1 Dress and sunglasses from MakiMaki Vintage
One person’s trash, another person’s business
Issue #34
Internet vintage entrepreneurs dish out tricks and tips on setting up good shop
By Kelly Mellott
Published: December 1st, 2007 | 2:00pm
Lullie Vintage
stores.ebay.com/lullie-vintage-clothing
Brains behind the biz: Shae, 29, Los Angeles
Startup story: About five years ago, Shae sold a few dresses on eBay so that she could use the earnings to buy new stuff — and she got hooked. With continued successful sales, she figured out how to turn the hobby into her full-time job.
eBay’s where it’s at: As one of the largest Web sites in the world, it generates serious traffic, so sellers’ wares are pretty much guaranteed exposure. “You can sell to anyone, anywhere in the world,” Shae says. “That would be a lot harder to do with just a physical store.” The downside is the competition. “There’s an almost impossible amount of new stores doing the exact same thing,” she says. “That’s capitalism, though, right?”
Tips: Create a visually appealing store, find good items, and style them well. “Part of the inherent eBay process is that the more feedback you get and the higher your seller rating is, the more people will buy from you,” Shae says.
MakiMaki Vintage
stores.ebay.com/MakiMaki-Vintage
Brains behind the biz: Noelle VanRaes, 24, and partner, Tommy Molnar, 23, Toronto
Falling into the field: Because she formerly worked as a stylist, VanRaes had amassed a sizeable vintage collection that she lugged to photo shoots. “I became known as a sort of go-to person for vintage dresses, and everyone was buying from me already, so I decided to make it official and open a store,” she says.
Agonizing over options: In the beginning, VanRaes and Molnar debated between selling on eBay or focusing on an exclusive dot-com shop. In the end, they selected eBay. “It allows us to move 50-plus items a week, which means more dresses for the customers,” VanRaes says. “What other store offers a complete turnover on their items every seven days?”
Where to get the goods: VanRaes says her hot spots are always changing. “I might find 20 great pieces at one source one day and nothing the next time,” she says. “Spring is the best time for shopping because everyone is cleaning house.” VanRaes shops in Toronto almost daily, but twice a year, she embarks on an ambitious road trip and always comes back with loads of good stuff.
Promote, promote, promote: In addition to being featured on MTV and in several magazines, MakiMaki’s gotten great online fashion press. “And like so many fledgling bands, MySpace has been a huge help in marketing MakiMaki too,” Van Raes says. Word of mouth, she says, is their favorite form of advertising.
Yellow Jelly Clothing
stores.ebay.com/Yellow-Jelly-Clothing
Brains behind the biz: Dom McCann, 21, and Stephanie Robinson-Jones, 20, from Sunderland, U.K.
Selling online is the way to go: “The Web fees we pay per month are a fraction of what we would have to pay to rent a street shop,” McCann says.
It wasn't all lollipops and rainbows from the get-go: For seven months, the duo borrowed money left, right, and center and wondered if they were ever going to break even, nevermind make enough to live on. “We had thousands of items and nowhere to work from, so I had to take out a loan and build an office/warehouse,” McCann says. “We had to manage all that from my family home for two months. Persistence and dedication really paid off in the end.”
Bleubird Vintage
http://stores.ebay.com/bleubirdvintage
The brains behind the biz: James Kicinski, 28, Houston
Communication is key: Although she had previous experience selling products on eBay, when Kicinski started Bleubird, she had to learn how to deal with buyers who aren’t accustomed to purchasing vintage clothing. “There are some buyers on eBay who don’t really read the item descriptions,” she says. “I had one buyer who was so upset when she received her dress because she thought that it was going to be new.”
Set yourself apart: Kicinski recommends setting up magazine-style photo shoots to display vintage clothing. Posing models, using interesting backgrounds and locations work well for her. “I really wanted to stand out from other sellers,” she says. “It was more of the art of presentation rather than just the front and back of this dress.”
Score!: Kicinski finds some of Bleubird’s best clothing at estate sales. “It’s great because I get to hear stories behind the pieces, and it makes me appreciate them more,” she says.
You can tell if a piece is authentic because: true authentic vintage is very well-constructed, where as reproductions tend to be cheaply made and crafted with poor quality textiles. “Signature ’50s dresses were made with metal zippers, not plastic ones,” Kicinski says. “There are certain vintage brand names that I almost pee my pants when I come across — a Doobs coat and anything by Pucci. I love the rare to come by, but lovely, long linen Gunne Sax dresses from the early ’70s that have the big wooden beaded necklaces attached to the neckline are amazing.”
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