Shaking Up Your Vintage Business (Pssst! It's Scary)

THE BACKSTORY: At my accursed day job, we're shaking up a 60-year-old tradition in an effort to survive—and thrive—in a dying industry. For those who don't know, I've worked as a designer for a newspaper for the last 35(!) years. 

The times they are a-changing, and it's necessary. The old ways don't automatically continue to work in a changing industry.

I'm seeing and experiencing parallels in the vintage world, and it's caused me to re-examine a LOT of my ways. Besides, with my elderly-parent obligations, and hopefully retiring early within 5 years, I need to seek a clear path forward. How can I sustain a viable vintage business nowadays, especially once I don't have a big-grrrrl day job?

THE DILEMMA: At said accursed day job, the company established a task force to answer the intriguing question:

 

WHAT SHOULD WE STOP DOING?

Whoa. Wait, wait, wait.

That question alone opened my eyes. Instead of asking "what are we doing wrong?" or "what should we start doing?" or even the dumb-ass "what's happening here?", we turned it on its head, asking a critical question that many businesses won't even CONSIDER.

I realized that on some level, I was doing that in my own vintage business. What should I stop doing? What isn't working for me? And what can I put the brakes on?

 

THE SOLUTION Part 1: Reconsider my venues.

I faced reality that I should leave secondary venues that aren't attracting my target market. DONE (in March, then again in September). 

In both of those instances, I was actually LOSING money. I could now focus on just my main venue—a monthly barn sale, which has been the best fit (and most profitable) for me in the 12 years I've been selling. Cool beans; I've got a plan I can live with!

But, that venue is now undergoing renovations, and we have our annual 5-sales-within-6-weeks holiday blitz, which I wrenchingly realized I simply cannot keep up with while working a day job and caring for my parents. 

So, I'm taking a brief break. I'll be back at the barn once renovations are complete (yay!). I'm also brainstorming on what I need to do THERE to be more successful, competitive, and creative.

It's terrifying to have NO physical venue right now, but somewhat of a relief. I can breathe, and no longer feel like I'm scrambling—which is no way to run a business.

 

THE SOLUTION, Part 2: Re-dedicate myself to online sales.

I should focus on Etsy for the next 6 months, my only viable solution at this point in my situation. I've decided to turn THAT situation on its head, too, asking myself: could I make Etsy-only (or online-only, possibly my own site) work as a business model, since early retirement will involve a LOT of online selling, right?

For those of you who don't sell on Etsy (or online at all), that means keeping abreast of best practices, but also REALLY paying attention to what WORKS and what is feasible. Looking at my stats, I can see what ALWAYS sells, what sells very quickly, and what search terms buyers are using. Time to use that to my advantage.

 

THE SOLUTION, Part 3: Jettison the crap.

For years, I've been expanding my list of "do-not-buy" albatrosses (armoires, kitchen scales, silver pieces, etc.) that drag me down. I went down into the dreaded basement these past few weeks and created bins full o' crap that I've been holding onto for 10+ YEARS thinking I'll finally sell or list it. No! I've tried to sell it at multiple venues, at increasingly low prices. They are no longer my style—or desirable—so off it all went to Goodwill. I'm also negotiating with a fellow picker to offload some other bad decisions, at greatly reduced prices. Hell, I've even put crap on the curb. Begone!

 

I've got a lot more to spout off on, but wanted to open the question: what should we all STOP doing? What should YOU stop doing?

Comments

[Debi]

Huh. Kitchen scales? I do great with kitchen scales.

I'm going to stop buying wall plates. With the popularity of gallery walls, you'd think they'd sell better but no one wants them anymore. Maybe you do better with them like I do with the scales.

I was actually thinking of renting space in a store where I am required to work there at least one day a week. You learn a lot more in "real life," i.e. talking to the other vendors. I want to learn more about art since I am attracted to it and I buy a lot of it but don't know what it is. Reading about it online is hard. I still can't identify what I have and so I have a ton of artwork just sitting here because I have performance anxiety.

I want to cut back on Facebook. This kind of stuff is much better.

[Robin]

Picnic baskets. I love them, can't stop buying them and they just don't sell. Also crock bowls, again, I love them, but they don't move in my booths at all. I am also jettisoning the booths that aren't working for me. I have already gotten out of one, and I will be out of the other by the end of the year. I am going to stop buying things just because I think I might be able to sell it. I have started carefully curating what I offer. I think I know who my customers are at each venue and the price points they are willing to pay. I am sticking to that even if I really love something.

[Robin]

Also, glad to see you are posting again! You have been missed!

[Melissa]

I recently did some similar thinking. I purged my booth of 10 XL totes full of things that weren't selling. They'll be heading to auction eventually. Online sales used to be strong for me, but I no longer have time to dedicate to them, so I'm thinking of hosting a barn sale once a month (when it's warm) at my house, since I have plenty of space. I'm also considering some shows/markets/etc where the booth rent is cheap and I could off-load lots of stuff in a day. I'm all about getting the most bang for your buck. I'll continue with my booths, because I love the shop I'm in and I always do well there. Plus, I hope to buy it from the aging owner one day. Great location, great customer base, etc.