let's talk vintage - Veda House Veda House

DISCLAIMER: This post wasn’t written to be a stab at any vintage sellers out there and it really isn’t intended to stir things up. My intention was to propose a conversational topic that people in my blogging community could chit chat about…because we’re all friends and share similar interests, right?? (this might be a lengthy post)

Actually two articles got me think. Read through them and I’d love for you to share your thoughts.

What All Vintage Clothing Sellers Should Know (an eBay Review)
Far too often new vintage clothing sellers enter into the vintage board with questions about how to sell and in particularly how to source vintage items. It’s not the questions that are unfortunate, it’s the replies that never cease to amaze me. Most responders politely reply that it’s a secret, many years of sourcing and building contacts and no one in their right mind would divulge their secrets to potential competition. Many others are not nearly so polite.

If you were to lurk on the boards long enough you’d see, as I have, that these questions are repeated like clockwork every few months. This guide is to dispel that myth and will probably annoy many vintage sellers but it’s necessary. It’s not my goal to annoy anyone, but it’s counterproductive to not educate potential vintage sellers. Every day mass produced copies of once rare vintage items are rolling onto docks across the world. Vintage sellers need to be educated about what they are selling or the entire market suffers. Buyers lose trust in the very term vintage and before you know it, selling vintage for a living becomes less and less a viable option.

Just about everyone wears clothes so finding vintage is far from a mystery. All it takes is knowledge, a willingness to learn from your mistakes and an outgoing personality helps. A vicious rumor has started in the vintage world, propagated on fashionista blogs, that vintage sellers simply head to the local Goodwill store, buys mounds of great clothes and jack up the price on eBay. They’ve made it sound simple, like anyone can just go and grab a handful of dress and make $2,000+ a month selling clothes from their living room.

Far too many potential sellers believe this and jump right in head first, last few dollars in hand, hoping this will be the way they finally make money on eBay. Yet another reason why the market is slowly collapsing. JUST BECAUSE A DRESS IS OLD DOESN’T MEAN IT’S VINTAGE!!!
Keep Reading this beauty–>

Why do I care? Why did I post this?
I’m a lover of most things old (I like to called them previously loved) and my collection of previously owned items is constantly growing. I value my collection because each piece was hunted down over a period of time. My knowledge of what makes something “vintage” is evolving and I’m learning little nuggets of information from all of you. Sometime in the near future I hope to own my own online business where I can extend my love for vintage/old items into the digital space and share my love with my readers. Before I take that leap I thought it was important to be knowledgeable about what classifies something and in turn, what kind of price tag you can put on something.

I thought this article was perfect in stating the facts. Having a vintage store on etsy is becoming a growing trend and I think a lot of people are jumping in without being educated. I would love the value of vintage to withstand the current trends, so we all need to be aware of what are treasures are really worth.

Here’s what I really want to know:
Where are vintage sellers sourcing their vintage? And how are vintage sellers determining the value of their product (price of product)?

I know I’m not going to get a single person talking about where they get their vintage items. There is a secrecy attached to this business. Its a no boys allowed type of thing. So if you’re brave. Spill the beans and educate us. True vintage sourcing takes LOTS time. I hear sellers of true vintage say they been pounding the pavements for years looking for the next best item. Curious what everyone has to say.

Alright, I’m signing off and leaving the “forum” open. Speak your mind and lets talk vintage/old pretty things!!!

I also thought this would be the perfect time to mention that I’ve got a lot of great vintage blogs in my Daily Reads link above. Check out those lovely ladies and buy their gorgeous products from their shops! (who cares if it’s real vintage or not)

9 comments on “let's talk vintage”

I prefer etsy over eBay for vintage items, there are typically more pictures and more information, and I find it easier to contact the seller directly with questions. That said, prices are usually higher then eBay. Give and take!
Anyway, I appreciated this post, the question “Where do they get this stuff?” has crossed my mind!

Good questions/thoughts!
I don’t do a ton of vintage clothes shopping but my boyfriend and I both love vintage housewares, I especially go crazy for pyrex. We shop a lot of estate sales, making contacts with estate sale organizers. We stop at thrift and community stores in small towns along road trips. I find most goodwills to be pretty picked through as far as vintage, most of what you find is just old, not really classic, but occasionally you find a gem.

We do a lot of reading, exploring of vintage blogs and shops. Just like most things, the only secret is lots of hard work and experience, which of course no one wants to just give up the details on! I bet if someone wrote a book on the subject it would sell like hotcakes!

We just watched “Please Give” on Netflix, which I would sort of recommend for its funny perspective on the ethics of buying vintage and marking up the price!

This is excellent.

I run a small etsy vintage shop, but am mostly trying to clear out my inventory because I don’t want to do it anymore.

Anyway here is me spilling the beans, about my little knowledge of the industry.

Like Meghan, I mostly scour thrift stores, garage sales, and estate sales. Estate sales tend to be the best source, because it’s usually clothing that the grandma had held onto.

But most of the time I got my items from thrift stores. I know, it sounds shady, and a bit cruel, buy a dress for 3 bucks and sell it for $15…. It was hard work though, and I had to spend hours hitting up all the thrift stores in my area, sometimes coming home empty handed. Thrift stores tend to carry a lot of stuff from the 70s and 80s. The occasional 50’s and 60’s item was found, and those were a real treat. One thing that really helped me was that I read up on vintage styles and eras, I also started to learn which brands came around which years, and what types of prints and materials were common during certain eras. As far as I know, all of the items I sold were true vintage.

I keep my prices REALLY low compared to a LOT of etsy sellers. I just don’t think people should have to pay more for something use than something new. Especially when they could go to thrift store themselves and dig and find something for a lot cheaper.

My prices ranged from 3-20 dollars, and I found really nice items in mint condition. It’s crazy to me to see people selling really ugly items in okay condition for large dollar amounts! One thing that made me different as a seller is that finding vintage clothing is more a hobby to me than a business, and so I started selling vintage because I had so much that I wasn’t wearing.

I’m not sure how others price their clothing, especially when I, like you, are not even sure if it’s true vintage, or just old. I think there are a lot of people who have learned to make money off selling non vintage, old clothing. Sadly.

I completely agree with you on the just because it’s old doesn’t make it vintage. Have you ever been to the regretsy blog? It’s pretty funny, it pokes fun at some of the ridiculous things people are selling.

Anyway, I hope this helps, I really like this article. Sometimes I wish there were regulation on the items that were sold on Etsy, but I guess the buyer just has to find out for themselves!

I could probably go great lengths about this, right along side with your views. You make some very good points about what people should be aware of…

With that said, I opened my shop in may ’09 with the intent to start selling vintage items right away. Bbut after a few sales followed by a few headaches I started rethinking things and stepped back from the store and put things on hold. A year later in March ’10 i opened my shop doors again with much more knowledge of what I wanted to sell and how to approach things. In the break time between things I gathered a bunch of books, articles, looked at shops locally and online, read blogs and pretty much gathered whatever I could get my hands on. The books gathered were for my personal referencing. They contain knowledge of products, which has lend to be very beneficial to me. I don’t want to over kill things and jack up prices in my shop, so I referenced the books and sometimes the web which have photos of items when first manufactured, prices when sold new, and other useful info, etc.

Now the pricing concern; like you mentioned… this has always been and issue for me. Sometimes I have amazing luck while thrifting and other times not so much, so i have to hit an antique (more $) mall to find items. So for me I have my own system for pricing. My system and my prices in the shop are reflected around this, and honestly, I really don’t profit to much on items I sell. The idea of people charging so much for something that’s worth pennies just puts a pit in my stomach. Some people sell high to make a huge profit. Money should be their middle name if not their first. these people don’t even consider what the item is. I’ve noticed this A LOT on ebay lately.The items I love selling in my shop are going for ridiculous amounts on there and it makes me sad to even think people will pay this much. I would never mention names but I saw an enamel bowl recently sell for $250. Are you kidding me! I know what it’s worth and no way is it worth that much! I had the same one sell from my shop months back at 65 which I even considered at the time may have been to high. ok now that I’ve rambled away. I’ll just close with things which have helped me….

1. know what you’re selling and do some research.
2. price accordingly. charging high to make big bucks is not cool people! (sadly these people know who they are)
3. when in doubt chat with other vintage sellers you trust. 95% of them are willing to help you out, you just need to ask.
4. really know what you are bidding on if you must use ebay. refer to step 1. researching items first. just so you’re not breaking the bank for a knock off or over priced item.

p.s. this is all my own opinion so take it with a grain of salt if you must and i hopefully i didn’t offend anyone

That vintage piece on the hanger was a great find!

wow, what a great post!
What we’ve learned is there is no ‘proper’ definition of vintage. Our personal rule of thumb is that the item must be at the very least 20+ years old. One thing to remember is that everyone has different tastes. One buyer might love a neon-patterned frock from the ’80’s, but another might hate it and call it non-vintage. We feel its always good to have a range of items, especially if you want to attract a range of buyers. We personally have our favorites, but what we like, might not appeal to someone else.
As far as pricing, it helps to be knowledgeable on what the fair market value is. There are certainly sellers who abuse the ‘vintage’ term and jack up their prices sky high. There are certain housewares and brands that fetch more $ because of their scarcity. And that is where research and experience comes in.
Having owned vintage for years and years, a lot of our inventory is of our own personal collection. The rest we tend to find at estate sales, thrift stores, the trash (yep!), and friends and family members. We have to have a conscience when it comes to pricing. For example, we recently discovered a collectable Disney mug from the ’30’s. We bought it for a ridiculously low price from a thrift store, but people on ebay were selling it for upwards of $75. There was no way in our right minds we could charge that much. But we knew the value of it, and marked it up a comfortable amount and it sold instantly! Probably because it was much much lower than what others were charging, and we still were able to make a profit.
Ultimately as a seller, you do want to make money. Especially if this is what you do for a living. We like to say that we are in between antique store prices (ridiculous) and thrift store prices. It helps to do a cost analysis on everything. We keep track of what we bought it for and what we can sell it for, while including listing fees and labor.
Its certainly true about the thrift stores now marking up ‘vintage’ items. Its ridiculous. They get the items for free.
Oh and Goodwill and Salvation Army can be a great source for vintage but sometimes you really have to dig and dig and be really discerning. (that’s where the labor comes in I guess!)
sorry for the long-winded response and I’m sure we’re repeating what others have said. Everyone is learning, all the time, its a process. Even the most experienced vintage sellers have something to learn. But we think that’s part of the fun.

p.s. sandi d. has some great insight as well!

I myself would never buy vintage from an online shop. For 1, I’ve seen things in many shops that I actually have, and paid next to nothing for b/c i took the time to go out and search for those things. 2, I’d rather support a local business where I can see the items and trust the sellers b/c I can have an actual conversation w/ them. My town has some pretty awesome vintage shops and if I wanted something from an online store, I could prbly find the same thing locally.

Wow, I am really glad I came upon your blog because these things have been floating through my mind all day. I recently visited an awesome thrift store on my visit to my old stomping grounds. I have also learned that most vintage is considered to be 20plus years old. I personally have the dream of owning my own vintage store/handmade clothing boutique. I just don’t really know where to start, but I suppose it is important to understand where to buy the items that you know will be popular and good quality. I’m excited to dig further into all of the great responses to this post! Thanks so much!

I started selling vintage because I would find tons of cool things when I was out thrifting for myself, but knew they wouldn’t work in my wardrobe. But I thought- somebody has GOT to be interested in having this _______ amazing thing. I started selling when I graduated high school 7 years ago, and just marked things how much I would want to pay for it. And it was on eBay, so people could pay as much as they were willing. Sometimes I made a killing, other times a modest profit.

In those 7 years, I’ve certainly improved my photography and styling, and so I’ve felt it fair to increase my prices. It isn’t my main job, and I’m not very good at keeping up with it, so I figure I would price things middle of the road, and if it’s not as high of quality, I will price it cheaper, and in the same respect, if it’s extra special, I price it a bit higher. It does me no harm if something sits in the inventory for a while, and if I’m really itching to get rid of things, I put them on sale. I mean, that’s how the whole retail world works. You price things hoping you can get your ideal price, and if not, you later decrease the price.

I think a lot of Etsy sellers over price their clothing, but I see nothing wrong with that because they have put in lots of time sourcing the clothing, nicely photographing it, and have, in the cases I’m thinking of, dedicating their lives to making this a full-time job. Also, these sellers often advertise on the internet, and so you must consider this in thinking about the prices. These sellers have built up a reputation, and so they have built up the right to charge higher prices. I guarantee if people quit buying them at the higher prices, then you will see the prices go down. It’s a simple matter of supply and demand, I suppose!

Anyways, good thoughts! Figured I’d throw my own into the hat. 🙂

9 comments on “let's talk vintage”

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