By Shivaun Hales

David Jones has declined an offer of e-commerce advice from eBay despite its struggling online retail model.

EBay Australia approached a number of retailers with the offer of improving its online strategies, however David Jones said it was not worth the cost.

A David Jones spokeswoman told The Sydney Morning Herald eBay approached the department store some months ago.

''We looked at the eBay option and decided it was not for us,'' the spokeswoman said.

''We couldn't see the value of teaming up with an aggregator as it only adds additional cost when the aggregator takes its margin.''

eBay Australia managing director Deborah Sharkey said the company contacted David Jones with the option of using eBay to reach a wider market.

''We have openly contacted many of the major retailers offering to help build out their online strategy … and that offer stands,” said Sharkey.

It has also been reported that David Jones declined an offer from Catch of The Day last year, an online retailer that is on its way to reaching a $250 million revenue target in the year to June 2012.

David Jones revealed plans for a $160 million omni-channel strategy last month, which will see the number of items offered online grow from 9,000 to 90,000 by 2013.