Before You Start Reselling, Let’s Be Real

You can start with very little money and no experience and grow it into something that brings in extra money each month. But. But beware of sellers who claim it’s easy to make six-figure incomes a year doing it. 

It’s not. And while I love hunting for cool vintage things, this biz is also a grind and a gamble. Nothing is a given. Sales are not a given. Finding great items is not a given. Having good customers is not a given. You can work hard, do everything right, and still not do as well as you want.

The Bottom Line

With a little effort the reselling biz can provide supplemental income, but I wouldn’t count on it to support me.

But their net profit was around $50,000 which means essentially they made minimum wage. And let’s face it, $50,000 for a year in today’s U.S. economy is not easy to live on. Other full-time vintage resellers are partially bankrolled by their popular YouTube channels or other social media accounts. In fact some make significantly more from their vlogs than from selling items.

Promotions

• Cleaning and restoring items
• Online platform fees (typically 8% and up)
• Antique booth and flea market stall fees
• Software (accounting, listing, photography, etc.) fees
• Storage (buying bins, shelves, space, etc.) costs
• Shipping material (mailers, bubble wrap, boxes, etc) costs

Another American blog, Sammy D Vintage is not only inspiring but a really informative vintage blog. I look to the blog for advice on caring for fashion and how to wear it in an accessible way. I found this site when she shared a 1990s vintage fashion blog written by moi, and I have avidly followed it ever since. With posts like 21 Reasons to wear 1940s vintage – what’s not to love?