Becoming A Vintage Clothing Reseller: How To Turn Your Passion For Fashion Into A Profitable Business

Becoming A Vintage Clothing Reseller: How To Turn Your Passion For Fashion Into A Profitable Business

Over recent years, vintage clothing has become a staple of the fashion industry. What started during the pandemic, when demand for vintage garments skyrocketed, has continued and evolved.

Today, the high streets are filled with curated vintage clothing stores, and many individuals are turning to online reselling as a fun and potentially profitable side hustle.

If you’re someone who adores retro clothing and wants to turn your love of classic fashion into a business, then here are some tips to help you get started.

Pick A Time Period To Focus On

Selling any and all vintage clothing might work for a while, but if you want to earn more from your garments and hit a targeted audience, you want to focus on one specific period in the past. That might be the 80s, with its bright colours and baggy fits, or the psychedelic styles of the 60s. You could also go back even further, and consider 1920s-style hats or 1930s-style wrap dresses and skirt suits. Whatever the time you prefer, by narrowing your focus you can carve out a niche for yourself in this competitive market and appeal to a more specialist target market.

Choose The Right Suppliers

Spending hours trawling charity shops and car boot sales is time-consuming, and there’s no guarantee you’ll find anything worth selling. So, while it’s still an option, you need to make sure that you also have a backup in the form of a wholesale supplier to help meet demand when your thrifting simply can’t. Vintage Wholesale specialises in vintage clothing bundles that are accurately authenticated and packed with your profits in mind. Buying bundles from providers like this can help you to maintain your business and consistently provide the selection your regular customers expect.

Find The Right Platforms To Sell On

For those who are new to launching a clothing business, using online platforms to sell your garments is a more scaleable and cost-effective solution than renting a physical store. There are hundreds of platforms available online, so you should check out a selection of them and find the best ones to start using. While major platforms like eBay and Amazon are a great way to reach a lot of people, you could also consider using smaller digital marketplaces that are targeted specifically towards fashion fans, like Depop or Vinted. If you want to use a few different platforms, make sure that you understand how listings work on each one and avoid putting the same items up in too many different places, so that you don’t accidentally sell the same product more than once.

Build A Personal Brand To Promote Your Business

As a vintage clothing lover, your passion and knowledge are the biggest assets you have. To make the most of them, you need to make sure that you share your insight and ideas with potential customers and other online vintage fans, even those who might not buy from you. Building a personal brand using your social media accounts and online presence on fashion forums can help you to grow your reach and build recognition for both your personal brand and your business. Personal branding is integral to success in the fashion industry, so it’s worth finding new ways to engage with your audience and show them how passionate you are about retro threads.

Founder of this eponymous blog, focusing on men's fashion & lifestyle.