How Luxury Resale Became Big Business: Inside Fashionphile’s Playbook

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Retail Refined, a MarketScale podcast with your host, me, Melissa Gonzales. Today, I'm excited to introduce you to Sarah Davis, if you don't know her already, who is the founder and president of Fashionphile. Now her story started way back, even though you're probably seeing her and Fashionphile a lot more in the news today. She started the company as an ultra luxury resale company as an eBay storefront back in nineteen ninety nine when she discovered that luxury handbags and accessories sold faster and held their value in the secondary market more than any other category. Fast forward to today, and Fashionphile is now one of the largest online platforms for buying and selling ultra luxury handbags and accessories in the country. So she has learned so much from what started as a startup to now, which is a national luxury reseller headquartered in San Diego and New York City with offices in Tokyo, Japan, and retail locations across the country. So there's gonna be a lot to learn from her, a lot to dig in on. So we're gonna start with some of the origin, but also the future. Before I do that, Sarah, thank you so much for being on with us today. And why don't you introduce yourself a little bit further to the audience? It's interesting because I started out, you know, my retail experience before Fashionphile was like working at the Gap when I was in high school. Like, I didn't I went to law school and then and then really started eBay started selling an eBay fashion file was my user ID on eBay. Like, that's where the name came from. And so, like, Really that's kind of I didn't go to business school. I went to law school. And but I was fascinated again from the early time as a shopper. Honestly, like I love resale shopping. Like I've always loved a vintage shop. I've always loved like a cool quirky thrift store in town. Like, that's just always been my favorite go to. And and so I was fascinated, like, when eBay in nineteen ninety five came out with just this new way of selling online. Nothing like it had ever existed before. It was literally your mom pop Simon shop in your in your hometown. And the idea again, in those early days of the Internet, there was no, like, you couldn't process a credit card online. So it was very different, the experience. If you bought something from me on eBay in these early days, you mailed me a check. You know? And then I would and then I'd deposit it and wait for it to clear the bank, and then I'd, like, send you your item. It was very strange, but nobody could process a credit card during those early days. So I just came and so basically from there grew this digital company. And so it's interesting because I have in the last few years And, You know, in the last probably, you know, five to ten years have really doubled down on the fact that the luxury customer wants so much more than just a digital experience and what does that look like. And really the more investments we've made and just to meeting the customer where she or he where they are, the batch just pays back in spades. So the company, every couple years, just looks different than it did the few years before. It still feels like bat while, but it's kinda like in today's environment, if you're not evolving and growing, then you know, you're in trouble. And we've seen a lot of companies not make it because they haven't grown with the who's evolving. Well, on that note, you know, resale was kind of niche back when you first started. Right? And now it's a mainstream part of luxury conversations. And I don't think that's gonna change to your point, and we look at Generation z and alpha and, you know, their awareness around sustainability and all of those things as well. And, you know, how do you think that this customer perception, the role that it's played in in in also shaping Fashionphile alongside, you know, your vision? And what do you see that being Yeah. Forward? Oh, it's so honestly exciting. I I am thrilled, because when I was of the age of the Gen Alpha or, you know, both ways so long ago. And and if you said to me, oh my gosh, Sarah, I love your jacket, and I got it at Salvation Army, I was gonna say, thank you, Isn't it cute? And I would just wouldn't say where I got it. Was not a flex. It was not a flex. It was I I grew up without you know, I I I, like, made my own money. My parents didn't give me school, you know, school clothes shopping money. So I had to buy my own clothes. So if you do that and you love fashion and you wanna wear you know, what you care about what you're wearing, you shop secondhand. And back in the old days, that was not cool. Honestly, not like I would lie, but I'd like, we're love you, Jack. And I'd be like, thank you. You know, I wouldn't be like, oh my gosh. I got the operation army. Now it's the biggest bragging point. And honestly, I mean, I'm you're seeing more and more research around the fact that especially in luxury, if you look at just luxury shopping for Gen Alpha, you know, and Gen Z, they're shopping secondhand first. They're shopping second first in luxury. The the Gen Alpha is if they're if they're shopping for luxury, they're not going to the primary market. And and so I think it's really changing everything. And if you ask my kids, if you say to my my son, love your sneakers, he's just say, thank you. I got them on eBay. He will brag about it. For him, it's much cooler to have gotten a deal on it. It makes you seem smarter that you found a way to get and so it's just a totally different mindset. You know, and and the world's really evolving in that way. And in in my opinion, we have a lot of really great conversations with a lot of the luxury brands. And they gotta get on board. It's not going anywhere. Exactly. They have to go. We're so and we know each other also. We've met through, you know, Stacey Burns and the Dealmaker Network, and they do an annual Retail CEO influencer summit, and a couple years ago, the z suite was launched, which is, you know, influencers in the Gen Z generation. And one of the questions asked at the summit two years ago, Joanna Coles was the one who asked this question. She asked them like, what are you wearing? What are you wearing? And it was such a mix but almost every single one of them, male and female. It was something new and it was something out of their parents' closet. Oh, very cool. That's very cool. I mean, honestly, my parents were not Cool enough to fish. Dava's a geologist, and my mom's staying home staying home with the six coids and make clothes, they just, you know, honestly, I didn't have that. I didn't have the cool grandma that I was raiding her closet either. My parents and grandparents were amazingly cool, but like actual fashion taste was not their like focus. But I love that. That is so amazing. In fact, sometimes a lot of people come to Fashionphile and they'll say, oh, this is my grandpa's watch, but and we're like, do not sell that to us. Are you kidding me? You take that watch off. What were you thinking? You know, like, legitimately. I love that that story, and I hope that my my kids don't say that. I hope my kids are gonna want all my stuff because it's like, oh, this is mom. I will I am sure they will. I am very sure that they will. Well, each year, you also released this ultra luxury resell report. So what are some of the surprising takeaways that you can share from this year's report? And, you know, what should luxury brands be paying attention to this year and even into next? I mean, I guess I mean, it it's one of those things that we've talked about and we've seen because we're this is our, like, twenty six plus year in business. You know, we've doing this a long time. Started it, like I said, in nineteen ninety nine. And so it's honestly surprising and yet non not surprising that just the ebb and flow of what becomes popular and what is it's like hot and then it's not. And then it comes back and And, you know, just yesterday, I was walking someone was through actually, a from the from one of the brands we sell and, you know, one of their team members from corporate walking through our cage, our inventory cage. And she was just blown away by just like she this is a snapshot of just like history. And you see this in the report looking as we're looking at the data of what sells. And I was like, honestly, my gut always tells me, if you're looking around in this cage and you're like, that is the ugliest thing I'd ever seen, You you put a pin in that because because that was gonna be cool. That's like the next hot thing. It's so interesting, and I wonder, we've talked a lot about, especially in our world, like they said, the Gen Alpha, who loves luxury for the same reason. This is a thread we've seen with the in our resale report of a younger and younger buyer. When I was back in my day, there were young people like that were not buying luxury, didn't care, were trying to get it, didn't have the access. Now with resale, there's a lot more accessibility, which I believe, is is really producing a a an even more intense appetite for luxury at an early age. But what I think is happening, you know, is that a lot of these Gen Alpha, they don't have honestly the means. And and so they're looking in they're looking at Fashionphile and they're gonna search our entire site by lowest price. They want authentic. They want a luxury brand, and they're gonna search our entire site by lowest price, And they're gonna find a screaming deal on some little thing that everybody else has forgotten. And then that person is gonna is gonna show that item on a TikTok video. And and then all their friends, I'm like, oh my gosh. What is that? And they're and it's again some forgotten style of some forgotten brand that honestly was reselling us for us very, very cheaply. And and then all of a sudden that gets picked up. And what we see and you kinda see this in your report, the brands after it gets picked up on resale and it and you see the resale prices going up and up and up because that item is becoming more popular, then the re then the brands will reissue that very item. And and then kind of a new twist on that on that very style. And then that that raises the value of the entire brand including that piece. And we see that we see that over and over again, and we've seen that this year in particular, several styles that kinda have that resurgence, which is just so cool. And again, I I really do believe that's driven by that younger consumer who really has the appetite to be digging through our our pets. Are it's it's so, you know, we have, at any given time, forty thousand items on our site and eighty one percent is unique. That's a lot of product to be digging through and they're able to really find these gems that are just unique and and maybe hit a tone in twenty twenty Well, I think it's also their form of expression. So a couple things like with Gen Alpha being able to, you know, seek out brands that help express their form of identity and their, you know, style expression is really important to them. And then on the flip side, you You know, for for brands, it's so great that there's this opportunity for this entry point, right, for this new generation to get to You know, hold a Chanel bag for the first time or wear those shoes or have, you know, have that accessory. Exactly. And I I think you really nailed it there because the reality that's so interesting is that like, for that younger that younger shopper, that Gen Alpha, and and honestly, z, they don't wanna wear what everybody else is wearing. Like, so the hot thing that just came out that everybody's wanting is kinda not necessarily what they're wanting to get to be to be caring. They're wanting to show up in the party in something totally unique. You know, and and that that people are gonna say, where did you get that? What is that? What am I looking at? So it's really it really and then and then they tend to be the ones, again, who are more technically savvy and and who have that that, you know, the stamp to go through and dig through, you know, the you know, the all of the listings and find those truly unique pieces that are special that is that are like really only not reselling well because they, you know, because they've been forgotten. Because You know, it's a great shape and it's actually so old that sometimes that it's actually become a a more familiar and and and a style that's more adjacent to something that's more current. So I think you're right on that fact that, you know, they wanna be unique. And how do you do that? How do you wear something that nobody's wearing? You either buy something totally, like, off the runway or you or you buy something that's vintage. Yeah. Well, speaking of vintage, I wanna go over to your book, The Book of Iconic Bags, right? Because we also recently launched The Book of Iconic Bags book and talk I mean, you clearly when you talk, there is no question about your passion when it comes to this. What a thrill. And tell us why. Like, why was it important for you as a brand to document the the handbag's cultural significance in this way? I mean Honestly, it's almost like just been frustrating this entire time. You say twenty five iconic bags. It's like been twenty five plus years that we've been doing this. It's just kind of the perfect moment because this is not an exaggeration. I'm not just saying this. Every day, I I see things that come in here, and I'm just like, that is so cool. What and it's something that's so special. Like, when did they make that tiny little version of that bag? Or when did they do you know? And and so much we see so much coming in here that is so special. And so normally, it literally goes From like, my closet to Fashionphile to your closet, and it's kind of like a hidden thing. And and for so many years, I said, I would love to be able to to showcase. We and obviously, we tried this with social media, and we tried this with Just, you know, putting out little spotlights on our website and, you know, in our academy or blog to put a spotlight on these items. But we're like, you know what? We really need to. And so it's kind of been like an obvious thing we've been talking about for decades. The fact that these books really need to have, you know, to be to be given a spotlight and a focus and and the word iconic is just thrown around a lot. Yeah. Sometimes it's like, no, that's actually not iconic. And so what is iconic? And I was like, it Just define that for us, please. Yeah. We can talk about it. We can talk about it. Because iconic truly is timeless. Like that is if you're if you're talking about a true icon, a representative of that brand for all times. It's not something that will will fade. You know? Hello? All the time. I'll talk to folks in the press or just on social people ask or are very curious about what is the hottest bag you're selling right now? And they want to hear about some trendy new bag that's like the new the new, you know, it bag. And at the end of the day It's gonna be those iconic shapes or the ones we sell the most of at any given time, and they're the Louis Vuitton Speedy. I say that to you, and you know that shake. It pops into your head. But there have been, like, seventy five variations so many variations of that particular bag over the years. And so let's talk about that, and let's talk about, like, some of these variations, and let's talk about let's see the picture of Audrey Hepburn carrying that bag back in the days, looking like just you know, a princess. She's just amazing. And the fact that that bag is still cool today, it's it's really when you think about the trend cycles, think of the trend cycles today. They last like a hot minute and they're over. You know what I mean? But the fact that these shapes we're talking about literally were created in the fifties or sixties, and they are still popular in hot sellers today, How do you even do that? You know I mean? Because the shape of the Louis Vuitton Speedy is exactly the same. You'll think about there'll be cars like a Mustang or something or something that's like, you know, Corvette. It's like, yeah. Those core those cars have been popular for a long time. There's different styles. But it's not like the same body styles is is popular. That original is gone. Put to bed and not used again. And I was saying this is the exact same shape that has been cool since the time when when Audrey Hepburn is carrying it, when celebrities today are still carrying that same bag and oftentimes in different textiles or and some classic. Yeah. Well well, just to circle in on that, you know, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, they often come out as those cross generational anchors in resale. I what do you think gives these houses their enduring power and resonance? They understand the value of their own brand. And so they're very concerned at all times. I love it. It sometimes is difficult in resale because, you know, they're so protective of their brand. They're so protective of distribution and how it how that brand looks in different spaces. And there was a Cartier lawsuit a while ago. They sued ten something years ago. They sued an, you know, a a reseller. And at the end of the day, one of the issues in the lawsuit was just that the brand was making them look bad. You know? That Cartier cares about the packaging and presentation and of these beautiful bags and that the way that this reseller was presenting themselves was just bad for the brand. That was just a part of the and and so you think about, like, how many years, You know, they don't distribute it. I mean, they could they could be selling everywhere. They, you know, they are very careful about what department stores they even will partner up with and and allow to sell their product. Even even Chanel beauty isn't available at Uber. They're very particular about what and so why do they care about that distribution? They care about the distribution because it's they care about their brand representation over time, and so they're just very protective of it. And at the end of the day, I think they make decisions based on if we do this thing, will it hurt that, you know, the reputation of that that brand, even that style. And so things like the fact that the Louis Vuitton Speedy, the the Chanel flap, those items never go on sale. It's never like black Friday. Good luck. You're not there's not a sale with that. And so, like, why are they doing that? Because they're saying, why would this ever go on sales? This is not the you know? And and I think that says a lot about the brand of that brand value and it really helps that item to. In fact, the opposite is true, as you know, which is that that Louis Vuitton Speedy or that Chanel classic flap is not going on sale ever, and in fact, it will one hundred percent be raised in price this year. At At least one. At least one. The price of that item is gonna go up this year. What does that say about that item? What is the brand saying about this? And the fact that the that that item can handle the pricing. That it's not like people stop buying it when that happens. Yeah. Buy it becomes Exactly. You know, power. Speaking of staying power, there's a few things that Fashionphile's doing, I think, to establish its own staying power, partnerships, cultural influence, new offerings, innovation. Talk to us a little bit about Nicole Richey and a brand ambassador that brings nostalgia, sustainability, advocacy, cultural relevance, kind of all at once. You know? Yeah. What makes her the right fit for this moment in Fashion Files journey? I mean, I hope this is just like, It makes my heart, like, so happy because whenever people talk to us about Nicole Richie, they're like, that makes all the sense. I mean, she's so she's so just effortlessly cool. She's so effortlessly cool and she is a true fan of the products that we sell. And she's also a true fan of vintage. And then and then some of the best shapes and the best styles that we love that are today by Gen Z and Gen Alpha considered vintage, She was the one who made them cool back when they first came out. And so it's the motor like, Bounciaga, the whole, like, motorcycle bag has got, like, a whole, like, comeback. She did that on the first round. She was the it girl who, like, made that cool. And so, I mean, I when we think about, you know, at Fashionphile, we try to our our, like, vision that we have, like, up on our board or whatever is that we're we're building the best brand that buying and selling luxury in the world. We're trying to be buy build the best brand doing what we're doing. We're not trying to build the best company, resale company. There's a lot of great resale companies out there, but we know that our customers, people who love what we sell and what we buy, they love brands. They wanna they want make it loyal to your brand, and they'll they'll fall in love with the brand, and they'll stick with that brand. And so we said, we wanna build a brand that, you know, that people wanna stick with. And one thing that luxury brands do is luxury brands have have spokespeople. They've got, like, their ambassador for the season. They'll have their for the season. And we said, we should have that too. And then how can we make sure and not just, like, get who we can get, but then we will have partners that make sense for our brand. And Nicole Richie is, like, just so perfect for all of those reasons that I said. Not only is she like, you know, just as cool today, if not cooler than she was back in the day, but the fact that she legitimately made some of those most popular bags that are having a comeback today, she made them cool in the first place. And then, you you know, and then she's now our our ambassador. It's truly like a dream come true. Yeah. I mean, I just wanna hang out with her. So let's just get put that on the record just in case. Like, she's so cool. Yeah. I mean, it's so it's so awesome because we're able to, like, in the we talk about some of her, you know, those bags, and this the book. There it is. We need to see that book. Oh, that's a beautiful so cool. Yeah. I need that on my coffee table. I love it. Like, if you look at you know, in this book, Nicole Richey is like, these are the bags that she was carrying. Bags that she made made popular. And so it's like, when you get a her photo as the original, and yet her photo today, because it's also like just as cool. It just is like a perfect, you know I don't know. It's a full full circle and it with Passionfile, like, circularity is so important, so it's so authentic. So I love it. Yeah. Well, you're doing a lot of innovative things. I mean, there's a there's, like, partnering with Nicole Richie. It's putting out that book and you also just launched your investment protection collection, starting with the new the renew bag cleaning kit. Yeah. You know, obviously, you've been in this for a couple decades now, and so you really understand the consumer and what they need. Tell us a little bit about this new offering and why it's an important extension to your brand. I mean, it's honestly, it's almost out of necessity and that people will constantly, daily, DM, message, call us and say, help. I got a pen mark on my bag. What can I do? You know? And and we consider everything that we sell as an investment. Meaning, some of the items we that you buy from us, you could literally hold on to and sell for more money later down the road. But everything you buy from us will be worth something eventually should you need or want to sell it. And so you wanna protect that investment. And every day we get phone calls for saying, I don't know what to to put on. You know, I want to clean or condition a leather Chanel flap lambskin. That lambskin is delicate. And think about if you moisturize your face for ten years, you know, what would the horror. Well, can I just tell you that? Because I was at a talk yesterday at a conference, and Sunny from The View was on. And we didn't realize that one of the host on it is eighty two years old. The whole audience was like, what? And she was like, because she moisturizes every day. Right. And and literally, she is doing to her face and the results of that face, that literally happens. We sell see this in a Chanel flap where the quilting kinda, like, wilts. Yeah. They kinda don't a little honestly because many of the flaps we have are ten plus years my own Chanel flap that I carry every day is over ten years old. You can't tell because I keep care of it. And so there's things you can do to protect your your prod those props you're that you're buying from us, and people want to know. And so we're basically said to ourselves, if there's something you need to protect your investment, we should be a one stop shop. People are every day asking us where do we go? We should be able to just offer it to them. And it's clear that it's me. So it's really exciting because this isn't like hard for us because we every single day, we we clean and condition and have a full restoration department fashion file. We know the products to use. We use products we have developed ourselves. Developing new products for our own internal purposes, So why not share those? I love that. And just make it that extension easy. But I also think there's so many different ways a consumer is thinking of your company as a partner to them when it comes to resale, not just a company that's selling them products. They're trusting your curation. You know, you're writing this book, so you're understanding their expertise in this. Now you're giving them things to elongate the lifetime of their products. So I think it's really smart. And you also Parkland West, right? Your private jewelry label feels like a bold but natural extension as well. How do you envision that complementing your core business in luxury resale? Yeah. Well, Parker West is our estate jewelry brand, and the way that we look at that is that every day, we are we are in a literally amazing closets. We're in one of our our you know, PCR, private client relations team members in New York was at this one of our clients' homes who owns an entire townhouse next to their townhouse because that's their closet. They've often I mean, let's talk about this. I need pictures. You know, it's it's mind blowing. In those same closets we want to buy, we only buy, like, a hundred brands across the handbag, fine jewelry, watch categories. But we go into these people's closets and they have amazing jewelry that is unbranded or from brands that are tiny little brands that are not recognizable. At but they're truly exceptional pieces. You know, amazing stones and the most precious metals. And honestly, it's very difficult for to shop resale in the cat and estate jewelry because it's there is so much of it, and it's literally I hate to use this word. This the our our fine jewelry department will kill me for saying this, but it's like a bottom pit. If it's say jewelry, when you look at just like, go to eBay, go to any of your favorite resale shops that that sell unbranded, and it's just very difficult to shop. And so we said at Fashionphile, we're gonna do the same thing we do with our luxury brands with Tiffany and Cartier and Harry Winston, and we're gonna create an estate brand called Parker West, and we are going to do what we do with luxury across Fashionphile already and just curate the best pieces, the best truly exceptional stones and really interesting pieces and so that we can fill out, know, fill this this need that people have. Number one, the service that we go into this person's house and she's like, well, I've got this amazing tennis bracelet or this, you know, this diamond choker, and it's not Cartier. And we're like, well, okay. We don't take it, but maybe we should. You know? And so now we do accept it. And then for the customer, he was saying, yeah. I don't actually, I want a truly exceptional luxury piece to wear to my wedding, and it gets cardy and it's a pain. But if you've got something else special that's platinum and diamond and and fits the bill, then, like, let me look at that too. And so that's what Perver and West does is, like, go to the best closets, curate the best collection, make it easy to shop a state like it's never been before. So we're really excited about it. Like I'm just sitting here wanting to shop, so we're just going to talk about that, and I feel like I'm embracing jewelry more in my life, too. So I love this. Well, let's switch over to omnichannel growth in your future, right? Twenty twenty four marked like your most profitable year, sixty percent of the growth attributed to physical retail and wholesale. You know, what is driving the appetite you think for in person resale? Right? You talked about Gen Z, well, they will treasure hunt and they will find that thing and you have robust catalog that they want access to, but you're also seeing tremendous growth from physical. So can you talk a little bit about that? And then also, you're opening a flagship authentication center and store in LA. Did that open, Adi? No. It's that it's yeah. October. It's opening. October. Which is, like, already here almost. Yes. Exactly. So, you know, the whole thing is interesting because a lot of times when I talk to people, I mean, retail is the opposite of dead, just FYI. Like, I cannot foot traffic in the centers we're in. And, you talk about the growth that we're already seeing in not only retail when we look at our stores that are in, like, shopping centers and things like that, but in our flagship, I'm in an authentication center right now in San Diego. Okay. In the front of our authentication center, we have a beautiful store, which is we're in the middle of an industrial park. We're not in a popular shopping retail destination nor are we in a luxury epicenter in Carlsbad. But the foot traffic we get and the sales in this one particular location alone, it's really incredible. I think there's a huge appetite especially in luxury where some people just wanna try it on. They just wanna put it on their shoulder. They wanna see how it sits cross body. They wanna see if their phone is gonna fit in that zipper. They want to see what the hairline scratches look like. And it's hilarious because sometimes I think when I tell people these stories, they imagine these are little old people who haven't, like, gotten with the times and are shopping online. But the truth is young people love in store shopping. Like, my kid's favorite store is a store called Second Street, which I actually really love that story. There There's thousands of it's a little thrift store. It's a little it's from Japan, so it's very cool. They're all over the country. But kids loved to go to go to, you know, shopping in thrift stores, consignment stores, all that. Gen Gen Alpha and Gen z, they are shopping physical retail, especially pre owned, I would say more than online. I put it out there to say, they're shopping online, but I would put money on, and I've I'm not seeing the research yet to come out. But I think when you say, where are they finding they want a Buffalo Exchange. They want all these little cute, cool presale shops, and they're shopping online. And so why would we give up? Why would we not participate and be where they are? We want to be all of the above. So if you wanna be shopping in your pajamas at, you know, seven PM on a Sunday night, cool. We're here for you. And if that's the only way you love to shop, great. But for so many people now who shop because they like, they prefer it that way, some people shop that way because it's entertainment. It's like, I've been working all day. I've got nothing to do on the weekend. Let's go hit some stores. Like, great. But the people who just want it like, they're that are saying, hey, listen. You know what? Two thousand dollars may be not a lot of money for the Birkin people out there, but it's a lot of money to me. I wanna see it in real life. This is my one you know, they want to actually see it. And so we want to be there for them. So we're really trying to be in every market that we can, and give people the possibility. It's strange. We literally have customers. We have, again, massive inventory online. All of our inventory. The inventory that we have sitting in our Carlsbad store. We have a small we have this is our this is our authentication store. We also store in Carlsbad. Or in our Irvine store. Those that inventory is online. You could buy it from home. You don't have to go into that store. But we have customers who know us, who come back. I mean, I like to go in person. I like the treasure hunt of it. Wanna try it on, you know, and because it's a one of a kind and it's resale too, for me, I have to with the fit. And, you know, there's certain brands you know more than others. But there's the fun of that, and there's the community aspect of that too, and I think, you know, especially this younger generation that's craving that because they're so living life behind the screen. I think it's a fun way of discovery together, but as you look at the future, you know, where do you see the biggest opportunities for innovation in luxury retail? You know, is it is it the evolution of the store? Is it technology? Is it global expansion, consumer education, a mix of it? Yeah. I think we've seen we are nowhere we haven't seen, you know, anything yet as far as what true omnichannel will look like in the future. We're getting there, and some some people are better than others. But the ability again to seamlessly interact across all the different channels. You know, I had the experience of You know, I went into a Uniqlo store, which you know, and and I love the experience where you just like got some little like t shirts to go under, you know jackets and stuff like that. Just little plain t shirts. And the experience like so easy. You throw those things in that little magical, you know, whatever, space on the counter, and it's ringing it up with Some magical, like, online technology that's that's ringing it up and taking the sensors turning off the sensors and tallies it up, and it's a totally seamless experience of no sales associate involved. And then I realized as I left that one of the sizes I got was wrong. I just left. I went back in. And the and the the ability to make that return exchange, just size for size, was so annoying and so long. Like, they thought through that first process so easily, and then just a simple return was actually kind of a nightmare and to And so I'd say part, decanged or estimate that. We're all learning, like, and how could that experience be better and what you know, and so at Fashion Pal, we do the same thing. It's like, how can we make sure that people that are shopping with us online or in store are shopping with us online almost always in one way or the other, even if it's just the fact that they're coming into our store and they have shopped online. This is strange, but literally people will come into our store. Some people for whatever reason want a sales associate to help them through the process, and they'll have done the research and they'll have pulled like five items, and then they're gonna come in and they wanna talk it through with the sales associate. That gives me a second opinion. Again, this is not just a twenty dollar purchase. Our average sale price is two thousand dollars. And so some people just want a second opinion, want to know a little bit more. A lot of people want extra photos. We have an entire team here that's just there saying, if people want an extra measurement, if people need an extra photo, if people want a video, we need to be there to produce that. Absolutely. It's luxury. It's a luxury experience at the end of the day, and it has to be. It's like that book I have it here. Unreasonable hospitality. I mean, I think you have to have that mindset. Absolutely. Is that convenient? No. It's not convenient at all. But, like, for the shoppers who's finding us from and following us from Biloxi, Mississippi, she may never get the opportunity to come into one of our stores or our flagships. How can we what can we do to give her the same level of service that we do online that we do in store? And that's one of the ways. You're gonna be able to talk through this is a crazy stat, Melissa. It's and and we've really tried to learn a lot more, but for every perch one out of every two purchases. It comes from fashionable. Somebody reaches out to a fashionable team member for one part of it. One out of every purchases, which is wild. That is so much. And a lot of companies are saying, we don't want you to reach out, so how do we minimize that? What can we do to minimize that? That's the worst experience. I have to go to chat, and nobody's online, and then they're not gonna mess with me back. Don't know if they are. It is the but I think that you're what you're talking about is value. You know, people are going to you and they're paying for more than just a product, they're paying for the value that you're providing them. If they know that they're looking at three bags and they're like, I really like this, but it says there's hairline scratches and I can't really see, and they know that you can make a phone call and within minutes, we're gonna send them a video in the front of those hairline scratches. Honestly, that person becomes so loyal. They tell their friends and they're going nowhere else. And so it's like that is a luxury experience. And so I love that whole idea of like know, what we're talking about, we're not talking about trying to build the most inefficient efficiencies across the board. We're saying, how can we create and elevate this experience so that the customer is really getting the best service level they can? At of the day, we really are know, a service company. We're providing the service of of, you know, helping people to sell the beautiful investments they made over time and then helping other people to make those purchases which is not as easy when you're shopping for luxury and especially not for resale luxury. Yep. No. Absolutely. Well, I'm gonna think that you've clearly shown your passion, your expertise in all of this and how you're so forward thinking about Fashionphile and, you know, your consumer and, you know, the longevity and continuous evolution, right, of your company in this space of resale and being a leader in that. And so before we wrap up, I'm gonna ask you a few rapid fire questions. Number one, do you dress from the top down or from the bottom up when you pick your pieces? The thing is, I kinda do a mix because I like always like having one really like special item. So if I've got I've got some I love a long skirt. And so I have some really cool, interesting long skirts. And if I have like something that's like, woah, that's a that's a lot of pleats and that's a really interesting bubble or something, then I'll keep the top really slim and really simple. Like a, you know, and so I kind of like but if I've got like this where I've got like a high collar and a lot of work where I'm the bottom, it's gonna be very understated. So I kind of mix it up, but it's always, like, based on, oh, I feel like wearing that, like, cool thing, and it's always like kind of attention grabber, and I'll keep the other piece moderate. Modest, simple. Yeah. Okay. I love that. And then, I mean, you are so well versed in every brand and luxury that exists. What are your top go to on a personal level? I mean, I love Chanel. I I mean, I guess it's just I hate to even say this because it's like so it's like what you're You're gonna you what you would tell what you would guess. So I hate to be so predictable. But I'm a true fan of the heritage and the history and the story. And you really can't beat, like, the Chanel, the Louis Vuitton, and Hermes for all of that. The fact that literally all three of those brands, and it's really hardly, there's not very many other brands from that category where their true iconic styles just don't ever go down in in resell price. Like that is so interesting and like really should be studied by brand builders in every category. You know? And so I'm and so I I support those brands personally as a shopper, but I also just love studying like how they've done that, you know. And really looking at how they've been able to, you know, partner with interesting people. You know, I think Louis Vuitton's partnership with Marc Jacobs in the, you know, in the nineties, That was revolutionary. Changed handbag culture for all the brands. And then Chanel working with, you know, interesting creators like, you know, Frel Williams or something that's kinda like out of the box at the time seemed very interesting and and really keeps it modern. So this is my top three. I love it. Well, I appreciate you sharing all of that with us. And then my last rapid fire question, if you could pick a word. How would you describe it could be three. How would you describe that feeling you feel when you have just that right outfit on? Like, what's the one what's the one way you would describe that feeling you have? I do feel like What you wear can be like an armor. In that, I just feel confident And and so from right at the bat, what you don't want, and we've all had this feeling, is you show up something somewhere and you're wearing something that does the opposite. Yeah. You've all put something on and you're like, why did I why am I wearing this? I feel like feels like this is not because it evokes a mood, know, and for whatever reason, we all know that feeling. And there's the opposite where I need to. We all have moments of where our confidence is lacking or we just wanna really put our best foot forward and we need time to be ready to to to step forward in a way that is, you know, we're presenting our best selves and that we feel sharp and, you know, like, we're, again, like, we are representing who we are from a strong position. I find that that I and I think it's part of maturity. Like, I know my style and I know I know now. There's certain things I know I just I'm not doing that. Like, because that if I try to wear that other thing, there's a certain length of like I said, I love a long skirt. There's a certain length of skirt. No. If I put it on, it's just that length of skirt is not for me. And other people can whatever. And for me, I know right now, I'm gonna the whole day, I'm like, why am I wearing this? Heaven forbid, it's like on video. And I'm just like, oh my gosh. You know, I just Yeah. Not and then, oh man, a long pencil. I could rule the world in that thing, you know, like I love it. I feel so great and yeah. I love that. It's true. It evokes such energy when you're in those pieces that that's why they're investments too, not just for the resell part of it, but for what I think it brings you as an individual. But thank you so much for spending the time with us today, Sarah. I think, you know, your passion, like I've said a couple times during this segment, is so evident, and I love to see what you continue to do, the evolution you've made since nineteen ninety nine as an eBay storefront to today with physical locations and, you know, being a leader when it comes to buying and selling ultra luxury handbags and accessories across the country and an office in Tokyo. So thank you so much for being on. Again, everybody, this is Sarah Davis. She's the founder and president of Fashionphile. And so, you know, whether it's online or in store, you need to check the brand out if you haven't yet. Thank you so much also for having me, for thanking Amace. Appreciate it.