Donated Jacket Fetches £2.5k on eBay and Funds Life Saving Missions

When we receive preloved donations, we make sure that items are sold in the most appropriate places to maximise their worth. This is why some items are sold on our online channels such as eBay or Amazon, as the platforms generate more vital donations than a one-off price tag.

A recent donation showed that appearances can be deceiving when it comes to knowing quality. Received by our Oakham Store in the county of Rutland, a vintage Aviakit Lewis leather jacket didn’t appear to be in the best condition. However, our store manager passed it on to our eCommerce Team who photographed and advertised on eBay and the immediate interest revealed this was a unique item.

The item was listed with a starting bid of £12.99, but within the first few days the bids grew up to over £1000, and it was obvious that, despite its condition, this women’s jacket was sought after. Whilst the list was live, our Ecommerce Team were inundated with emails with offers and information that this jacket was incredibly rare.

When the auction ended, the jacket had reached over £2,500 and is one of the biggest eBay buys we’ve seen in recent times.

After reviewing the jacket and its origins, it appears that Lewis Leather are the oldest motorcyle clothing company and was the first UK company to dye leather to create a unique look and style that has subsequently been adopted by other manufacturers.

We’d love to thank the supporter who donated this item, our store for passing it on to our eCommerce team and finally the buyer of the jacket whose purchase has helped fund one of our daily missions and more.

If you think you have items that could help support our life saving services, then you can donate through the following;

• Pop into your local store
• Drop off at one of our hundreds of recycling banks
• Post your donations to us for free
• Arrange a collection with our door-to-door service
• Request a collection bag which is collected in local regions