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Q: How
long have you been in this business?
A: Our
owner Jen has been a lover of vintage clothing (and antiques!)
almost all her life. She lives in an historic district, in an
historic home (over 100 years old!) which is full of antiques and old
clothes. She has been buying and collecting vintage clothing for
almost 18 years but has been seriously dealing and selling it for the
past 8 years, all of which have been online. (For
more about Jen, click here)
Q: Why
do you charge $6.50 for shipping one item? I only want to order a scarf...
A: We
charge a flat rate for 1-2 items; our shopping cart doesn't know if
someone is ordering a scarf or a 10 lb. coat. Same price for both. =)
We ship everything US Postal Service Priority Mail with delivery
confirmation/tracking number which costs $4.20; our shipping cost
also covers handling (we package all items carefully and separately
either in tissue paper or a bag), scotch tape, packing tape, label
and ink for that label - oh, and did I mention time? Time spent
individually wrapping everything, putting into said package, affixing
the label, and driving to the Post Office. Daily. We are also known
to include free shipping coupons, freebies, a sucker, or even a
lovely sachet into our packages, none of this is free for us. $6.50
is really pretty reasonable when you consider that most other vintage
clothing websites charge $9.95 and more. This is how we make our
living - we're not getting rich on shipping charges, believe me!
Q: Do
you ever sell items on consignment? OR I have a <insert item
here> that I'd like to sell, but would like to get as much as
possible (pricewise) out of it.....
A: No,
we really don't sell on consignment BUT we are always more than
happy to talk to people who may have a piece or two they want to sell
but aren't sure what they want for them OR may have just one designer
piece for example. We normally consign at 30% (you 70%, us 30) so
keep that in mind. We really prefer to buy outright and have been
known to evaluate pieces or do an appraisal for a fee.
Q: Where
do you find your items? OR How can I find vintage clothes too
(besides online)?
A: Quite
honestly we find vintage all over the place. Sometimes we buy at
estate sales or rummage sales; we often hit the thrift stores in our
area (and sometimes out of our area!) weekly; church sales, garage
sales, flea and antique markets - you name it! We also have been
known to buy from pickers (professional clothes spotters or buyers
who buy vintage and recycled items in order to resell them to people
like us) and auctions (live ones, i.e. farm auctions) We buy from
people who email us, from people who sell overstock, and collectors
too. And YES it is time consuming, so keep that in mind when you buy
from us; our prices are low according to most standards and it
probably took alot of time, effort, and cleaning just to get that one
item you are berating yourself for buying, into the condition it's in
when you receive it! Bottom line, if you've got several hours a week
and like looking at
each....individual.....item......on......each.....individual.......rack......at.......the.......Salvation
Army......then by all means, become a 'vintage picker'! We can
always use more.....;-P
Q: How
do you price your items?
A:
Honestly? Very low ..... just check out some of the other online
sellers or even that vintage clothing store near you. Vintage
clothing is becoming more and more costly to find AND to maintain;
and those of us in it for the long haul, usually are in this business
not only 'for the money' but moreso because we love it. In my case I
am an old hand at the online vintage business (7 years now!) and I
still price my items just high enough to keep myself afloat. And yes,
this is my son and my sole source of income so keep that in mind when
you ask for that discount!
Back to pricing though, most
vintage owners price their items depending on several things: rarity,
condition, size, current trends, and what we paid for it originally.
Of course popular items and designer name items will always be
pricier than mass manufactured pieces or pieces not in demand at the
moment. Now, on to bartering and/or discounting.....
Q: Can
you knock off part of this price OR Can you give me a discount on
this item?
A: No
offense to those of you who really know your stuff, or just plain
LOVE to barter, but I personally take offense at being asked to 'give
a discount' to someone before they've even said 'Hello' or 'nice to
meet ya'. As mentioned above, I LOVE VINTAGE and that is the A-number
one reason I am in this business. Now, if this was a 'brick and
mortar' store and you were standing there with several hundred
dollars worth of merchandise in your hands, or felt like something
was marked ridiculously high (which would never happen because our
items are priced at least 25-50% LOWER than most of our competitors),
then I could see knocking off some of the price. Perhaps if you are
one of our many repeat customers, that would be a different story. To
quote from the wonderful book 'Secondhand
Chic'
"Is it better to barter or (ask for a discount?) or not?"
Answer: No
if you're a stranger to the store, don't really know the market or
are just doing it to knock a couple bucks off. Remember, most vintage
store owners are in the game for love rather than money...." Well
said....and
again, if you're in doubt, do some comparison shopping and you'll
see what we mean about our pricing. Lastly, please keep in mind that
we spend countless hours on each and every item in our web store -
from searching for, to the cleaning of, to the pricing and
photographing of each piece we feel that you get a huge bargain when
you shop with us. =)
Q: Do
you have a (paper) catalog you can send me?
A: No
we don't. Due to the nature of our business, we do not offer a paper
catalog since most of our clothing is one of a kind vintage AND our
inventory changes on a daily basis. It would be impossible to
maintain! Please feel free to check our web catalog often as we are
constantly updating it.
Q: Can
you find me a <insert name of wanted vintage clothing item here>
A: We'll
certainly try! If you email
us with details
of what you are looking for (including size, color, condition and
price range) we'd be happy to add any item to our wish list. If/when
we find what you are looking for, we will contact you immediately.
Q: Do
you buy vintage clothing outright from people?
A: Most
definitely! If you email us with details of what you have, including
size, color, and condition (i.e. one dime sized hole, blotchy fade,
two moth holes, one quarter sized stain, etc.) we'd be happy to
discuss purchasing your item(s) assuming they are something we deal
in and are something we are looking for. Normally emailing us a photo
will get you a better idea of price (please
email us first before sending photos!);
we also prefer to actually see and feel the item(s) for ourselves
and if we are interested in what you have emailed us about, we will
ask you to send your items to us via confirmed or insured mail. After
we've had a chance to thoroughly inspect the item(s), we will contact
you with our price quote. We don't do consignment any longer unless
it is for a very special or high end vintage item.....
Q: Do
you ship to Serbia/Yugoslavia (or.....)?
A:
Unfortunately, no. Per the US Postal Service (Eff. 5/99), we
are unable to ship to the following countries
(no US mail service is available):
Afghanistan
Guinea-Bissau
Liberia
Papua New Guinea
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Yugoslavia (Serbia & Montenegro)
All other international buyers are
welcome, although we only accept PayPal.com payments from some
countries. Please see our
Policies
& Information page
for more information and to see if we accept orders from your
country before ordering.
Q: Do
you accept returns?
A: Yes.
We make every effort to insure that all items are accurately
described and represented. If, however, you are not satisfied with an
item you purchased through us OR it doesn't fit, you should notify us
by email immediately with the problem. We don't issue refunds, but we
will issue a credit on your account with us and/or exchange your item
within 10 days of purchase.
PLEASE note:
Don't simply send the item back as you won't receive credit/exchange
that way! Let us know ahead of time please. Items sent back without a
prior acknowledgement AND items returned after our 10 day return
period will be accepted back solely at our discretion and will be
subject to a 15% restocking fee. Remember, vintage clothing is
fragile! For more information on this (and other policies) please see
our Policies/Information
Page
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