Where To Find Vintage Clothing - The Secrets From A Successful Vintage Clothing Seller

The Long Awaited Page....

Boy have I had requests for this! I was a successful vintage clothing seller for over 5 years and I am now going to let you know where I found all that vintage clothing!

I don't sell anymore so I am now willing to "spill" my secrets.

Once you know these secrets...vintage clothing will actually COME to you...to the point where you have TOO MUCH! Believe me!

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Vintage Clothing

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First..The Myths

You Can Find Vintage At Thrift Stores

I only sought out vintage clothing older than 1960 for my business and yes you can find these items at thrift stores, but not nearly enough to sustain a vintage clothing sales business. Good vintage at thrift stores is very few and far between.

Thrift stores are catching on to this vintage bandwagon and are jacking up their prices and placing it on "Vintage Clothing" racks. This stuff is usually second rate and you will hardly make what you pay for it.

After a couple of years selling vintage clothing, I rarely if ever stepped foot into a thrift store to seek out vintage

*Thrift Stores are still a good source if you sell 70's and 80's Vintage*

Finding Vintage at Antique Stores

Another myth that will save you time by just not going. My experience with antique stores is generally poor quality, damages and prices that are too high to purchase for yourself, much less to re-sell

Where Do I Get It?

The million dollar question. Below you will find the methods that work for me that I perfected

Estate Sales

I am sure estate sales popped into your mind right away, but here are a few tips to make these sales a success for your business

Go To Estate Sales In Small Towns

If you live in a big city, you may not even want to bother hitting the estate sales in town. Try getting little publications from little towns on the outskirts and being there first

Don't Just Go...Introduce Yourself

This is a biggie. Have business cards in hand and introduce yourself to the company or organization running the estate sale. Let them know what you do and what you are looking for. Tell them you are willing to come before the sale and take the clothing off their hands

Don't Be Too Picky

...especially if you are getting a bargain. For the first few trips to an estate sale company, just take what they have. If they know you are going to buy...they will call you. If they have other buyers coming and being picky, they will call the one who is not picky first. If the prices are too high...don't bother. If they only want $1 a dress...take it all with no questions or hesitation.

Don't Just Go...Be Proactive

I sat down with a phone book for my town and surrounding towns and wrote down the names and addresses for all of the estate sale companies. I made out a nice flyer with photos of what I do and what I was looking for. I sent these letters to every company with a couple of cards. After a couple of weeks I called each one to follow up. After this I had many regular callers for pre-estate sale purchases

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Research Vintage Clothing, Dating, Vintage Clothing Care, Fashion History, Fabric Identification & Resources

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Historical and Vintage Wedding Dresses. Victorian, Renaissance, Elizabethan, Goth and More

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Costume Shops

A lot of people that try to get rid of vintage clothing will bring them to costume shops. Especially ones that have been around for years.

What Costume Shops

Again, if you live in a big city, go to a smaller one and drop in the local costume shops, especially older ones and ask if they have vintage clothing they want to get rid of. Chances are they do...

50% of my inventory came from costume shops

If you are looking at a shop that is far away, call ahead and see what they have and if they are willing to sell....you may be surprised!

Where Do You Find The Most Success In Acquiring Vintage Clothing?

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Senior Publications

Senior publications can be very lucrative, and they typically have a classified section that is extremely inexpensive.

The nice things about them is that seniors rarely throw these papers away. They hang onto them for a long time.

I placed an ad in my local senior beacon and I was getting calls on the same ad over 6 months later!

A lot of these people don't know that people actually want their old clothing, especially in smaller towns..

...see a theme here?? SMALL TOWNS are KEY!

Go to a local nursing home or grocery store and see if there is a senior publication

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1940's Fashion

An exploration of the influence of WWII on 1940's fashion. Styles, trends and history Men's 40's fashions, 40's wedding dresses and more! Have A Website, Blog, Store or Squidoo Page You Want To Promote? Add Your Link Here!

1960's Fashion

Step back into the eclectic 1960's through clothing photos and fabulous resource links! Shop for 60's clothing for men and women! Have A Website, Blog, Store or Squidoo Page You Want To Promote? Add Your Link Here!

1970's Fashion

Enjoy a blast back to the 70's. See it in clothing photos and amazing research resources! Shop for vintage clothing from the 1970's for men and women! Featuring Disco and Gunne Sax, 70's Wedding Dresses and more! Have A Website, Blog, Store or Squidoo P...

1930's Fashion

Fashion of the 1930's features classic old Hollywood styles. This lens features 30's fashion history, mens and womens vintage clothing from the era Featuring 1930's wedding dresses and more! Have A Website, Blog, Store or Squidoo Page You Want To Promo...

1950's Fashion

Complete shopping and research guide for everything 50's clothing and fashion. Explore the history and intrigue of the "new look" Featuring vintage 50's dresses, 50's men's clothing and 50's wedding dresses Have A Website, Blog, Store or Squidoo Page...

American Classifieds

The American Classifieds or Thrifty Nickel is a very low cost publication to put "wanted" ads for quality vintage clothing. Keep the ad running for awhile and you will get many worthwhile calls.

Visit American Classifieds In Your City

Flyers

Flyers are a quick way to advertise that you buy vintage clothing. As I mentioned before, sending them to estate sale companies is a good start.

Post Them Everywhere

Great places to post them include church bulletin boards, bingo halls, YMCA, Grocery Stores and more.

Remember to hit those small towns!

Pointers or Opinions?

Lensmaster

ocdgirl2000 wrote...

Awesome lens! Very Informative! 5 stars from me too!

Posted January 09, 2009

Lensmaster

LABELSTONE wrote...

Excellent 5 star lens and very nostalgic. Thanks.

Posted November 29, 2008

Lensmaster

Jewelsofawe wrote...

Some great dresses.

Posted November 27, 2008

Lensmaster

marsha32 wrote...

This is a cool lens. We have lots of vintage clothing in our house. We still have lots of my grandmothers clothing and now my 17 yr old is wearing clothing of my mothers.

Posted October 17, 2008

Lensmaster

BevsPaper wrote...

Very informative and great lens!

Posted October 02, 2008

Lensmaster

somelikeitvintage wrote...

Awesome lens! Great tips :)

Posted August 03, 2008

Lensmaster

LivingDollVintage wrote...

Great ideas!

Posted July 16, 2008

Lensmaster

Elisa wrote...

Thanks so much! This is great information, although I defhnitely have TOO MUCH INVENTORY! Particularly since I live in New York City, so I never bother thrifting there.

Posted July 12, 2008

Lensmaster

WesJefferson wrote...

Hey, this is excellent. Its always nice to find something truly vintage to add to the closet.

Posted July 09, 2008

Lensmaster

avgsuperheroine wrote...

Great info. It's true too, I run a costume shop and we unload hundreds of pounds of vintage each year--and we're in a small town. Great pointers.

Posted July 01, 2008

Funky eBay Searches

You can find great stuff and deals from people who just don't know how to list properly on eBay.

See the eBay links below to find the search terms used. All of these searches are done for you at a glance..so bookmark this page to find the latest deals!

Hidden 1930's Dresses on eBay

Search Used For These Items

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Search Is Done For You Below