Price of vintage on the up!

[Puzzicato]

Surely it is no different to an antique dealer going to a car boot sale, to pick up stock for re-sale? And honestly, I think it is great that charities can make some decent money out of the things that have been donated to them, as it helps fund the projects that are their key areas of charitable activity. Charity shops are part of the fund-raising arm of charitable organisations, they don't exist just to sell cheap clothes. I have heard that some charities (I think St Vincent de Paul in Australia is one of them) that have strict policies to prevent the staff cherry picking items.

 

[Deleted member 12480]

the whole price-going-up thing really sucks. I have to save up for a couple of months to get anything i want - i don't have the money to buy £60 rocket originals and a £30 day dress plus £13 postage from the US.

It feels and looks like i only have three outfits that i wear all the time.

:/ it sucks that i don't have some relative with a huge pile of goodies for me to steal. I nearly died when i saw Lizziemaine's comment about $10 40s suits.


Sad annie. :'(

xxx

 

[Wire9Vintage]

Lady Day, you summed it up perfectly.

As with the others, I used to go to any random thrift store and pick up amazing things (and I was the size to wear most of it, too!). But we're 25 years on now and those things have been bought or thrown away by now. But those who are into vintage for a fad with soon enough go away, and our stocks will expand a bit. There are still plenty of attics and closets out there.

And, of course, vintage style doesn't have to be vintage age... Lady Day and the other talented gals here show us that all the time, too. After all, what is more vintage that making your own lovely things?

 

[pdxvintagette]

Something I experience a lot in the business are laments from sellers who have been at it for the last 20-30 years, about how sad it is that you can't find, for instance, rayon Hawaiian shirts at the Goodwill for $1 anymore. Awww, the good ol' days, they say. They're gone. Well, 25 years ago they were selling those rayon Hawaiians for $50-$100. Now, they have to pay that much or more to acquire the shirts in the first place - but the prices they command in some cases range up into the thousands.

It is hard to take any price from twenty, ten - or, really, even five years ago - and compare it fairly to now. Economies change and inflation marches on. And along with that, the rarity and difficulty of finding "the good stuff" increases also. As a vendor, I've had to adjust to a significant increase in my cost of goods. I make a point to hunt down 30s and 40s items - things that I love - and also try to have a solid plus size department, for example. And my prices on those items are higher than they were even three years ago. They HAVE to be.

People seem to think that it is some dastardly scheme on the part of sellers, but the fact is, if you price an item higher than the market will bear, it won't sell, and that's all there is to it.

That said - you too, can still get a deal. You can spend hours pawing through junk shops and traveling through small towns and getting up at 5am to hit the estate sales (even though you know the bargains aren't what they were.) But if for you, time is money, that might end up being just as costly as buying from sellers who have done the work to source it, clean it, repair it and present it to you among a range of hand selected options.

I admit I fear for what my preferred era & style will cost in another ten years. I hoard the things that fit that I love jealously, because I don't know that I'll be able to afford them when they come around in a decade or two. In fact, that is quite the thing to remember. Vintage clothing becomes antique. That's happened to 20's style, and the prices of really good Deco dresses are well, impressive (or frightening, depending on your definition!) . It WILL happen to 30s and 40s clothing soon. Best get what you can now, because inflation and rarity are factors that are going to continue to affect prices a little bit each year.

 

[40'sfetish]

Another point

Another reason why these era's aren't so common in the opshops these days would be to look at the ages of those people giving them away/donating them.

My Grandparents whose prime was in the 40's are now passed away, they got rid of most of their things 20-30 or more years ago when they downsized their house to a unit, then the rest of their things went when they went into the nursing home.

Of course the stuff showing up now is going to be from the 70's and 80's and modern stuff, apart from the fact that we don't save our clothing the way people once did (most clothes now are almost disposable, 1 wear, 1 season only), people who bought fashion items in the 70's and 80s are now retiring/downsizing their homes and this is when people clear out boxes of things they've hung onto.

I'm hoping this makes sense...

 

[Foofoogal]

I had never heard of Oxfam until I went to Scotland. I was like a gleeful child hitting the charity shops in Edmonton.
I had to buy a vintage suitcase and pay an extra $50 on the plane ride home.
To be able to shop for inventory and help people was the ultimate. lol
Goodwill can be easily be found online and the vintage stuff is sought after but once again helping people.
I personally used to shop on the site years ago but depending on locality of the place online depended on the knowledge of what the item was and many, many repros.
I guess I am very different because I feel vintage 1930s and 1040s in great condition should be much higher in price. Even some cool psychedelic items should be IMHO.
I am a collector first and foremost before a dealer.

 

[TillyMilly]

I needed a mini skirt in black satin the other day. I have in mind to make a skirt with layers of fringing to wear to a rock club with big boots and all. (I HAVE to wear mini skirts to clubs as i can't dance in pencil skirts)

I found a skirt from a really cheap brand in a charity shop (Help the Aged)- it was cheap fabrci but it was gona get customised so it did'nt matter- but they wanted £8.00 for it- I bet it cost £12.00 new maxiumum. So I eneded up getting one from ebay from a much better brand for 99p instead.

I blame 'Mary Queen of Shops'! (Did any one else see the Charity shop episodes?)

fftopic:
The thing that baffeled and shocked both me and Mary was the 'wet bags'- bags of stuff donated that were 'wet' inside - if you follow me- and the 'used prophylactics' that they regularly got inside bags- these people take thier health in thier hands!

 

[MissHannah]

Because of the recession there are actually a lot of bargains to be had on Ebay UK at the moment - nobody bids! I sell as well and I can't get anything close to a decent price for anything at the moment. Having said that, I still dream about vintage shopping in the 80s when there were racks and racks of 50s day dresses in my local vintage shop, all for £5-£15. I did buy quite a lot back then but I was still at school, so I didn't have much money and I didn't take care of what I did buy, so very little survives.

 

[swinggal]

I don't mind paying more for the original 30s and 40s stuff if it's of good quality because, like LD says, it's up to 80 years old in some cases. I rarely find anything in op shops anymore beyond the 50s though so I mainly get my stuff on ebay now. I think it's the postage costs that some greedy sellers add onto their sales that make the clothes expensive...THAT I object to. I know that a dress costs $12 to $14 US to send to me here in Oz (as i have been sent many and have sent many there too) but some people charge $35 to $40 doubling the price of the dress even when I ask for the lowest postage charge.

I look in my vintage wardrobe sometimes and am astounded by how much early 40s stuff I collected in the late 90s and early 00s. There were quite a few stores in Perth that only sold vintage clothes up until about 2004 - but now they are all gone. One used to sell 40s dresses for $20 each! I bought sooo much stuff from her over a 5 year period and she used to keep any seamed stockings she got in for me.

Even old antique and jumble shops are disappearing now - not the high class ones, but the dusty, jam packed ones who stocked all sorts of things like 30s and 40s magazines, 78 records, jewellery, clothing, hats, wartime stuff deco furniture. I miss those places and I only know of few that are left now. I've tried to find estate sales here but not with much success.

 

[Foofoogal]

The higher shipping is due to the first class vs the Priority and the protection the dealer receives and the customer and Paypal requirements.
This is probably the hardest thing about selling online. I always will refund if I overcharge. I am selling inventory not shipping.
As a general dealer though it is very hard to figure out shipping when one has hundreds of shapes and sizes of items. :eusa_doh:

 

[lareine]

Some people really do make a joke of international shipping. I was going to buy a lipstick from eBay the other day but the shipper (a shop, not an individual) wanted US$75 to send it to me! That was their cheapest option, too

 

[pdxvintagette]

The higher shipping is due to the first class vs the Priority and the protection the dealer receives and the customer and Paypal requirements.
This is probably the hardest thing about selling online. I always will refund if I overcharge. I am selling inventory not shipping.
As a general dealer though it is very hard to figure out shipping when one has hundreds of shapes and sizes of items. :eusa_doh:

This is exactly the thing. I sell high end - I won't ship First Class. So the base rate is $26.00 for me, even though that doesn't quite cover the cost of a 1lb item. Coats and heavy suits have to cost $30.00 - $35.00 to ship or I'll lose my shirt!

 

[TillyMilly]

Swinggal- do you know it's now not allowed to send second hand clothing to Australia unless it's to a family member? I tried to post a piece of clothing I sold on ebay to Aus recently and found this out- I had to describe the item as new on the customs declaration.

Conversly you can't send new clothing to Italy from a shop- which is why I get so many Italian customers for my ebay sales.

 

[Puzzicato]

Swinggal- do you know it's now not allowed to send second hand clothing to Australia unless it's to a family member? I tried to post a piece of clothing I sold on ebay to Aus recently and found this out- I had to describe the item as new on the customs declaration.

Conversly you can't send new clothing to Italy from a shop- which is why I get so many Italian customers for my ebay sales.

How bizarre! I didn't know that!

 

[swinggal]

Swinggal- do you know it's now not allowed to send second hand clothing to Australia unless it's to a family member? I tried to post a piece of clothing I sold on ebay to Aus recently and found this out- I had to describe the item as new on the customs declaration.

Conversly you can't send new clothing to Italy from a shop- which is why I get so many Italian customers for my ebay sales.

Hmmm...I get vintage clothing all the time from the US. I have about 7 items on their way atm and have never had a problem. No one needs to say it's second-hand anyway. Always just says 'clothing' on the customs sticker.

 

[Wire9Vintage]

I've never had a problem shipping to Austrailia from my shop, and I'm always honest on the forms. Of course, I don't say "used." But I list the items and have never had so much as a query. In fact, I've had stuff get to Austrailia faster than to California! (I've also had something take two months... but it got there finally...and it wasn't even clothing or "used"!)

 

[pdxvintagette]

This is interesting news - I mark EVERYTHING "Used Clothing" and ship to Australia multiple times a week. I've never had a problem! I do know you can't send new shoes or hats to Italy, and even used shoes/hats can present an issue. Vintage garments are acceptable.