What I Wish Etsy (and Others) Knew About Vintage Sellers

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in an Etsy research study for a new program they are considering implementing. The meeting was one hour long via Zoom. Here and there in the discussion I was able to share the real concerns of vintage sellers but there was so much that went unsaid. Here’s what I wish Etsy understood….

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As vintage sellers while we do not spend our time making products,
we do have huge time sinkholes, challenges and expenses
likely not shared by our artisan friends.

We have to continually source our vintage and antique store items. This means frequenting thrift stores, flea markets, rummage sales, yard sales, antique stores, auctions, estate sales, etc. to find items to sell. This can be fun, but equally exhausting and frustrating. Each week we spend hours traveling to and from these venues and hours at them grubbing around. And nothing is a given. We may walk out empty handed. I know I have.

“Oops, I didn’t see that!” Sometimes we buy items only to discover they have damage. Sometimes this damage renders the item unsellable.

The amount we spend on individual items can vary widely. We may get some things for free and others we’ll pay a lot for. And the amount we spend on an item does not affect its listed price, at least that’s true for me. In other words, if I pay $5 for an item and its value is $75, that’s what I list it for. If I spend $50 on an item and that also turns out to have a $75 value, that’s what I list it for. I don’t pad prices because I spent more or to make up for a buying gaff.

Items may require cleaning and repairing. Yes, sometimes we buy things that need a little TLC. We may wash pieces of dusty china, iron wrinkled linens, condition leather and run a silver wipe over sterling items. It all takes times and usually the purchase of a few specialty products.

Some items require research, sometimes hours (and hours) of research. We all buy things that “in our bones” we know are good but are initially mysteries.

EACH item has to be photographed, measured, described. Every item in our store is unique and requires its own listing, and if done properly, it’s tedious and time-consuming.

Having a wide variety of differently sized items poses storage challenges and shipping issues. Enough said.

All This to Say

Like our Etsy artisan counterparts, vintage sellers work hard for their money. We too are in a very competitive market space. When we have more fees chipping away at our bottomline (including the blindsiding offsite ad fees and fees on the shipping!) and company encouragements to accept offers, provide “free” shipping, buy promotional ads and run deeply discounted sales, well there will come a point when it’s just not worth the time, effort and expense for the profit. (Particularly when taxes still have to be paid.) We’ll throw in the towel. Call it quits!

Now of course there are some folks that will say “Well, raise your prices!” And yes, that is one solution. But most of us strive to price our items at fair market value. For my part I don’t pull numbers out of hat. I research sold items using my Worthpoint subscription. I look at similar items currently listed at a variety of online venues. I factor in decor trends, condition of my item vs. others for sale, rarity, etc. I cogitate on all those factors to arrive at a price that I think is fair, not overinflated.

Selling vintage and antique things has been my passion and side hustle for 12 years and one I take seriously. I have no immediate plans to quit but I am pondering when my end game will be. Wondering if it might be sooner rather than later.

Hmmm. Thoughts?