Here I happily share my 20 years as a Vintage Trader to amuse or perhaps even help open your eyes to the possibility of this as an alternative/complimentary income stream.
THIS POST IS AN ORIGINAL PIECE WRITTEN AND COMPILED AS AN ENTRY FOR ART EXPLOSION WEEK 26: VINTAGE. All words and images are mine.
Back in the day I had a successful Vintage/Antiques business from which I paid my way in the world for nearly 20 years. Living in France I bought stock, upcycled it and ran it to prestigious clients in England. I used to sell to top London stores – many of whom were regularly featured in the glossy homestyle magazines. For seven years I was the main vintage supplier for the UK textile designer doyenne Cath Kidston who, in her early days, propped her stores with vintage delights which she also sold.
When first I started to trade, 1997, I still lived in London and fondly remember a conversation with a client presenting my vintage delights to her for the very first time-
“Vintage?”
She queried,
“Isn’t that a wine?!”
I was fortunate to get in early on the game - before Vintage became super buzzy; but whilst today it is not so easy to make big profit there is still ample opportunity to turn a healthy one.
And so, I am ideally placed to share my knowledge in the hope of inspiring you.
Buying and selling vintage is fun but it requires discipline and stealth
.
My first, and guiding, principle was that I would never buy anything unless I could see a minimum 300% mark-up. Heart and emotion were left at home when I was buying. Usually I managed higher returns per item. For instance, I would buy a small bathroom cabinet for no more than 10 Euros and sell it, done up, in the UK for between £48.00 - £56.00. This allowed for costs such as fuel, ferry, paint, sundries and pesky social charges to be covered with ease.
Having bought low to sell high I carefully selected my customers by reputation and location and used the glossy magazines as a resource to source and target them. The magazines were my bible as I also followed and predicted trends for items, colours and was able to garner further information on price. For my customers also wanted their pound of flesh on each item they purchased which varied from between 250 – 300% mark-up.
Imagine this: In the day I would buy a large vintage enamel jug for 5 Euros, sell it on to a store for £17.00 and then they would sell it to Mrs Gotta-Haveit for £48.00
I used to be on constant buy alert and many days out were funded by a fortunate find or two. The trick was to source stock as close to the point of origin as possible. I was never comfortable going into folks’ homes and so grew a network of house clearance fellas that used to reserve stuff for me. I also used to go to Depot Ventes, huge charity warehouses stuffed with everything from antique Louis Phillipe Mirrors to used vintage toilet brushes!
(You may be wondering what the difference between antique and vintage actually is – something is classified as antique if it is more than 100 years old. Everything else is vintage).
My favourite day of the week was Sunday.
On Sunday the street Brocantes and Marche aux Puces, (flea and street markets), were the order of the day. I lived in Northern France, near Lille and would happily spend my day driving between village Brocantes on the prowl for stylish French finds which the English adored.
The French are super partial to a Brocante which is an excuse for the village or town to have a party. Inhabitants set up stall in front of their home and the fun begins as folks haggle and quaff Pernod or Vin Rouge.
The rest of the week would find me furiously washing, repairing, painting, sanding, waxing and buffing in readiness for running.
I was working 60 hours a week to keep up with demand and every fortnight I would load up my Renault master van and set off at midnight for the ferry at Dunkerque. I would then spend the day running between clients where I would, singlehandedly, unload my stock onto the pavement before the client’s premises. They would then select what they wanted, we would agree a price and, whilst they organised the cash, I would reload my van with what was left in readiness to continue on my merry way. Although I say so myself I was a bloody good vintage dealer and always returned home, 18 hours later, with an empty van and full pockets!
I also had a shop and successfully sold ‘smalls’ online via Etsy.
Fabric – this always sells well and is easy to handle. Pop it in the washing machine and show it the iron whilst damp and flog it!
Mirrors – Always popular and a staple for all interior designers and decorators. Secure the glass and make sure the backing is solid et voila – big profit coming atcha!
Quirky Smalls – All manner of small and odd delights are desirable; the weirder the better and if not odd then stylish and practical.
Unless burly avoid large furniture; it’s a bastard to cart around and takes at least 10 hours to paint an Armoire!
My days working as a Vintage Dealer were physically challenging but boy did I have a blast.
Happy days!
I hope this has been of interest to you.
With Love.
xox
http://www.lindadacey-laforge.com
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