How can I assess the value of clothing from the 50's-70's?
My grandmother dumped all of her old clothes on my mom recently, and she told me I can have them if I make the effort to sell them. They are all in excellent condition and made in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. I have been trying to find some kind of online guide to help me with pricing, but I haven't had any luck. I took them to a "vintage" store, unfortunately the largest city close to me is Omaha, NE.....They would only pay me 10 dollars for the whole lot, I don't think they were a true vintage store, because I know genuine vintage clothing is worth more than 10 dollars for 40 pieces. I'm not looking for general answers just so people can get their couple of points, I'm looking for someone that really knows what they are talking about. This forum is useless when people just say "durrrrr look on ebay". Not trying to be harsh, I just think this website would be alot more helpful if people actually tried to answer the questions...
Sorry, Im not a vintage seller, but I do buy TONS of vintage clothes so I may be able to help you.
I buy my vintage clothes at true vintage stores (both online, and in my city). These are a few facts on how they price their clothes...
- quality of clothing. This means, is it still its true color (no yellowing, brown spots, enlarged stains, holes, tears, rips, etc) Also, smell is a big factor in vintage clothing, as clothes do retain odors. Were your clothes kept in smoke free environments?
- the designer of the clothes. If the clothes were origionally from a designer, you can easily add on more money.
- the style of the clothing. A formal gown may be worth more than a simple blouse or sundress.
- and finally, just the overall look of the clothing. Is it a cute pattern that is in style now? (florals, bold prints, short dresses)
This is where selling vintage clothing may get a little confusing. If you have a stylish good condition sun dress, and a less stylish formal dress (maybe the colors are less appealing or it has a cut that is very out of style). THis is when the sundress might cost more than the formal gown.
Haha, im so sorry if that was confusing.
Basically, when it comes to vintage clothing base your prices on the quality, style, and how overall good looking the piece is. If you like it, charge more. If you think its not very cute charge less.
I also recomend, since you have so many vintage items, driving to a really good vintage clothing store. I would look up ones in your area. One that is near me that I find is fair in their pricing (and will buy your clothes from you directly) is buffalo exchange. I would recomend seeing if there is one near you. =]
If not, I would simply search online, check out other vintage stores and just see how they are pricing their clothes. Here are a few stores that i find have very fair prices, for different styles of clothing.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6910126
http://www.vintageous.com/vintagecoats.htm
good luck! I hope i helped!
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