In this new age of technology, where websites are created every hour, we can practically buy anything we want. Your mom’s birthday present? Click here. Decorations for your new apartment? Add to cart. Amazing deals on Herve Leger dresses complete with a 100% authenticity guarantee? You can now add that to the list, thanks to Lollipuff.
This auction site for designer merchandise is probably one of the most unique sites on the web. Started out as a blog, Lollipuff founder Fei Deyle posted content about her favorite designer (Herve Leger, of course) and her love of designer products. Not only is she an electrical engineer, she is one of the industry’s most well-known authenticators. After selling one of her Herve Leger dresses on the blog, requests came pouring in and, soon enough, there was a 3-month waiting list to sell!
Due to high demand, the blog was converted into an auction site that launched on June 20. Since then, Lollipuff has captured 25% of the Herve Leger retail worldwide and its membership has increased exponentially. The engineer credits this to the community aspects of the site. “Women really connect to it. We love deals and we love designer stuff,” she said with a laugh.
Unlike EBay and others, Lollipuff is the only online auction site that requires all of the designer offerings to go through a strict authentication process.
“Sellers fill out a simple form that’s very short. But we do require a lot of pictures,” Deyle explained. For each item that a member wants to sell, at least 10 pictures are required. Within each picture, the seller must include a handwritten note near the merchandise that says the company name.
The authentication experts at Lollipuff run the pictures through an identification software to ensure that the note in the picture was not digitally created. Then, the authentication expert examines the merchandise for signs of a counterfeit product. “At no point in time is there a counterfeit product on Lollipuff,” Deyle informs us.
Another unique aspect of this Lollipuff is that there are only four designer brands available to purchase: Herve Leger, Christian Louboutin, Chanel, and Balenciaga. Many people seem to think that Lollipuff has so few designers because the authentication process is so strict, but we’re informed that this is definitely not the case.
“For every brand, we have a book full of counterfeit signs,” the founder explained. From the placement of a pocket to the type of zipper used on a Chanel bag, Lollipuff definitely has all of its bases covered. Wait, because it doesn’t stop there! “We have about 70 books on 70 brands that we can authenticate,” she said enthusiastically.
So, why not open the site up to all 70 brands? “We want to represent the most awesome products, the best of the best. People are crazy about our products,” Deyle explains. “We don’t want to dilute the quality of our products by adding too many designers right now.”
But don’t worry, the Lollipuff visionary is certainly looking towards the future. “I love the sense of community that has been created [at Lollipuff],” Deyle praised. The Lollipuff team is working on creating more interactive aspects, building up the blog, as well as bringing in bloggers that would be exclusive to the site. (Who wouldn’t love to blog about designer clothes all day?)
As wonderful as all of this sounds, how can a collegiette afford to bid on all of these amazing designer items on a student’s budget? “For sorority semi-formals and events, it’s not unusual to spend a few hundred dollars,” she explains. “Why not spend a couple extra hundred dollars for an authentic designer dress? Then, after a couple of wears, you can sell it back on Lollipuff and make your money back.”
More than the designer goods, Deyle wants young women to understand what Lollipuff represents. Deyle quit her job to launch this auction site, a risky move that turned out to be a great opportunity to start something new. Everything that the founder loved had “organically grown” into something greater than she anticipated.
“I’m a huge advocate for a woman following her dreams,” Deyle confided. Her most crucial advice to collegiette’s is to “do the stuff you’re good at and do the stuff you love.”