by Diana Winter
Finding Your Niche
If you live for the chance to buy a vintage dress at your local thrift store and brag about the small amount you paid, selling vintage clothing online might be right for you. Having an eye for spotting and collecting vintage clothing is a skill – and it can have benefits that go beyond your unique wardrobe.
The Growing Market for Vintage Clothing
Vintage shoppers rely on store owners to do the tedious sorting for a seamless browsing experience of the best pieces, in their best condition. As consumer awareness rapidly shifts regarding where clothing comes from, selling vintage clothing is becoming a sustainable business opportunity in a growing market.
How to Sell Vintage Clothing Online in 11 Steps
1. Find your niche
2. Build your vintage clothing brand
3. Fund your business idea
4. Source vintage clothing to sell
5. Manage your vintage clothing inventory
6. Photograph your vintage products
7. Set your pricing strategy
8. Set up your online store
9. Add additional sales channels
10. Market your vintage clothing business
11. Set up shipping and return strategies
Finding Your Niche
Every successful business starts in the same place: with a great little business idea. When you choose to sell what you love, consider selecting a niche within the world of vintage clothing to help your business stand out. Your store could focus on:
- A specific time period, like the roaring twenties or the eighties
- A specific purpose or occasion, like evening wear or activewear
- Luxury vintage designer pieces
- A specialized item, such as vintage band t-shirts
- New styles with a vintage flair (check out our guide on starting a clothing line)
- Trending styles, like an eighties revival
Building Your Vintage Clothing Brand
A strong brand for your vintage business helps you find an audience that matters to you, directs your target customers to you, and keeps your focus steady. It’s important to define your brand at this early stage. Answering some questions will help you tell your brand story, determine your visual aspects, define your mission, and envision your ideal customer more clearly.
Funding Your Business Idea
Modern tools and technologies mean you can start your vintage business from home with a very minimal upfront investment. However, this business model does require you to purchase inventory upfront – unless you opt for a consignment model (where you only pay for items after they sell). As you grow, assess how well your living space can accommodate your storage needs, and plan for the future when you might need to upgrade to an office or dedicated warehouse. Given the nature of the business, having cash on hand is crucial for purchasing unique stock as it becomes available.
Sourcing Vintage Clothing to Sell
When diving into the world of selling vintage clothing, local thrift stores can be an excellent source for finding vintage pieces. If you have the patience and an eye for scouring the racks and don’t need a large amount of inventory, start there. Here are some good practices for sourcing vintage clothing to sell online:
- Visit stores regularly and on the right days. Many stores receive new shipments or put new items on the floor on specific days. Ask store staff about this information and plan your visits around those days.
- Have a plan. Save time and money by identifying the items you are looking for before you start searching. If you have employees or others helping you, create a clear style guide with helpful identifiers for them to look for.
- Examine items carefully before purchasing. Local thrift stores often do not adhere to the same quality standards as curated vintage shops, and items may have stains or other damage. “Spend time at the end of your shopping trip analyzing everything in your cart for any defects,” says the founder of FYRE.
- Know
Based on your information, as the former vintage clothing seller Emily Martin states, who studied vintage Vogue magazines and store catalogs. “I was always looking for some obvious signs of vintage clothing, like the union label, the fabric used, the zipper placement, and of course, the style of the piece.”
Photographing Vintage Products
Photographing products in the vintage fashion business is an ongoing task. Unlike other stores that may refresh photo sessions once a season or when new collections are released, the inventory of vintage clothing is continuously renewed and each piece must be photographed individually.
Developing a Pricing Strategy
When selling vintage clothing, follow the same basic rules for pricing products for e-commerce – make sure to account for the cost of the item, overhead expenses, and other costs. But forget standard pricing formulas (multiply wholesale cost by X), because you also need to consider the value of vintage clothing.
Setting Up Your Online Store
This may actually be the easiest part of selling vintage clothing online. There’s no risk in setting up a free trial on Shopify, and it can be an incentive to increase your savings and start taking action on this matter.
Establishing a Shipping and Return Strategy
Sustainability is something more and more consumers are considering while shopping. If you attract customers based on the sustainable nature of vintage clothing, you can take it a step further by using sustainable packaging or offsetting the carbon produced by your shipping operations.
Building a Future with an Eye on the Past
Now that you know everything about selling vintage clothing online, is this still the right business for you? The key to success is a healthy balance between good taste, talent, and a viable idea, mixed with great curation and good presentation and marketing. If you possess these qualities, it’s time to start the countdown to your grand opening.
Frequently Asked Questions About Selling Vintage Clothing Online
How can I sell my vintage clothes?
Selling vintage clothing is easier than ever, with multiple ways to get those vintage pieces into the hands of new customers. Source vintage clothing from local thrift stores, auctions, or wholesalers. Then, set up your own online store and market it to your target audience. Start using Shopify.
What is the best place to sell vintage clothing?
You can sell vintage clothing online through your own e-commerce store. This is the best way to reach customers directly and build lasting relationships. Selling online through a marketplace is also useful as a secondary channel. You should also consider in-person selling opportunities as a way to connect locally and find new customers.
Is selling vintage clothing worth it?
If you are looking to sell vintage clothing, it can be a profitable business. Invest in building a strong brand, find a healthy market niche with an active audience, and utilize all your available marketing tools. Also, be sure to price your clothing pieces in a way that accounts for expenses and profit margins.
Source: https://www.shopify.com/blog/211022217-sell-vintage-clothing-online
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