Thanks to all who have read this Lilly guide so far!  Don't forget if you like this guide to go to the bottom of this page and rate it as helpful.  If you find it unhelpful, I'd truly appreciate an email explaining why so I can improve it.  Happy eBaying!

The purpose of this guide is to help sellers on eBay list Lilly Pulitzer as easily as possible.  It's meant to be short and (hopefully) sweet.

LP Party Patch Dress, Spring 2001 Season

I got my start on eBay selling a few Lilly items of my own and those I found at a deep discount for resale.  While my business is now focused on selling for others on eBay and involved with a wide variety of brands, I still enjoy buying, selling, and talking about Lilly.  In 2003, I created a Lilly fans thread on eBay's clothing board; it's still going strong and a great resource for selling Lilly:

Lilly C&A Thread

For general information about the history of Lilly and a comprehensive list of the prints and styles names since about 2001, as well as some representative photos, please visit my Me page:

Willow-Wear Lilly Page

Bermuda Bag Covers

Lilly Selling Steps:

1.  Determine whether the Lilly item is vintage (meaning early 1960s to mid 1980s) or modern (meaning 1993 to the present).  You can tell this from the tag; please click on the link to my Lilly Page abvove to see the various vintage and modern tags. 

2.  Try to determine the name of the style and the print or color of your item. Each modern Lilly beginning in about 1997 has a style name and a print or solid color name.  You can check the lists and photos on my Me page; if you can't find what you need, consider posting a question and photo on the Lilly C&A Thread.  Please note that the Lilly experts will not likely be able to provides style, print and color names for styles around 1997 and earlier or for any vintage prints, which had no names.  Above all, since time is money when it comes to listing on eBay, do not get hung up on finding the style, print or color name; if it's not available, just describe the piece to the best of your ability.  For instance if the item has pink or pink and green predominantly in the fabric, list those colors as those are popular with Lilly lovers. 

3.  On sizing, be sure to give measurements in addition to the size as Lilly sizing widely varies.  If you get buyer questions on size, you can refer them to one of the online Lilly Pulitzer stores, such as In the Pink (I'm not allowed to give the link), which have Lilly sizing charts.

4.  To photograph Lilly well for eBay, show at the very least full shot, a close-up of the print and any distinguishing details such as lace decoration or hems, and a photo of the Lilly tag.  Luckily, Lilly is a lot easier to photograph than many other clothing items because of the colorful prints.  I find photos outside in the sunlight look particularly nice. 

5.  Title your item well in the listing.  The title should include Lilly Pulitzer, of course, plus information about the condition of the item, the names of the style, the name of the print or color, and the size. 

Here are some good auction titles with maximized search terms:

NWT $165 Lilly Pulitzer Mango Momma Shift Dress 6 New: 

This is a good title because it includes both NWT and New (some buyers search wth either New or NWT), it gives the size, it gives the retail price (which is impressive if you're offering the dress at a lot less), and, other than the price, it fills the title with terms that Lilly buyers are using to search. 

Vintage The Lilly Pulitzer Hostess Skirt 8 6 4

This is a good title because it includes both Lilly Pulitzer and "The Lilly"(the name on the vintage tag) and the actual vintage size as well as the sizes it may fit today. 

Here are some bad titles:

Lily Pulizter Dress

This one is bad because, besides being boring, it misspells both Lilly and Pulitzer with common misspellings and juxtapositions, there is no size listed, and it fails to fill the title page with the maximum 55 characters of possible search terms. 

Lilly Pulitzer Girls Taboo Spring 2003 Dress Size 6

This one is bad because, while it notes the correct print from Spring 2003, it fails to list the term Elephants in the title (the print has elephants), thus missing an opportunity for elephant stuff collectors to find it, and it fails to list the very-popular-with-Lilly-lovers pink and green colors in the print.  Also, it wastes space with the unlikely to be searched "Spring 2003" and "Size" terms.

Here are some words that are good to use in Lilly titles (when they're merited) and you have enough space to try to draw the buyer in with extra selling words:

Rare, Reversible, Collectible, Maternity

6.  With regard to the best time to sell Lilly on eBay, here are thoughts from eBay user lotsalilly, a super Lilly expert:

     A. Start children's fall clothes in early September (I personally like to start in August).

     B. Start ladies' fall clothes in mid/late September (once the kids are back in school and you can focus   on your own wardrobe!).

     C. Hold cashmere and holiday items until October or early November.

     D. For everything else (warm-weather clothes), sell after Christmas if you must, but the best time is late February or early March to early May. 

     E. Forget about selling in any volume in summer unless you have something fabulous.

7.  Is there fake Lilly?  Yes, but not too much and not in the way you would expect.  As lotsalilly explains, fake Lilly usually uses authentic Lilly fabric.  Some items out there are not authorized and some of the things being sold are factory overruns or are made without the proper licensing etc. and are made on the cheap, missing the quality and finishes that Lilly is known for.

I read in another guide that you should wonder about the authenticity of a Lilly dress on eBay if it is priced way below retail.  That might be the case with Hermes or Louis Vuitton but not with Lilly.  There is tons of it being sold on eBay and sometimes it's just given away or the sheer volume of listings brings the prices down.  That's why it's important to try to sell it as smartly as possible, with the rest entrusted to luck and the mysteries and vagaries of the eBay marketplace!  

I hope you have found this Guide helpful.  Please feel free to email me with ideas for additions and suggestions and any Lilly wisdom. 

LP Sunset Pink Mixed Drinks Cocktail Dress / 2000