How to Work the Counter

Why Couture Counter? Why now?

At Couture Counter we believe that there is hardly a woman who hasn’t gone through one of the following sartorial dilemmas:

You buy a garment on the spur of the moment and later realise it actually doesn’t fit with your lifestyle, it is not the right fit for you, you either change your shape or size (a different subject, please don’t start me on it!) or you suddenly think it is totally not your “uniform”?!
Or you simply belong to the “shopaholic sisterhood” who thrive on the thrill of purchasing new, beautiful items, wearing them and then selling them on in order to make space or raise funds for new ones?
On the other hand you could be a knowledgeable collector of fine bags or shoes, or just a lucky person who is steadily building a dream wardrobe of beautiful pieces…

There are various scenarios and many women do go through several of these on a daily basis. They say more than 80% of the average woman’s wardrobe never sees the light of day!!!

That is how Couture Counter started, as an idea which I had many years ago, but never thought would be possible to apply…Luckily these days due to the advance of modern technology we can actually buy, sell or rummage through each other’s wardrobes virtually on the go!

And let’s face it – there is something strangely exciting about peeking into other people’s wardrobes and discovering “hidden” treasures!

There is a bit of risk, of course and a sense of adventure!

couturecounter.com is a bespoke online venue for the resell of fine clothing, footwear and accessories currently occupying precious storage in your living space.

It’s easy to sell with us and once you get the gist it could also be so much fun!
It is as easy as just taking a photo and uploading it on the Couture Counter’s platform.
Please leave the rest to the Couture Counter crew and relax while “playing” on our “playground”.

The selling/buying experience with us could be as anonymous or socially interactive as you want it to be - you might use any image or name for your online profile and we promise we will guard and guarantee your privacy and personal boundaries.

Here is a short guide on how exactly Couture Counter works and what it can do for you- at the end of the day recycling and investing in good quality, well-crafted pieces is not a bad idea!

Let’s start with selling

What can I sell?

Couture Counter is a platform primarily for high-end designer brands but we would also consider any artisan beautifully made items by small (predominantly European) ateliers and factories with traditions.

It is up to the discretion of the site moderators to decide if a product could be put up for sale or not, depending on its perceived desirability, provenance and condition. No personal offense if we are not keen on a specific item please!
You can sell women's, men’s and children’s clothing, shoes and accessories as well as any sports and fitness related gear, equipment and items: e.g. riding helmet and the matching riding boots and gloves.
We also take any genuine, branded cosmetics and fragrances (only unopened please in their original packaging or with not more than 3 drops missing!).
There is no limit to the number of items you can throw on your Couture Counter.

Items must be clean (please dry clean or wash appropriately and do any small mending before shipping the items, or at least air them well so they are fresh and are completely odourless) and in good general condition.
We sell items all over the world but regrettably would not accept items for sale from the following countries for the time being: China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea and Turkey.

Anyone attempting to sell non-authentic items will be locked out of the Counter immediately and FOREVER and risks their fake items being confiscated by the authorities. Please be aware that promoting counterfeit products is a punishable offense in the UK and the British Channel Islands.

How do I price my item?

At Couture Counter we know that sometimes even the smallest item of clothing or accessory, particularly jewellery, could carry a special sentimental value for their owner.

That is why we will let you decide your own price, based on the original value of the item and any other factors which you might consider. We would of course gently guide you as to what we consider to be a realistic and objective price but it is entirely up to you to put a price tag on your item and test the waters. You could negotiate with buyers via the messaging system, you may edit your listing and change the price at any given time (up or down!).

What does it cost to sell?

Displaying your items on Couture Counter is an absolutely free service. In fact we've designed the Counter to assists you at every turn and we also hope it makes for a fun and friendly experience. The seller is charged a commission (see a link to commission table with calculations below) for each item sold while the Buyer gets a perfectly good bargain.

How does the actual selling process happen?

Take 5 good quality photos (please find a link to instructions here) and upload them on the site, after creating a Sellers’s profile.
You will receive an e-mail to let you know when an item has sold.
A link within your sale notification e-mail will take you to couturecounter.com where you can enter your package’s tracking number.
Items must be shipped via DHL, we provide the account number which you then use for the online booking system. It is up to you to insure the package.
You then have 3 business days to ship the item to Couture Counter Headquarters or directly to the Buyer depending on the item’s price.
Upon receipt, we will review the item for authenticity and make certain that the item is indeed how it was depicted by the Seller.
If the item meets our expectations, we will ship it to the Buyer. You will receive an e-mail to let you know that your sale is now complete and that payment is on its way. If, for some reason, there is an issue with the item, we will contact you by email or phone.

How and when do I get paid?

When you are at checkout please use your existing Paypal account in order to send a payment or alternatively you will be redirected to Paypal in order to create a new account.
This account you could use in order to send moneys safely and securely but also you could use this account in order to receive the proceeds from your sales in a very efficient, fast and totally secure way.
You literally get paid by your email address as the moment a Seller sells an item, CoutureCounter requests Paypal to send the funds after commission to the Seller by providing their email address. Paypal then sends automatically an email to the Seller notifying them that the money has been credited to their Paypal account, from where the Seller could transfer their money out into any bank account of their choice.
This is a truly secure way of selling and purchasing on a collaborative consumption platform.

What happens next?

Once an item has been purchased, the seller ships it directly to Couture Counter headquarters. Exceptions are made for Trusted Sellers and Professional Sellers and Unmanaged Sellers (items less than £250), who dispatch their items directly to the Buyer (in cases where a Seller provides all PPP for a certain product and the item in question is in excellent condition or never used, it is up to the Couture Counter Moderators discretion to decide if a check is absolutely necessary).
The Couture Counter team then put their best effort to authenticate the item and make sure it lives up to the original description.
Once the item is given the stamp of approval, typically within 2 business days, it is shipped to the buyer.

Make me an offer

Buyers can privately negotiate a product price by sending an offer to the Seller who can accept, refuse, or make a counter offer. Offers and counter offers expire after 36 hours.
By default, all products are registered to the “Make me an offer” functionality, which is automatically activated 10 days after the product goes on sale. Sellers can opt-out of this when adding a product to the site.
The price proposed in an offer cannot be lower than 60% of the Product public sale price. Couture Counter’s commission is based on the Product’s final sale price.

If Buyers wish they could however message an open offer to a Seller via the very public chat, which is actually quite helpful as it could be followed by other interested parties…

The “Make me an offer” chat facility and all conversations between users are monitored at all times by Couture Counter.

What if it’s a fake?

Couture Counter has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to fakes and copies as well as illegally sourced out items. We monitor all items on a daily basis for potentially counterfeit items and following signals from concerned members of the community. If we receive an item that is clearly not authentic, we will cancel the order and dispose of the item.

In case a Buyer receives an item which they deem to be false they have to immediately send an email to info@couturecounter.com (in any case not later than 3 days after they have received the item(s)) and explain why they believe the item to be counterfeit.

If the Buyer has received the item direct from the Seller, they should request a full refund. If a satisfactory resolution can’t be achieved and the dispute is regarding authenticity, a third party agency could be used. If the agency deems the disputed item to be genuine the Buyer who raised the dispute could be asked to pay the authentication fee (usually around £30 per item for an online authentication).

If the item is deemed to be counterfeit however the Seller will be asked to pay the authentication expenses and the item will be destroyed. The Seller might be banned from using the platform again.

If the item has undergone the Couture Counter quality and authenticity control and still the Buyer has some doubts and raises a dispute, then Couture Counter will request the item to be authenticated by a third party and will refund the Buyer if the item is indeed counterfeit. Otherwise the Buyer pays the authentication fees and keeps the item.

Couture Counter supports the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group (GACG) Network’s charter for fighting counterfeiting on the internet

Commission Rates

The great thing about Couture Counter is that we offer free and unlimited sale uploads! We only apply commission once your item is sold. There is no flat fee either. Instead you are charged percentages based on commission brackets.

So if you are going to sell your hardly ever worn Chloe Heels for £250. Our commission would be calculated as follows

You pay £14 on the first £40. Then 15% on the difference between £250 and £40 which equals £31.50. That makes the total commission equal to £45.50.

Your heels will earn you £204.50 when you sell them for £250 with us.

Below are the commission bands in full:

Rate	Lower Limit	Upper Limit
£14.00 (fixed fee, inc. tax)	£0.00	£40.00
15% (inc. tax)	£40.01	£250.00
Curated online
28% (inc. tax)	£250.01	£500.00
25% (inc. tax)	£500.01	£1,000.00
22% (inc. tax)	£1,000.01	£2,000.00
20% (inc. tax)	£2,000.01	£3,000.00
15% (inc. tax)	£3,000.01	-
Curated at the CoutureCounter headquarters

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