The state of the economy is helping to make the market for bargain designer clothes even hotter, and Megan Masoner is taking advantage of it. Masoner, 33, left a lucrative position as head of global recruiting for a Fortune 100 tech firm to launch her own auction site for women's designer clothing and accessories, reFINEstyle.com. A beta version of the site went live six months ago. It was a major change, but Masoner sees the timing as just right precisely because economic times are so hard.

"Consumers today are looking for designer items at a fraction of the original retail price - between 70 and 90 percent off. Discounts of 10 to 20 percent just don't cut it any more. It's a tough economy, and we're finding that scoring a luxury find (at a great price) is a way for our customers to treat themselves."

Sellers on reFINEstyle.com offer both new and used designer merchandise with brand names like Versace, Gucci, Prada, Balanciaga, Kate Spade, and Burberry. Items range from bags to shoes to accessories like hats, belts, and keychains. Sales take the form of "classic auctions" with 3, 5, 7, or 14-day periods; Buy It Now sales; or "Going, Going, Gone" sales in which buyers place a low bid and win only when the seller reduces the price to the desired level. Shipping is included in the sales price.

The site hopes to attract eBay PowerSellers in the fashion field. For "elite sellers" who are invited to join, the site offer no listing fees, a listing importer tool, and cost of final sale fees at 5-10%. For everyone else, it cost $2 to list an item, and a 12% final value fee if the item sells. There is no fee for uploading images, but a minimum of three are required, and no more than six are allowed. If you don't want to do the work yourself, you can hire a sales assistant called a "stylist" to create sales listings for you. If an item sells, you pay a 30% sales transaction fee.

Currently reFINEstyle.com has 93 independent sellers and 64 elite sellers - 54 are active elite sellers, and 10 are powersellers in the onboarding stage.

This might seem like a difficult time to add a new auction marketplace to a crowded field, but reFINEstyle.com connects with the basic attraction of all online auctions: finding great merchandise at bargain prices. Fashion shopping sites have been springing up in recent months, in fact. What's the trend all about?

"It's about timing, really," comments Masoner, "finding the ungettable get at the right moment, at the right price. The easier a customer can locate what they covet, the better."

Accordingly, the site employs a good deal of account customization. Buyers specify their favorite brands as well as the sizes they're looking for. When search results appear, items that match those preferences show up first. "There is no digging," Masoner explains. "Customers are looking for convenience, the ability to shop from their desks at lunch. Desktop shopping enables someone looking for great deals to check for new merchandise at their favorite shops more frequently. A customer is more likely to shop multiple times per week if they can skip the drive."

The entrepreneurial spirit has always driven Masoner. As a recruiter, she says she loved the idea of enabling other entrepreneurs. After she obtained her MBA in 2005, she waited for her own entrepreneurial chance. Eventually, she saw the opportunity to start reFINEstyle.com and "ran with it." The company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Currently, some of the site's sellers are eBay PowerSellers. Others are consignment shop owners, owners of boutiques, closeout vendors, and individuals.

Fakes are a common problem in the area of designer fashion, and Masoner says, "We hold our sellers to the highest standards and we have a zero tolerance policy for fakes or replicas." The site has a 24-hour review period for listings: after a sales description is created, the site holds on to it and reviews it for accuracy before the sale actually goes online.

Masoner is looking ahead to customization and improvements before reFINEstyle.com goes out of beta. Right now, most of the marketing has been by word of mouth, and the site is attracting 8,000 unique visitors per month. Soon, a national marketing and advertising campaign will be launched. She foresees continued growth as younger consumers become more aware of designer brands. "Today it's about looking and feeling great, not just how much you paid," she says.

About the Author
Greg Holden is AuctionBytes Contributing Editor. He is a journalist and the author of many books, including "Starting an Online Business For Dummies," "Go Google: 20 Ways to Reach More Customers and Build Revenue with Google Business Tools," and several books about eBay, including "How to Do Everything with Your eBay Business," second edition, and "Secrets of the eBay Millionaires," both published by Osborne-McGraw Hill. Find out more on Greg's website (gregholden.com), which includes his blog, a list of his books, and his fiction and biographical writing.