thirteenth Aug 2025
Studying Time: 11 minutes
Classic clothes is in. Increasingly individuals are shopping for it, due to this fact it’s simpler than ever to generate income from promoting retro trend. It’s official: second-hand is horny!
Endorsement from trend icons, similar to supermodel Kate Moss and stylist Bay Garnett, has helped charity store trend take maintain on the excessive road. That’s nice information when you love trend and want to decide up some more money discovering classic clothes.
Money in on this sudden wave of thrift store stylish by rifling by the again of your wardrobe, trudging all the way down to your native charity store and searching for hidden gems wherever you go. Then all it’s important to do is locate the proper purchaser to make a tidy revenue!
What’s Classic Clothes?
It’s maybe barely miserable, however ‘classic’ means something older than about twenty years, in terms of garments. So, when you nonetheless have a Pierce the Veil authentic t-shirt from 2005, it would promote for a small fortune.
Objects that at all times promote effectively in terms of classic are:
- Band t-shirts
- Leather-based jackets
- Coats of all types
- Distinctive trendy shapes, like bell bottoms
- Designer labels
- Equipment like costume jewelry, sun shades, and purses
However so long as one thing is in nice situation, you possibly can get a fairly penny for it. When you’ve rummaged by your personal wardrobe, it’s time to increase your horizons and take a look at thrift outlets for some bargains to flip for additional money.
Step 1: What to search for in classic clothes
Everyone seems to be at all times searching for nice bargains. If you wish to make revenue from classic clothes, commonly test your native classic put on goldmine to see if any new inventory has are available in that might probably make you a mint. It’ll require slightly endurance and quite a lot of rummaging, nevertheless it may simply repay!
Have a rummage
The primary rule when visiting charity outlets is: don’t be afraid to rummage. Probably the most collectable gadgets are likely to lurk on the backside of the pile so roll up your sleeves and get to work.
One other vital factor to recollect is to maintain going again to any store you suppose may need hidden treasures. The good things goes quick and popping to the shop twice every week just isn’t extreme for an enthusiastic collector. You may even wish to test with the store assistant to seek out out once they get deliveries so that you’re there when new inventory arrives.
Select the proper materials
Don’t simply purchase something. There’re sure materials that’ll be simpler to promote.
Lena Weber, editor of classic trend tribute web site QueensofVintage and self-confessed classic clothes addict, says:
“Positively keep away from very synthetic materials as they’re a nightmare to maintain clear. Ideally search for gadgets which can be made of top quality materials similar to wool or cotton. I wouldn’t be too anxious if an merchandise has a small gap, is lacking a button or must be hemmed up, this could all be simply fastened. Yow will discover tips about methods to transform ill-fitting classic in a number of fast steps on QueensofVintage.”
Don’t overspend
There aren’t any gadgets of clothes particularly that take advantage of revenue. All of it depends upon how a lot you paid for it, the situation of the merchandise, what label it carries and the way restricted its availability is. It’d take some research to get a good suggestion of what sure items of clothes are price.
If you happen to’re simply beginning out, attempt to not pay greater than £20-£30 for anybody merchandise. However, with a bit of data and a dollop of fine luck, discovering a pair of £5 classic footwear in a charity store and promoting them on for £40-£50 is unquestionably doable.
Step 2: The place to search for classic clothes
Earlier than you go trawling by each thrift retailer on the town, look slightly nearer to dwelling. Most of us have baggage of garments in our attics and wardrobes simply ready to come back again into fashion. These dishevelled ‘mum denims’ you chucked when skinny trousers grew to become all the trend? Dig them out – they’re again in and promoting like sizzling truffles!
Money within the attic
Take a look by. Maybe you have already got one thing in good situation that may make you a revenue.
Bear in mind, even when you suppose an merchandise is completely hideous, it would effectively be in trend proper now. Or – with slightly creativity and a pair of sharp scissors – you can also make it trendy. Upcycled garments can fetch greater than the unique, when achieved effectively!
Hold an open thoughts about kinds, colors and materials. Except you’re already an knowledgeable, you’ll be able to by no means be too positive when you’ve come throughout the holy grail of stilettos.
Swap it
Attempt having a swap store with buddies (or strangers) to see when you can decide something out from their junk that may very well be price one thing.
Take a look at Swishing.com and Eventbrite to seek out your nearest garments swap social gathering, or arrange your personal and create an invitation on Fb native teams to show it into a giant occasion.
Hit the excessive road
After you’ve turned your own home the other way up and hassled all your mates, attempt trying slightly additional away from dwelling. Most excessive streets have a charity store or two. These are perfect for discovering forgotten clothes handed down by generations. The trick is to examine all the pieces you discover after which belief your instincts.
If you happen to fall in love with an merchandise at first look – except you’ve obtained a very quirky fashion – likelihood is another person may too.
Though large names typically promote for more cash, it’s way more troublesome to seek out them for only a few quid. To start with, follow lower-priced gadgets.
Classic clothes shops are additionally an ideal place to seek out some authentic and quirky items. The one bother is you’re loads much less prone to make any revenue on gadgets you discover there. Why? The store homeowners are typically consultants of their area. They’ll know which gadgets are extra precious and might due to this fact be taken to public sale or bought for extra.
Having mentioned that, outlets providing classic clothes are sometimes keen to haggle, so give it a go. It’s definitely price taking a look each every now and then. You by no means know what is perhaps hiding beneath a pile of polka dot clothes.
Lena says: “Charity outlets are an ideal place for classic bargains. The identical goes for big classic outlets in non-trendy areas; avoid Camden Market or Brick Lane, for instance. There are additionally some implausible on-line outlets similar to somelikeitvintage which have superb cut price gadgets.“
Proper now, originality is the important thing to being fashionable. Shopping for classic clothes just about ensures that you just’re not going to show as much as a celebration carrying the identical gown as another person.
In style celebs like Alexa Chung swear by classic. This has given the marketplace for second-hand clothes a critical increase and for you – an effective way to earn some additional money.
Learn how to generate income accumulating classic footwear.
Step 3: Who to promote your classic clothes to
There’re actually hundreds of collectors on the market looking for sure gadgets. If you happen to bump into a real gem, promoting gained’t be an issue. These into trend are keen to pay large bucks for the much-coveted classic designer shoe, as an illustration.
Memorable footwear additionally does very effectively in public sale. The well-known ruby-red slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz made $666,000 (then round £412,000) when bought at public sale in 2000.
Simply keep in mind that the possibilities of you stumbling upon a moneymaker like which can be one in 1,000,000!
There’re a number of totally different locations you’ll be able to promote your newly-purchased classic clothes and footwear.
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eBay
After all, the primary place chances are you’ll consider is eBay. And sure, folks usually make a tidy sum from shopping for and promoting there.
Nevertheless, collectors and trend addicts are getting sensible to the scammers and time wasters populating eBay and sometimes search options. It’s one thing price eager about. If you happen to do select to promote with eBay, there’s a number of issues to recollect.
Put in a bit of additional time once you checklist an merchandise and it’ll repay. rule of thumb is to explain the belongings you’re promoting as if there weren’t any photographs obtainable. Specify the kind of cloth, clarify the garment care directions and at all times embody the measurements as sizes range relying on the period and nation. For instance, a classic dimension 14 gown could also be nearer to a contemporary dimension 10. Listing the age, authentic retail value and place of preliminary buy if you understand it. Don’t neglect to say any injury similar to stains, tears or lacking buttons.
An image actually is price a thousand phrases, so at all times embody good high quality, well-lit photographs together with your itemizing. On eBay, you’ll be able to publish as much as 12 footage – make each depend. If you happen to personal a model, use it to show the merchandise. Go for a white background and make sure you present any injury.
eBay listings are free, so ensure you reap the benefits of this. To spice up visibility or embody your merchandise in a number of classes, you’ll must pay small charges.
Check out these 20 helpful tricks to generate income on eBay right this moment.
ETSY
Etsy is one other good place to flog your trend finds – and notably classic clothes. The wonderful thing about it’s that it’s not restricted to garments solely. You may also promote classic prints and art work.
Judging from the positioning, you may get the impression that this enterprise is primarily in the US, however don’t let that put you off. A 3rd of gross sales comes from worldwide patrons.
And the variety of these is staggering. There’re 39.4 million energetic patrons on Etsy, and solely 2.1 million sellers. Meaning there’re greater than sufficient prospects to go round.
Getting began as a vendor on Etsy is simple – the very first thing to do is register for a purchaser account. Watch out when selecting your username because it’ll additionally pop up as your store identify. It’ll present up as .
Take a couple of minutes and skim {the marketplace}’s Newbie’s Information to make sure that you get off on the proper foot.
Identical to some other web site the place you promote classic clothes, photographs are key. Having good high quality photographs is essential to promote efficiently on Etsy. You’re allowed 5 pics per merchandise, which isn’t a lot, so be certain they’re really displaying off the merchandise you’re buying and selling. You possibly can hone your snapping abilities with the positioning’s helpful information to perfecting your product pictures.
Vinted
Vinted is a platform particularly for pre-loved or second-hand garments and equipment. Be ready for folks haggling! Set your costs slightly larger than you’re ready to let gadgets go for, as folks count on to barter on this app.
There aren’t any charges or fee to pay with Vinted; they make their cash by the Purchaser Safety Charge which the client pays.
Be sure you checklist all the pieces as precisely as doable. Garments displayed on a model promote higher than gadgets laid flat, and it’s vital to checklist the precise tape measurements of bust, hips, chest, and many others moderately than the label dimension as sizing can range a lot between outlets – particularly classic gadgets.
SOCIAL NETWORKS
Fb promoting teams are giving eBay a run for its cash as one of the best place to earn money by promoting second-hand gadgets. Why? It’s free. Most individuals use Fb daily and it’s simple to publish an merchandise to promote between updating your standing and testing what your mates have been as much as. Yow will discover promoting teams throughout the nation with hundreds of members eager to purchase something classic. Merely seek for “UK classic promoting teams”. Providing gadgets on the market is simply as easy – all you want do is publish instantly in your group’s web page and add {a photograph}.
It’s price placing a transparent deadline in your advert, alongside the strains of ‘will provide to the subsequent individual down if assortment time not agreed inside 24 hours’.
If you happen to’ve achieved a very large clear-out and have tons to dump, checklist as many items as doable in a single batch. Choose a day once you’re on-line, so you’ll be able to reply questions promptly and don’t lose gross sales. This fashion, you too can organize one or two time slots for collections.
Bear in mind, teams are public. Hold private particulars off posts and solely settle for funds by way of PayPal.
It’s additionally price Instagram. Arrange an account and discover like-minded followers by looking hashtags similar to #vintagesellingpage and #vintagesale. Because it’s a photo-centric social media app, it’s key you will have gorgeous photographs of your classic clothes.
Bear in mind to at all times maintain the sale underneath a separate account out of your private one. In any other case, you’ll be spamming your family and friends moderately than reaching potential patrons. Create an account and publish all of the photographs of your gadgets with their descriptions earlier than you begin the sale. That manner you’ll be able to give attention to making offers moderately than importing footage.
With this sort of sale, you have to be organised. Hold a document – maybe a spreadsheet – with the small print of the bought value, any postage prices charged to the client and delivery info. Having all the data in a single place means you’ll be able to simply maintain monitor of the place to ship gadgets and when funds come by.
Simply earlier than you begin the sale, at all times publish an inventory of “sale guidelines”. This may reduce down the variety of complaints or points that pop up later. It is best to embody info similar to begin/finish time of the sale, methods to make bids (bid quantity with PayPal e-mail is commonly best) and checklist any postage restrictions (UK solely, as an illustration). It’s price stipulating that funds have to be obtained inside 24 hours of receiving the PayPal cash request. It is best to make clear that if the client fails to conform, they’ll lose their merchandise and it’ll go to the subsequent highest bid.
Specialist websites and auctions
If you happen to’ve obtained your coronary heart set on auctioning your items off, attempt SpecialistAuctions. The location has a selected part devoted to classic put on.
You may also try native public sale homes to see if they’ve any classic clothes auctions working within the close to future. In the event that they don’t, it most likely isn’t price your time.
A great way to achieve hundreds amongst your goal market is by displaying your items on a specialist web site. In the meantime, an actual life public sale with out your particular viewers will appeal to a few bidders on the most.
If you happen to’ve picked up something notably elegant in your travels, ship an e-mail to [email protected] (from the web site CandySays) describing your gadgets. Embody some footage if doable and she or he’ll let you understand whether or not or not she needs it for her on-line retailer and for what value.
After all, to get an thought of worth in your gadgets, you possibly can haul them alongside to your native classic retailer and simply ask them for recommendation.
You by no means know, they may even give you a pleasant wad of money for what you’ve obtained.
Promoting garments for a dwelling might sound cool and simple however to make a strong revenue, you’ll want to take a position a while into it. Making a full-time dwelling by shopping for and promoting classic clothes and footwear isn’t one thing it’s best to take into consideration except you’re an knowledgeable within the area.
If it’s a strategy to make some additional money, you’ll be able to positively count on to earn a number of quid by shopping for an merchandise for a few kilos and promoting it on for a double determine.
You possibly can make large cash by shopping for designer put on and large names as an funding. Labels like Chanel, Givenchy and Dior, for instance, will solely improve in worth as time goes by – if gadgets are in good situation. However you’ll be able to go smaller shopping for much less prestigious manufacturers and make classic clothes merely a further supply of revenue with out the dedication of counting on it full time.
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