to March 2026 following his first runway show for the house. Listings for Tom Ford-era designs were up 49 percent from September 2025 to September 2026.
“The best part of fashion right now is that you don’t always know what you’re looking for until you find it,” Welch said. “On eBay, getting to discover a piece is less like following a trend and more like falling down the rabbit hole of fashion history.”
Older collections recorded higher average sale prices. John Galliano-era Dior rose 81 percent between January and September, while Tom Ford’s Yves Saint Laurent collections increased 51 percent.
“I’ve always thought the best pieces get better with a little history attached to them. On eBay, a pre-loved Loewe bag, an archival Raf Simons silhouette or a beautifully restored dress watch carries something a brand-new piece can’t: a sense of time,” Welch said.
Zoë Kravitz and Kendall Jenner have both carried The Row’s Margaux. The bag’s average sale price on eBay rose 137 percent from January to September. The average sale price for Gucci’s Giglio, seen on Dakota Johnson and Suki Waterhouse, increased 103 percent over the same period.
“Resale gives fashion another way to define value—not just by what something costs, but by how much it has lived, and how much life it still has left,” Welch said.
Loewe’s Amazona 180 appeared in 440 percent more eBay listings worldwide in September 2026 than a year earlier. Listings for Bottega Veneta’s Veneta bag increased 158 percent over the same period.
“What’s moving on eBay right now tells a story, from archival influences to special finds that are perfect holiday gifts and watches meant for a special night out,” Welch said.
The nostalgia findings extended beyond luxury collections. The report put global searches for “Y2K” at 1,300 an hour, compared with 474 for “vintage 90s.” Listings for Von Dutch increased 377 percent from January to September, while Jean Paul Gaultier mesh tops rose 200 percent.
“Fashion rarely exists in a vacuum. A new creative director, a celebrity T-shirt look gone viral or even a Prada skirt, can suddenly change the way we see something we thought we knew,” Welch said.
eBay recorded more than 5,532 searches an hour for “vintage T-shirt” in its January-September data. The report also recorded a rise of more than 360 percent in searches for “Prada skirt” following the house’s spring 2027 show, compared with early September.
“What I find most interesting about eBay is watching those cultural moments ripple backward—bringing older pieces back into the conversation and giving them an entirely new life,” Welch said.
Welch put together shoppable looks based on the report’s findings.
“I wanted to show how to bring those themes into everyday style, whether that’s one standout piece or a whole look,” she said.
eBay plans related holiday livestreams beginning Nov. 15, featuring sellers including Vookum, Reserved Luxury and Bolt Luxury.
The company’s livestream channel had already recorded a $170,365 sale of a Rolex Daytona Platinum by seller Tanner and Co in the first nine months of 2026.
“A search for vintage Chanel leads from an unexpected designer to a community of watch collectors,” Welch said. “That element of surprise is what makes getting dressed feel personal—and fun—again.”
In the separate Clothing, Shoes & Accessories category, a 1997 Raf Simons hooded bomber jacket sold for $49,750. It was the only non-Hermès item among eBay’s 10 highest-value purchases in that category from January through September; Hermès accounted for the other nine.
