When Macklemore can look good in a grandma’s coat, so can you! Recently, thrifting or the art of purchasing pre-owned clothing has taken the world by storm. Devon Lee Carlson, an entrepreneur and social media start, was voted number one style inspiration by teenagers in New York. And guess what? She beat Rihanna! People particularly adore Carlson for her eccentric, unexpected style that majorly consists of thrifted pieces.
More famously, Sophia Amoruso started off by selling thrifted pieces on eBay, which lead to a fashion company known as Nasty Gal. After 6 years, it turned into a 100 million dollar yearly revenue business. Being one of the fastest-growing companies, it made Amoruso the richest self-made women in 2016!
Now that the world has tasted the potential thrifting holds, many are eager to capitalise on this opportunity. Today, anyone can set up a store on platforms like Depop, Poshmark and eBay. If you have an eye for style and understanding of ever-evolving fashion, thrifting is your calling. Here’s how you can kickstart your very own fashion business:
- Build a collection
To state the obvious, to start a clothing business you need to build an inventory. You should start by going through your own closets and ask your friends if they’re willing to purge theirs.
Next, head out to thrift stores, charity shops and vintage stores. No matter what your style is, your focus should be on getting one-of-a-kind pieces. There’s no point in getting trendy pieces that are easily available in every retail store. Apart from this, keep an eye for brands. If you come across unfamiliar brands, do a quick Google search to determine if they’re worth the purchase.
Your goal is to curate a selection that’s unique, diverse and all in all fabulous.
- Focus on marketing
It won’t be an exaggeration to say the success of your thrifting business relies on your marketing skills. Put your styling talents to use and style your pieces and photograph them well. In the digital era, an aesthetically-pleasing platform is a crucial tool to win customers.
When you’re starting out, you don’t have any credibility as a seller. Because of this, marketing becomes all the more important. Customers don’t have a big brand name to rely on, all they have are the photographs that you provide. So don’t make the mistake of neglecting this aspect.
- Price reasonably
Pricing is where it gets tricky. Unfortunately, there is no set formula to determine the price of a piece. You have to research and use your judgement to price your products. It’s tempting to overprice products, but avoid doing that. You might make a small profit right now, but it won’t continue for long. To establish yourself as a respected seller, it’s imperative to be reasonable with pricing.
- Be informative
When you list your product, make sure you provide all the details a customer could possibly need. The sizing, special washing instructions, if the product has any flaws and even a styling tip. A detailed description eliminates hesitation and urges customers to complete the purchase.
- Package it well
The end goal isn’t making a sale. You have to take the right steps to urge people to become repeat customers.
How you package your product also makes an impression on customers. You should get custom packaging and even add a personalized note if possible. For all your packaging needs, head over to Direct packaging Solutions.
Thrifting is fun, challenging and completely unpredictable. As the fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters, thrifting is a sustainable approach towards fashion. Whether you’re a college student looking to make some extra cash or a mom wanting to put her fashion skills to test, we hope you found this post helpful.