It's that time of year again where we try to find that perfect gift for family and friends.
Amazon seems to be the go to place for buying new items and
Ebay has long been the place for collectors. The growing trend is vintage gift giving. I've always thought it more personal and definitely more unique to buy a nicely cared for vintage item. Not just another throw away but something they might want to hold onto and treasure because of its uniqueness.
I've been selling vintage for family and friends for 10 years now and my buyers really are excited about their purchases. Totally unique one of a kind items that they comment about in their
online product review after purchase. I love matching old items in new homes to be appreciated and adored.
Etsy is a fun place to shop as they have combined a wide range of artisan items with vintage. You can set your search setting to only shop for art or vintage if you like. The stigma that a gift can only be new in order for it to be appreciated is fading, year after year. Shoppers are becoming more conscientious about saving natural resources by gift giving a previously used item. More and more online resale sites are popping up as the ease of selling a used item goes mainstream. I'm seeing newer used items on these sites while authentic vintage items (more than 20 years old) are still being found mainly on Etsy and Ebay, along with a few more less popular sites such as
Bonanza and
Ruby Lane.
It's trendy to gift give vintage but maybe not as cool to give a new used item as these items can still be found new. The key to success is to find a unique item that is difficult to find, one that brings back memories, something that can be physically used or something kitsch. An item that never gets old is vintage Pyrex. Who doesn't love and use Pyrex! One year I gifted an adorable retro cat hand towel to a friend. She loved it! Ornaments are also a fun item to give.
I love selling vintage because of the history each items holds. It's a treasure hunt often for me as a seller just to locate a similar item to date it or determine its authenticity. Over 10 years I've found homes for thousands of items and I've seen the trend expand from just personal buying to shopping for a gift.
I also like selling vintage because I like being a part of the reuse, recycle movement to help our planet which by all accounts is failing. Not only does no new manufacturing go into the products I sell but I also only pack items using previously used boxes and packing paper. I don't know too many sellers that go to this extreme but it is personally important for me. I've never once had to buy a box or paper! Friends bring me boxes, an optical shop saves boxes for me, and I get bubble wrap and paper from freecycle. The only shipping product I buy is tape. I also am conscious of the delivery method I use and even have my postal carrier's cell phone number. Nearly all my shipping is done at my house, I rarely drive to the post office.
I hope you will consider shopping for vintage this holiday season for a host of good reasons! Right now I'm running a SALE in my vintage shop,
ForsythiaHill during the Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday sales. I also sell on ebay,
ruralreality. Go check them out, I thank you in advance!
~Rebecca
