How to Start Selling Vintage Clothes Online

Vintage items are typically more valuable because they are rare and hard to find. Read on to learn how to start selling vintage clothes online!

When you think of vintage clothing, you may automatically think of an ancient period or a specific look. The vintage clothing market has become very popular in recent years. There are now vintage shops specializing in vintage clothing, which is a great way to find pieces of clothing that will become classics in your wardrobe. However, what if your new business is starting, or you need more free time to handle other tasks apart from selling in a vintage clothing store?

Continue reading to find out how to get started selling vintage clothes online, pricing strategies, and where to find vintage clothes.

The vintage clothing  market

A panoramic view of Spitalfields Market in London, England.
Date 5 June 2014.Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0

The market for high quality vintage clothing has recently experienced a comeback, especially in recent years. Vintage thrift store clothes have been revived and have a huge following on sites like Etsy, eBay and facebook marketplace. In the United States, vintage thrift shops wear is projected to reach more than 80 billion dollars. The high demand makes it likely to grow beyond the extended rate, making the present the ideal time, to sell your vintage garments full time with vintage wear sales. There are several choices available if you are looking for vintage apparel to start selling vintage pieces online.

Before we get started, let’s clarify some terms to make our journey easier:

●      Vintage

Vintage describes items that are no longer in production, and vintage items are typically more valuable because vintage garments are rare and harder to find. Vintage clothes are clothes sewn 20 to 100 years ago.

●      Retro

Retro clothes are those produced within the past 20 years or recently. The style is characterized by the heavy use of bright colors, bold patterns, and flashy prints. Retro items cannot be regarded as high quality vintage pieces of clothing because they are presumed to be recent.

●      Antique

There is a history behind every antique. Sometimes antiques can be works of art like paintings or sculptures, but they are often made from wood, metal, and glass. Antique clothes are usually more than 100 years old and are often found in museums, vintage shops, thrift shops, estate sales, or at auctions.

How to Get Started Selling Vintage Clothes online through the Internet

Home of the famous antique market.
By Garry Knight (Flickr: Portobello Road) CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

●      Find your niche – How to Get Started Selling Vintage Clothes Online

Finding your specialization is crucial if you want to sell your high quality vintage clothes items full time in an online store and through social media sites like facebook marketplace. There are several methods for doing this. Some people may concentrate on one type of clothing, such as retro or vintage pieces. If you want a broader vintage look, you can concentrate on a particular era, such as the 1920s and similar items. Other niches to sell your vintage clothes can also include:

• Female wear
• Evening wear
• House wear
• Baby wear

At Blue17, we specialize in introducing new ideas to vintage fashion at the lowest thrift store prices in London for retailing and direct buying from a vintage clothing store.

●      Finance your business concept

Blue17 vintage clothing store interior

As an entrepreneur, your business idea is your baby. It’s what makes you happy, and it’s what drives you to work hard full time every day. But you’ll need financing if you want to develop your idea further. To get started started selling with a vintage shop business, you don’t need to be extremely rich, but you need some cash upfront. Your vintage items business idea can be financed in a variety of ways, such as:

• Asking friends and family for money.
• Selling vintage clothing online.
• Taking out a loan from a bank or credit union.
• Starting a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe.
• Starting a Kickstarter campaign.

●      Find vintage clothing to sell online by vintage thrifting.

Second hand thrift store clothing.
Author: MAKY.OREL, CC BY-SA 4.0

Thrifting vintage garments from vintage shops and flea markets is the perfect way to find high quality unique clothing, accessories and similar items at a lower price. Thrift stores are abundant in many cities and towns. Still, it’s always good to shop around and look for deals. If you want to get the best thrift vintage clothing store clothes, here are some tricks to help you figure it out!

• Go often and on good days.
• Have a plan.
• Carefully inspect items before purchasing.

Other sources of vintage clothing sourcing include

• Online marketplaces and classifieds like Craigslist and facebook marketplace
• Consignment programs
• Flea market or outdoor market
• Collectors
• Wholesalers
• Picker
• Estate sales and auctions
• Thrift shops

●      Organize your vintage clothing inventory.

Lance Cpl. Lauren Lusignan, a Marine with Service Company, Headquarters Battalion, and a San Mateo, Calif., native, volunteers at the at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii Thrift Shop aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii by sorting through and organizing clothes. Marines from various units volunteered at the Marine Thrift Shop for two hours, and were tasked with different assignments.
Photo: Lance Cpl. Adam Korolev, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

When managing your vintage items clothing inventory, you need to know how many similar items you have in your inventory and when you last purchased them. You can keep track of your inventory using a spreadsheet or a simple notepad. You should also keep track of the date you purchased each item to ensure you keep up with how often you are selling a piece of clothing when selling vintage clothing online and how many new items you need to purchase.

●      Photograph Your Vintage products.

Hallyu – The Korean Wave. Korean Exhibition review. Photo Genevieve Jones

Vintage Product photography is fun and can be simple to produce. Find the vintage item you wish to shoot first. Set up your backdrop next, choose the best light source, and figure out your camera’s settings. Once they’re in place, take a photo and move on to the next.

●      Develop a pricing strategy – How to Start Selling Vintage Clothes Online

One of the most crucial elements of every vintage stores business is pricing. It is essential to design a pricing plan to optimize earnings and make sure that you satisfy the needs of your customers. There are numerous approaches to pricing a product when you sell your vintage clothes. Still, they all hinge on the objectives of your thrift store business and the kind of goods you are offering. Cost, competition, demand, and how much profit you desire are similar items to consider when deciding the cost of a product for any piece of clothing when selling vintage clothing online.

●      Set up your online store – How to Start Selling Vintage Clothes Online

You can establish an online store in various ways, but you should also consider creating your vintage shops website. You can begin using a website builder such as Shopify or Amazon, which allows you to create your store without technical knowledge. It also includes many features that might assist you in launching your internet business full time.

●      Add other sales channels to your online store.

Although the internet is a fantastic company resource, more is needed. You also need to be present on other channels, like Ebay, Etsy and social media sites like facebook marketplace. Physical sites serve as sales channels for a large number of internet retailers selling vintage clothing online. To grow your high quality vintage items internet business, consider adding a physical site and monitoring its performance.

Now that this article has given you some great tips for selling vintage clothes online, one of the most vital things to remember is that finding your niche and concentrating on it are the keys to success. Once you are all set up, it’s time for your vintage shop’s business grand opening!

Reference

Skuvault (2022) How to sell vintage clothes online https://www.skuvault.com/blog/how-to-sell-vintage-clothes-online/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20most%20popular,auction%20will%20win%20the%20item.

Shopify (2022) How to sell vintage clothing online https://www.shopify.com/ng/blog/211022217-sell-vintage-clothing-online  

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