Hello, fellow vintage shoppers & retailers, I think I'm in the wrong country for buying vintage clothes. After I've read about discounts vintage shops in the US offer, I'm disappointed in Brazil. There are some stores that have $1 dollar sales every weekend and 'One Dollar Grab' sections, for an example. You can almost always find a designer piece, sometimes for cheap, and there's a variety of places to look for vintage. In Brazil, at least in my city, there are three possible shops I can go to re-stock: 1. 'Flea Market' (which I've mentioned before): I have to go by car because the route from my home to the shop is a little confusing. All the pieces there are extremely overpriced and I wouldn't have been able to buy there if there wasn't a 50% off discount at the time; 2. There's this little thrift store that's about 15 minutes away from my house. There's a lot of nice stuff (you can't find anything from Dior or Chanel, though), but many times I can't make a good profit from what I buy there because the vintage section is very limited and overpriced; 3. This other one is not that far away either, but their pieces are also extremely overpriced, even more than the two cited before. Last time I went there, there were about two or three vintage dresses and that was it. Didn't even bother to look at the rest of it. If I come back, it'll be for a chat with the nice lady that owns the place. What about you? Tell me about your buying experiences.
Nothing remotely vintage is for sale in my local thrifts due to them having their own websites and auction formats. some places also hold the vintage for certain customers, so it doesn't hit the floor. Some do have vintage housewares and collectibles, but no clothing. Also, modern clothing starts at 5.95 so no great bargains. You are not alone.
I'm in Switzerland - not many true vintage shops here, but if you know your vintage, you can find it at secondhand shops. I live two doors down from one, the Caritas, which is run by a charity. Not cheap-cheap, but it's a clean and well-run shop that also provides jobs to people who wouldn't find a job otherwise. I usually look for good quality things there, which still cost me a great deal less there than if I were buying them new. I buy mostly secondhand and vintage clothes to wear for myself, and for that I get super stuff that I couldn't afford if it were new. Every now and then I find a vintage piece, and yes, if you were buying for re-selling it would be too expensive (unless you got it in one of their twice a year 50% off sales), but for wearing myself, the prices are absolutely fair I think. I have found there amonst others a 1970s Courrèges raincoat, a pair of 1950s Roger Vivier for Dior evening pumps, a 90s Valentino evening suit and a Versace pant suit that I wear for business. And other things that I wear every day like many cashmere sweaters and some of the coolest pants ever. When I go to see my best friend in Vienna, we trawl all the thrift shops, all run by different charities. Some are super cheap and you rarely find anything vintage, but you might find a cute t-shirt for 5 Euros (but then one winter I got a 70s short fur coat for 90 Euros in fantastic condition at one of those), and some know what's vintage and sell that accordingly at some of their shops that they mark "trend vintage" especially, so their prices are not so cheap. But you can still find great things, and I have once found a 1930s dress on a rack of wild 70s polyester dresses - there's always a chance to make a lucky find!
In the U.S here. It's cheap-ish, at least compared to what you describe. But finding a Dior or Chanel is incredibly rare. Only Chanel I have found is a pair of very very beat 90s sandals. And it's hard to find even nice 70s things now . . .
