does anybody know...

eatyourmakeup

eatyourmakeup

Registered Guest
where I can get an overview of the vintage/retro market industry.
a summary, changes that have taken place, declines and growths and loads of other businessy type stuff.

It's annoying because I need sources, it can't all be personal opinion, grrr!

any books or what not, I've had a gander on google, but I can't seem to find anything.

thankyou x
 
I really dont think there is one. But keep at look out at current fashion magazines are they covering vintage issue and shop's. Viuntage styles are the thing, but all the store are making vinatge styled fahsion to match the demand for it.

You really have to know who is buying it besides the fashionistas who are a flay bunch. There are steady collectors, there are stylists who buy for movies and such and there are the rockabilly swing dance people all steady buyer of vintage.
Cruise ebay and see how things ar selling. You can also get a grip on the trends....

If you ned a chart.. Chart your sales month to month over the year...

-Chris
 
I agree with Chris about charting your sales. And anything we say or a magazine says may have no relation to the geographic area you are in.

Here is the scoop on the vintage industry. If you truly sell the very old and the very recognized collectible (which few of us have on a guaranteed basis), you might follow what is going on in the antique dealing industry. If you do not have those items and are selling a lot of nice wearable things from the 30s-70s, then as far as buying trends go, you have more in common with a modern clothing store or resale shop. More similar to maybe a consignment shop or a small modern clothing store. When people are buying some particular style in modern clothing at the regular store, it impacts the vintage world. Case in point: a year or two ago, circle skirts/novelty skirts were everywhere in the stores. And it directly impacted by creating a higher than usual demand/prices for the original ones in the vintage world. Last winter or was it two winters ago "granny chic" was in - so boxey, bulky kindy dowdy to some people coats were in.

The vintage store that survives either surpasses all and is reknowned in one area, or has that has the bread and butter things people collect, but can shift their inventory with the times to stay in business - those are the ones that prosper. I am not saying everyone has to jump on to the current trends, just respond to your customers.

I want to give you a piece of personal advice - you may be far better off if you are writing up a business plan or securing financing for your business if you go with one of two basic models, either the antique store or the consignment/resale/boutique shop. from reading i am leaning towards the latter. All of the nuts and bolts are the same basics between that and a vintage store. And it is more understandable to folks giving financing.

Or also - why not try selling vintage a little on your own dime before starting an official business. I am not saying to do anything illegal, but if you try on a very small hobby basis you wll know if you can swim before putting a lot of resources into it. that way you can sample first hand

i know i am responding more to other previous postings and not entirely to this one, but i think it is worth thinking about
 
l agree with everything said, you gotta make some of your own history..or how else will a biz plan stand up... most of us start small in vintage and build organically....our own good retail standing/experiences etc arent what an investor is looking for....but this will answer your questions for you...

get stuck in the sooner the better...
 
Almost every single vintage dealer started off small just by selling off items from their own collections to fund their habits and then eventually realized that it was time to make it a "real" business! :)

I started off that way too, selling off items from my Victorian and Edwardian costume collection so I could specialize in corsets and riding habits but in the process of parting with things, started to see what got better bids than other things. For instance with me, I found that my 1860's garments (even if they were in poor condition) sold for far more than a mint condition 1910's dress so this is why today, I tend to gravitate towards earlier costume as 1) it's my favorite period and 2) I now have a specialized customer base for these items that I have built up over the years.

I don't want to be negative, but I've seen vintage businessess come and go- there have been a few around me that this happened to. People have an interest in vintage, buy up all the vintage they see, get business loans, etc and then close down as they never got their feet wet by going through the initial and VERY important learning process of testing out the market, etc by selling items on a low scale basis from their own collections.
I learned SO MUCH from this including making mistakes (don't even bothere buying shattered items so matter how beautiful!) with very little risk (things in your collection tend to have already been paid for so you don't have to worry about paying off loans, etc for stock).

I'm not saying that you don't already have experience in this but I have to agree with the others about getting stuck in the sooner the better by selling off some of your own things to test the market and then charting your sales as there really isn't any standard statistics for vintage clothing (which is pretty much true for any aspect of the antique trade!).

Lei
 
thanks all for the advice.

I've been selling my own vintage/retro stuff as a hobby before now, It's proved pretty successful, just selling off things i've brought for myself and decided I didn't want anymore.

it is abit rubbish having to write up what i've found to be a very personal, what works for some might not for others type of industry and set it in stone in the form of a business plan, like what I'm going to do down to the very last litle thing, and how many items I'm going to buy at one particular time etc etc. because you just never know!

I think it's just a case of the people I'm getting help off maybe don't get that quite as well.
and the businessplan guidelines i've been given are very broad and general.

I'm just looking forward to getting infront of the panel of money givers and showing them and telling them about everything you can't get across in a bloody business plan!

god bless the princes trust though, I must say, they've been excellent.
and I never though dropping out of uni would turn out to be a good thing!

thanks again for all your advice, it's much appreciated :]
 
It is difficult as I wouldn't imagine there are any statistics. It's so hard to quantify.. especially when many sellers are just doing in part time or as a hobby and therefore not registered for tax with no way of tracing them!

I think it would be a nightmare to quantify anyway, so I feel for your predicament. No standard stock costs, no standard retail prices. You could maybe look at completed specialist costume auctions at major auction houses over the last few years and compare the results? But as the market varies that may not be much help, it all depends what is en vogue at the time.

Like now in the UK, the bottom has dropped out of the brown furniture market and you get stuff tons cheaper now at auction than you ever would have done in the 90s because it just isn't fashionable. I don't even know how you would go about getting stats on the antique industy which I suppose vintage clothing is a branch of?

Good luck! I think you're right, and when you explain face to face it will be much easier.
 
yeah, I emailed the business information part of the British Library through their enquiry form thingy, and they got back to me saying I should explain that there's not any information specifically for the vintage market, but perhaps look into the antiques trade for info and regular high street retail aswell.

all this for a section that's only a paragraph long!
 
Originally posted by Hattysattic
especially when many sellers are just doing in part time or as a hobby and therefore not registered for tax with no way of tracing them!
actually Hatty whether one is trading vintage part time or as a hobby, one must register with the tax man..or else is liable for a complete investigation...so beware people!

I once made decorative wreaths and rings for a hobby and it was so popular, l sold direct to small craft shops and some on SOR ....l had cards made and one was picked up by the tax snoopy drawers squad...from my printers window!! no less...l was investigated...luckily l kept every receipt and copies of sales etc.....and didn't have to pay a penny...luckily...

and so l was advised to register as a sole trader , running a business.....once this is in effect...one can trade several differnet business' under a sole trader recognition...and then the tax return is a cinch each year only 4 pages....

so just a small word of caution to protect yourselves...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I probably should have made that clearer- by part time/hobbyists I basically meant people that do a stall a few times a year at a flea market, or people who decide to sell off their late granny's wardrobe over a month on ebay and never deal in vintage again - and therefore are very unlikely to tell the tax man (regardless of whether or not they ought to!) if it was a one of and a small sum. And so you will inevitably have a corner of the market go unrecorded.

Good job you had proof of your accounts, and you are absolutely right, as a small business in the UK the end of year form is very small and really not scary! I always thought it would be some great tome.

It's a good point to make that even if you are not likely to earn enough over the year to be liable for tax (I think under about £5K is this years personal allowance) it is far easier to register and go through the motions. I like to think it's good practice for the day I am rich beyond my wildest dreams.. but then I shall be paying someone else to do my books of course ;)
 
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