I started selling vintage clothing back in 2000, when (compared to NOW) there weren't that many dealers who specialized in it. Even in the 9/11/dot com crash economy, you could still make killer profits because there wasn't as much competition, there were less buyers scrambling to get the good stuff, and there were more die-hard heirloom minded buyers who were very well educated on their purchases - who could bid on eBay with confidence because back then you REALLY HAD TO KNOW YOUR PRODUCT to even get started in this biz. There wasn't a VFG to get cliff notes from, no masses of fashion blogs, no write ups in Nylon magazine, no 'vintage for dummies' at Urban Outfitters,... even if it we were in the internet age, we dealers weren't competing against masses of instant experts. Best of all, EBay policies were more favorable for everyone involved.
Back then, I'd find 50s Shaheen dresses and 40s platforms like it was nothing, and re-sell them for very, very generous profits. Most of my customers were serious collector/vintage lifestyle types, but a lot of things went to fashion houses and museums as well... and even a few celebrities : ). It's for this reason I have such a low feedback score for being on as long as I have - back then 5 items paid my bills and then some. It was that good.
But as demand for those items increased, it became much harder to find them in volume, so I shifted gears and eventually took the trendy approach.
Then I took a few years off to pursue other things, but missed selling vintage, so re-launched Knockout Clothing earlier this year.
What a difference a few years makes! The vintage clothing market is very, very different now, which is equal parts exciting and aggravating to me.
For one thing, the cult of celebrity has infiltrated in a major way. Out with the days when people gawked and made Halloween comments. In with the days where those same types of people now aspire to have vintage style.
There's a whole slew of younger, hip kids who consider wearing vintage the norm now. And more 20-30 something fashionista's realising their favorite designers are just knocking off older pieces, and rushing to get that runway look for less with vintage pieces.
For the most part I'm glad that vintage has become so embraced, and that fashion in this decade has revived old fashioned high glamour! As a lover of aesthetics this just makes for a prettier world, imo. I'm glad that the 60s and 70s dresses you once couldn't sell for $10.00 have found a new, adoring audience and have increased in value. And I love seeing young gals re-interpret 80s and 90s fashions and make them their own : ). It's thanks to them that I now see the beauty in those gaudy things from childhood, haha.
This is the crowd Knockout Clothing mainly caters to now, and I think it's a lot of fun! There's one thing in life that's inevitable, and thats CHANGE. So as a business person I'm open to evolving, so long as I enjoy what I do and can do it with integrity.
Unfortunately, the odds are against businesses right now, even globally reaching ones like eBay.
eBay has always been a copycat business, but in recent years, literally HUNDREDS of new (mainly trendy) vintage dealers have popped up. While this gives buyers more options, this affects dealers for the worse, as it's the (perceived) scarcity of the product that used to set it's value.
I'm not a fan of 'book value', and think actual market value is the only true indicator of an items worth. With that said, eBay *used to be* the equivalent of a stock market for vintage values. But now, with all the rampant shill bidding, how do we establish true value?!?!
It sucks when estate sales and thrift stores look at these shady dealers making $300 off a non-label 80s dress thanks to shill bids, and start thinking $50.00 is a fair wholesale price.
A lot of newbie aspiring dealers look up to the 'big guys', and not realizing some of them shill bid their own items, think of vintage dealing as a great way to get rich quick - hence the flood of new dealers in this poor economy.
Some of these new dealers offer killer stuff, but some can't distinguish vintage from 'retro', and this has alienated a lot of buyers who just paid $100 for something 'vintage' from Forever 21.
Lastly, the live model craze has been equal parts blessing and curse for vintage! Models do a peice far more justice than a dress form or hanger ever will, but also means more time and money sucked away from a dealers profit (it costs me $350 per shoot to present this way). Also, some dealers clip clothes in a way that misrepresents them - further alienating buyers.
Loooong story short, I think those of us with integrity are all working much harder for much less right now, and that's very frustrating!
It sucks when the new big guys are making 20x more off an item than you would.
It sucks when said big guy buys your item for next to nothing, then resells it at said prices.
It sucks knowing there's more and more dealers willing to play dirty just to make that $$.
And it sucks to be an 'old schooler' who never had to compete against all this... and feel like you're one of the folks who PAVED THE WAY for this new breed, who get most of the glory while you struggle to make ends meet.
But it really doesn't matter what you're selling and how you chose to market/present it! It's not about trendy vs. classic, it's about honest vs. dishonest. And if you're honest, that's what matters more than anything, because that's something you can't put a price on.
[SarahJayne is the owner of Knockout Clothing, The Best Of The Best Vintage, selling her select items on eBay.]
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