Bonobos vs. ebay – Store Wars Rd. #1

STORE WARS: Bonobos vs. ebay

Starting March 17th and running through April 7th, Dappered.com is hosting a bracket based tournament with the purpose of eventually crowning the all around Affordable Men’s Style Retail Champ for 2014.  For a full introduction see this post. The bracket on the right will be updated as the tournament progresses. Click on it for the full size. Make a case for your preferred competitor in the comments section, but don’t forget to vote at the bottom of each match up. On with today’s showdown:

 

Strengths: Their brand. They somehow balance having a passion for their clothes and customers, yet don’t take the entire #menswear thing so seriously. They really seem to genuinely have fun. Customer service Ninjas are incredible. They built a business around pants, and to plenty, their pants really do fit better (especially in the seat). Their travel jeans are awesome. Oxford cloth pants in the summer are as comfortable as it gets. Their expansion into suits, shirts, blazers, and carrying 3rd party merchandise has been well executed. After a code-drought, it seems like they’ve started to run extra % off sale items codes every so often. (Although it seems like they haven’t done much discounting to start 2014?)

Weaknesses: Prices. They seem pretty high. $88 for a pair of their flagship, washed cotton chinos is just not something most of us are going to be willing to spend, when there are much cheaper alternatives. And they’re now in the $1000 suit game? Good gravy. Suit jackets & blazer tails can seem short… if not chopped to many. Return and Shipping policies have been unstable as of late.

 

Strengths: Panning for style gold in the river that is the internet. The world’s a big place, and someone, somewhere, is always looking to unload a lightly used piece or pair of awesome for a ridiculously low price. It’s just a matter of finding it. A favorite destination for many shoe addicts, looking to grab a pair of Allen Edmonds (or even super high luxury brands) for cheap. A place to go to find truly unique vintage finds. Also a great place to go to SELL off your no longer loved stuff, in order to fund a new addition to your wardrobe.

Weaknesses: Y’know… ebay just hasn’t been all that great for a lot of us. Many of us have tried. And tried. And tried and tried and tried and CONTINUE to strike out. Ebay almost seems too big. There are so many sellers that you’ve really got to be on top of who you’re dealing with and assessing risk (like, is the item counterfeit?). There’s also so many buyers, that many items can quickly get bid to sky high prices. When it comes to shoes, the previous owner’s feet might have embedded his own contours onto the insole, causing discomfort to the new wearer.

Your votes determine who goes on to the next round.  Cast your ballot below.  Voting closes at midnight ET.