Where to Sell Vintage Online?
Where to Sell Vintage Online?
This is a question that I have been asking regularly for years.
Of course when I was first starting out, this was a natural question to ask. But even as one who has sold vintage for years (both professionally and privately) and who watched their mom sell vintage online before I even started, I still find myself coming back to this question. I think its important to note, however, that this question has evolved slightly into “Where is the best place for me and my own shop to sell my type of vintage online at this point in time?”. This distinction is important and one that I think is only natural to come to. For instance, the types of items I am selling now are different than when I started. But beyond that, as a shop I feel like I am also looking for certain things from a selling platform that I may not have cared about or even thought about when I first started. I want to be very clear- this is NOT an article about me telling you where the best place to sell vintage online is. Where and how you sell things online is a very personal decision — one which only you can truly decide what works best for you. Besides, if you want someones opinion on the matter, there are a multitude of blogs and forums out there covering exactly this.
But — for those interested — I hope that showing my own thought processes here will be a useful tool in helping you decide what you may (or may not) want to start thinking about for your own shop.
Reflections
As my little vintage shop quickly approaches its 4th official year in business (yes I know - I am still just a baby!), I think its time to analyze and determine if the status quo is still working for me. For full disclosure, at the time of writing this I am currently an active seller on my own website here with Squarespace as well as on Etsy. I also occasionally sell on Ebay, but have not devoted a ton of time cross-listing over there due to time constraints. I chose all these platforms because they seemed the easiest for me to set up shop at the time. I would also like to acknowledge that there are a ton of ways to create your own websites. When I started I had decided upon Squarespace specifically for my own website needs because the templates and applications were very easy for me personally to manage. I also want to disclose that while I want my shops on each of these platforms to be successful, I am not being actively paid to promote one place over another. These just happen to be what I am currently using to sell my wares.
Like with most business owners, I would like to see my shop continue to grow in a manner where I feel like I have control. This may mean I keep things as they are, but I would like to make an informed decision based upon comparisons of various reseller platforms utilizing my own preferences and what I am personally looking for in a reseller platform.
Selling online is not easy . . . for me.
I have come to realize that, while I do very well selling my vintage goodies at in-person markets, online sales seem to have become more difficult. This may not be true for everyone as each individual sells different styles, eras, and types of vintage fashion items. We may be selling on completely different platforms, some of us full time and others just on the side. We may be selling at different price points and items at very different levels of condition. Everyones circumstances are singular, so this may not apply to you as a seller. But for me, sales online have dropped off or at the very least plateaued, especially considering the significant increase in quantity of items as well as places I have listed since first opening. Since I have only been open for a few years, I don’t necessarily have enough data to understand why this is happening. Of course I can speculate (change in consumer habits, changes in taste, etc), but there really is no way of knowing for sure.
For myself, there is an added element that makes selling online so much harder for me: it’s difficult not having the human connection that you get with in-person sales. I feel like there is no sense of knowing (for the most part) who my customers are or for what they are looking. This is a stark contrast from my in-person markets where I recognize familiar faces, can chat about vintage, and offer my costumers exactly what they are looking for because I know many of them on a more personal level. Of course, this difference is expected with selling online versus in-person, but it doesn’t make it any easier. This last point is not something that can be addressed with this article, but it helps emphasize the importance in finding online platform(s) that is (are) right for me.
What you can expect here . . .
Please note that this article is by no means advice for what you should do. Instead, this is a collection of my own thoughts for my own shop at this present moment in time to help me determine where I myself should be selling my own vintage. That said, I figured that since I was spending all this time compiling information and making a chart, I thought that other sellers may find it a useful tool to start with before doing their own research. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it consists of the platforms I have heard of most. I would like to say too that I have also tried my very best to pull information directly from the selling platforms websites, but some information was either vague or just difficult to find even with a normal internet search. So make sure to double check me! Also please note, that fees and other terms seem to change regularly on a multitude of platforms so make sure you are pay close attention to all changes and updates regularly!
And for those who don’t sell vintage (or maybe you are thinking about getting started) I hope that this information helps you learn a little bit more about what exactly goes into selling vintage online.
Selling Platforms
Bellow is a quick chart I made up regarding some of the main points I am personally looking at when considering a platform to sell my vintage online. As you can see there is a pretty significant amount of variation to consider. For purposes of reading this chart, I highly recommend you use a desktop or take a screen shot to be able to zoom in more easily on each section.
A quick little table I made of the information I was able to find at present - please do your own research!
Other Considerations
While this is by no means comprehensive, there may be other fees and factors to think about depending on where you are selling and how you are presenting your shop. Below are just a few of the things that I have personally considered regarding my own shop and where and how I currently sell. Please always remember that you should do your own research so you can make your own informed decisions.
First, based on the type of business I have (mixed in person markets and online), there were certain pieces of paperwork I had to file to start my business as well as recurring fees and things I need to pay for and file yearly. Some platforms may require you to be a registered business, but you need to do your own homework to figure out what you need to do for yourself and your business in your state! Tangentially, as a registered business it was very important for me to think about banking and the fees attendant to different types of business bank accounts. Plus there are a multitude of other easily overlooked things along this line to consider. For example, as a business account on Venmo I have to pay a fee for each transaction.
When considering platforms, I have also had to think about what goes into taking my product photos. Some platforms require certain quality of or types of images. For my own office space, I have had to consider backdrops and alternative lighting sources because I have very poor natural light. What you use to take your pictures as well as the editing software to keep your standards in line with what a platform requires, may be an important factor for you to consider too.
Additionally, I think it is crucial to closely monitor any and all costs associated with shipping. Some platforms may require sellers to pay for the shipment of items. Or maybe you choose to pay for shipping as a way to incentivize your customer - which is what I have personally chosen to do for both my website and with my Etsy. Of course its personal preference, but you may also want to invest in a P.O. box to utilize as your return address, which is what I have chosen to do. With all these additional factors, I am always paying close attention to the cost of shipping, packaging materials, and P.O. box rentals. From my own experience, the prices for all this seems to go up regularly, so its always good to PAY ATTENTION! Over the course of a year, shipping and p.o. box fees are substantial expenses for my own small business!
The quality, age, and conditions requirements for items may very substantially between reselling platforms too. But for me, I personally think its always best to put forth the best vintage items I can and there are costs attendant to that (from finding the pieces, to cleaning and mending them). All of these factors and the costs associated with them are constantly on my mind and I think these are all very important things to consider when looking at the big picture!
So, where should I sell?
I started this post because I truly did not know where to take my business next.
When asking for peoples opinions online, I got so many varied answers that it honestly just confused me even more. So, I decided to instead compile information about various platforms onto one page to help me compare information I thought was important and gather my own thoughts. This exercise was especially useful for me to compare types of items that are sold, fee structures and the number of images allowed per listing.
While fee structures are something that will likely play heavily into my decision, fees alone are not what determine a good or bad place for me to sell. There are so many factors to think about that will ultimately help me make my decision. I think the most important factor is determining if it is actually a good place to sell my type of vintage and at my price points. Obviously if on a certain platform people are looking for newer eras of vintage or if its really just a platform to resell anything, than it may not be the right place for me. Another factor that will weigh heavily in my consideration, is the number of photos that are allowed per listing. I personally believe that photos are the most powerful tool we as sellers have in showing our vintage and the condition it is in. If platforms only allow a small amount of photos, a big concern for me is that I will not be able to disclose in picture form any major flaws associated with the piece. And let’s face it, I am selling vintage, which is old and used clothing so there will likely be flaws. I have a severe concern for the ratio of dispute rates going up because of the lack of images that one is allowed to provide. Of course I cant photograph every flaw and to compensate I describe everything in great detail to the best of my abilities, but its always really nice to have a few extra images to show any flaws.
Based upon this present data, I confess that I have not yet determined if I will change gears completely or simply add to what I am already doing. But this exercise has certainly helped me think about what I am looking for when selling online, which at the very least has helped me rule out a few of the platforms. I know I still have a bit of thinking to do because after all, this is my business — my baby. I started A Stitch in Timeless from literally nothing and what I choose will likely affect it greatly, hopefully for the better.
Conclusion
Regardless of where you stand as a vintage fashion seller, whether you are just starting out or are a seasoned veteran, I hope that my own little mental exercise here helps you to take a step back and think about what matters to you personally and as a vintage seller. We may be looking for different things, but I hope this post can inspire you into doing your own research and making your own chart. It really was a helpful exercise! And even if you are doing really well currently selling online, its still always a good idea to look into other options.
And, for those of you who were just curious and wanted to know more about us sellers, I hope this background helps show and explain one of the many factors as to why our prices are where they are. It takes a lot of money to keep a business running. I think sometimes there is this huge misconception of people taking something dirty or damaged from a thrift store, doing nothing to it, and selling it at extreme markups. That’s just not what happens here. The financial costs of running a business are very high and there is so much to factor into one single item. Our time is valuable too — it can take hours or even days to clean, steam, mend and research a single piece!
Inevitably, we are all at the whim of the market. The reality is, I only make money when and if things sell. And it is for this reason alone that I want to keep my options open and make an informed decision as to where to take my business next. See you there!
