I'm opening a store and I need advice

Moonchild

Moonchild

Registered Guest
Hi! I've been so fortunate to be able to open a little shop soon (in only 1 month!). I would really love all kinds of tips and advice on how to run a vintage shop as smoothly as possible!
Here's a little info on my shop..
I started selling online on an app called Trendsales. Pretty much the same as depop, but for Denmark.
I then started a website. So I'm essentially selling on two different places, same items. And now I will be selling in 3 different places! It's waaay too much work but I don't know what to do. I don't sell as much on my website as I do on the app. I've been doing this for 11 months, so there's still much time to grow.

I would like to add tags to all my clothing and items, but I only have blank tags like these LINK
And I'm not sure if I should order some tags with specific details on them, or if I should just use my blank tags and write everything on it..
And what would be a good idea to write on these tags besides price and size?

I have absolutely no system in my items, and I would like to be more organized and systematic so I can keep track of everything!

My stock comes from different places, which makes organization more complicated.
I have items from vintage wholesale packages, I have items I've gotten from family, And I have items I've bought in thrift stores.
How do I keep a system in all of this?


I'm sorry for the questions, I really hope I'm not asking for too much. I figured that this is a good place to ask, as I'm sure some or all of you have a physical store for your vintage clothing!

I feel a little lost in the whole process and I want to take it more seriously and actually make it a business. So ALL advice is welcome!! Thank you <3
 
Hi Moonchild, there's a lot you can do in running your own shop, it's a matter of how much you want to do and whether it adds value to you. Maybe start with lists of options and consider whether it will work for you, and remember that when you're implementing a system, it's best to do it from the beginning if you can, as introducing one later can be harder.

I had a B&M and a webshop for many years (2004-2020) and used an inventory system. The codes I used told me when it was added to the system, what sort of garment it was and then a numeric code: eg DR2001-120 was the 120th dress that I added in January 2020. But many use simpler systems, even just numeric (eg 0050 is the fiftieth item).

Once you have an inventory/stock number for the item you can use that in whatever records you want to keep.

I printed up swingtags were quite detailed, and recorded the label, measurements (bust, waist, hips, sleeve etc), recommended size, care instructions, condition, price, stock number. But hardly anyone goes to the lengths that I do: just think about what's important to you and what information you want to pass onto your client.

So that's the two most important things I think: how you label your stock and how you inventory it. Then you choose whether you want to use bookkeeping software, or a card system or a spreadsheet, however you want to manage it. Oh, and if you have three different online locations for selling, you'll need to keep on top of order processing to minimise the risk of selling the same thing more than once, and a policy of what to do in case that happens.

Good luck! Having your own shop can be wonderful and you're in the right place to get support and help.
 
Great advice from Nicole who knows of what she speaks and is very experienced. One thing I would be sure to do on the tags is add at least what the item is, the color, and the decade, i.e. 1940s red dress/1950s white blouse/skirt/hat etc., not just the price and size. Tag switching is notorious in brick and mortar vintage shops. Nicole gives a great deal of info on her tags which is admirable. I had a brick and mortar shop for about 10 years and never had a decent inventory system, but in retrospect I wish I had done so.

Keep and eye on ladies (and gents) who want to try on things that are obviously too small for them as that often lead to stress on the seams or tearing, and watch for damage or perfume lingering scents and body odors after try ons.

And of course no wire hangers!

Wishing you the best of success!
 
Circa Vintage Clothing said:
Hi Moonchild, there's a lot you can do in running your own shop, it's a matter of how much you want to do and whether it adds value to you. Maybe start with lists of options and consider whether it will work for you, and remember that when you're implementing a system, it's best to do it from the beginning if you can, as introducing one later can be harder.

I had a B&M and a webshop for many years (2004-2020) and used an inventory system. The codes I used told me when it was added to the system, what sort of garment it was and then a numeric code: eg DR2001-120 was the 120th dress that I added in January 2020. But many use simpler systems, even just numeric (eg 0050 is the fiftieth item).

Once you have an inventory/stock number for the item you can use that in whatever records you want to keep.

I printed up swingtags were quite detailed, and recorded the label, measurements (bust, waist, hips, sleeve etc), recommended size, care instructions, condition, price, stock number. But hardly anyone goes to the lengths that I do: just think about what's important to you and what information you want to pass onto your client.

So that's the two most important things I think: how you label your stock and how you inventory it. Then you choose whether you want to use bookkeeping software, or a card system or a spreadsheet, however you want to manage it. Oh, and if you have three different online locations for selling, you'll need to keep on top of order processing to minimise the risk of selling the same thing more than once, and a policy of what to do in case that happens.

Good luck! Having your own shop can be wonderful and you're in the right place to get support and help.
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Thank you SO much for the advice! This is an insane help for me, and I already feel a bit more prepared.
 
Rue_de_la_Paix said:
Great advice from Nicole who knows of what she speaks and is very experienced. One thing I would be sure to do on the tags is add at least what the item is, the color, and the decade, i.e. 1940s red dress/1950s white blouse/skirt/hat etc., not just the price and size. Tag switching is notorious in brick and mortar vintage shops. Nicole gives a great deal of info on her tags which is admirable. I had a brick and mortar shop for about 10 years and never had a decent inventory system, but in retrospect I wish I had done so.

Keep and eye on ladies (and gents) who want to try on things that are obviously too small for them as that often lead to stress on the seams or tearing, and watch for damage or perfume lingering scents and body odors after try ons.

And of course no wire hangers!

Wishing you the best of success!
Click to expand...
Things I would've never thought of! Thank you!
If I need to keep an eye on people who are trying on items that are clearly too small, I should obviously not say something, but just look at the item when they leave to make sure they didn't tear, right? Or is it also to make sure they pay for the item if they broke it? And how do I prove they broke it, even if I'm 100% certain?
 
Moonchild said:
Things I would've never thought of! Thank you!
If I need to keep an eye on people who are trying on items that are clearly too small, I should obviously not say something, but just look at the item when they leave to make sure they didn't tear, right? Or is it also to make sure they pay for the item if they broke it? And how do I prove they broke it, even if I'm 100% certain?
Click to expand...

I used to measure people if I wasn’t sure if they would fit a garment. It’s hard, because some will be offended but vintage is often small and women can often be optimistic when faced with something pretty. No matter how much you monitor things, garments do get damaged and your customers are unlikely to pay for garments when it happens. It’s one of the advantages of selling online, rather than in person.
 
Circa Vintage Clothing said:
women can often be optimistic when faced with something pretty
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Truer words were never spoken :)

I have never had a B&M store so you should definitely listen to these wise ladies but when creating inventory numbers for online venues, I use a system that includes where the item is stored. If all your inventory would also be available on display at your store, that may not be useful to you but if you plan to keep certain items online-only, it might. I have a tiny online store and I had to create this system because I was starting to have a really hard time finding things.
 
I kept my B&M stock and my online stock separately: I had to because the B&M sold dozens, if not hundreds of items a day. Keeping on top of it all would have been impossible without a computerised system that removed stock from one space immediately, and that was beyond my capabilities.

The process I used was thus: new stock came into the B&M, and if it didn't sell within a certain timeframe we would prepare and list it online. The online shop operated from a different space, a studio down the road. People who bought things online had the option to pick it up (and try it on) in the B&M. I took returns for any reason so didn't mind if they tried it on, didn't like it and wanted to return for a refund on the spot.

It's important to have good policies: my feeling was that you needed a policy to handle every situation so that when the bad thing happened, you didn't get upset, you just pulled out your policy and moved on. Before then, there were days when something bad would happen (as it invariably does when you're dealing with the public) and I'd be so upset I'd shut the shop and cry in the back room. Having good policies really helped. I also had a lot of staff and had a responsibility to keep them safe, so policies were important for risk management too.
 
Circa Vintage Clothing said:
I kept my B&M stock and my online stock separately: I had to because the B&M sold dozens, if not hundreds of items a day. Keeping on top of it all would have been impossible without a computerised system that removed stock from one space immediately, and that was beyond my capabilities.

The process I used was thus: new stock came into the B&M, and if it didn't sell within a certain timeframe we would prepare and list it online. The online shop operated from a different space, a studio down the road. People who bought things online had the option to pick it up (and try it on) in the B&M. I took returns for any reason so didn't mind if they tried it on, didn't like it and wanted to return for a refund on the spot.

It's important to have good policies: my feeling was that you needed a policy to handle every situation so that when the bad thing happened, you didn't get upset, you just pulled out your policy and moved on. Before then, there were days when something bad would happen (as it invariably does when you're dealing with the public) and I'd be so upset I'd shut the shop and cry in the back room. Having good policies really helped. I also had a lot of staff and had a responsibility to keep them safe, so policies were important for risk management too.
Click to expand...
This is really great, thank you. I do not have the funds to have staff just yet, but it's still important to have some policies in place. Thank you for reminding me!
 
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