If your ideal weekend is spent hitting up car boot sales, browsing charity shops and scouring Etsy for the perfect vintage find, then having your own stall may seem like the dream job – or at least the dream side hustle. But what are the tips and tricks to make your vintage fashion business a success? We asked successful stall owners how they went from vintage fan to thriving market trader – and how you can do the same.
1. Start small
“Don’t get carried away and invest a lot of money at the start,” says Amanda Barnes, whose shop Ooh La La Vintage in Dorset began as a stall at events and vintage festivals. “Keep expectations realistic and reassess every few months before you buy more stock. Even if you’re just doing it as a hobby, it’s a good idea to write a loose business plan. Decide how much you’ll spend on stock, and think about other expenses, such as travel and the cost of the pitch. Then work out how much you need to sell to recoup costs and turn a profit.”
2. Follow your passion
“Think about your current vintage collection and whether there’s a theme that stands out, because that’s what you should focus on,” says Sarah Horrillo, who started her Portobello Road stall London Vintage six years ago. “When I first started out, I did a lot of vintage table linens and homeware; now I just focus on women’s clothes. But your passion might be accessories or childrenswear or denim or ’50s clothes. As you build up your business, people will come to associate you with a particular theme.”
3. Build a brand
“From the outset, think about who you’re trying to reach and what you’re offering,” says Kerry Norton, a part-time nurse who also runs Sisters of the Moon, a vintage stall in London and Brighton. “Get a logo and business cards, so that if a customer doesn’t buy anything that day, they can go away and find you. Get an Instagram account – it’s a really important way to build up a following – and pay attention to analytics. If a particular item is getting lots of likes, you’ll know to look out for similar pieces.”
4. Go contactless
“I set myself up with iZettle straight away,” says Norton. “Loads of people don’t carry cash and people want contactless payments, which makes things so much easier and quicker and less hassle than rummaging around for change. It’s also a good idea to have a separate bank account for your stall, so you can keep track of incomings and outgoings.”
“We know that consumer habits are changing, with more than 80% of all iZettle users’ sales in the UK being contactless. We want to make sure our vendors have everything they need to run their business, and with the iZettle Reader they can accept payments via card, contactless and wearable tech. The reader can run on 3G and 4G, so whether you’re in a store, a pop-up or at a market stall, we’ve got you covered,” says Ed Hallett, managing director at iZettle UK.
5. Always be on the hunt
“The hardest part of the job is finding the right pieces – and no one wants to reveal their sources,” says Norton. “Some traders use wholesalers, but my stock is all individually sourced. Always keep your eye out wherever you go, and be willing to do repairs.” Horrillo takes an empty suitcase when she goes on holiday, as she says she never knows where she might find a gem. “The best advice I can give is to only buy things you love. Don’t be swayed by a designer label, or overthink it and buy something because you think it will sell – that never works.”
6. It’s good to talk
“Chatting to your customers is a great way to learn what people want,” says Barnes. “That’s your market, so it’s a great way to get instant feedback on what you’re doing. Do they want things in bigger sizes? Are they looking for better quality? Are they finding items too expensive? Take it all on board and adapt your strategy accordingly.”
7. Get friendly
Teaming up with a friend who also loves vintage fashion can be a good way to split pitch costs and make selling more fun. “It’s also a good idea to make friends with fellow stall owners,” says Jean Thompson of Love Vintage, based in Leeds. “They can watch the stall for you when you’re having a break, and will often have loads of great advice if they’ve been doing it for years. There’s a really nice community of vintage traders and we all help each other out.”
8. Presentation is key
“Take the time to make sure your items are nicely presented, ironed, clean and clearly priced,” says Barnes. “Make sure all of a garment’s seams, buttons and fastenings are intact, too. People want to immediately incorporate an item into their wardrobe – they don’t want to take it home and spend time repairing it.”
9. Get organised
“Try to lay out your stock in an orderly way,” says Thompson. “That also makes it easier to keep track of your current inventory, and pull out similar pieces when they do sell.” Norton suggests thinking about how you’ll transport your stock and where you’ll put it when you’re not on the stall. “I had a year of keeping all my stock in my tiny flat, but now I use a storage facility,” she says. “It’s a hidden cost that I didn’t think about at the start, but for me it’s well worth it.”
10. Accept the ups and downs
“You can have long quiet periods, and that’s scary,” says Norton. “But you have to think on a monthly basis rather than having a bad day and then feeling despondent. If you do have an unsuccessful selling day, try to think about what you can learn from it – maybe it wasn’t the right location for you, for example. Ultimately, I’m doing something I enjoy and, for me, that’s much more rewarding than a regular paycheck.”
To find out how iZettle can help your business, visit izettle.com
