Welcome to my new blog!. I figured I would make this 1st post about something helpful in the world of buying vintage clothing online. And to help anyone reading this become a more savvy ebay shopper and minimize the risk of disappointment.
Some will be common knowledge, and some will be lesser known. I hope you find these suggestions helpful.
Thrill of the Hunt!
When searching for that great piece of vintage here are a few suggestions for you to help you find what you want.
Just Browsing?
1. Change your search from Best Match to Ending soonest ~ Best match is ebays way of showing you what they want you to see and in the order they want you to see it. By changing from best match to ending soonest you will see things that are closing in chronological order and you will see everything that is being offered. Ebay uses their best match to punish sellers, so you may miss some great items from good sellers if you use it!
2. Hey look, my model has tattoos!. Sure its nice to see an item on an attractive model. But if you want to be a savvy shopper you have to be a little more open than that. Most of the time you can find the same or better (and usually cheaper) piece from a non trendy modelled seller. So, keep an open mind when your browsing, your buying this for you and not just how it looks on a model!.
3. This is it?. this one is pretty obvious but still gets some people. So, you've scrolled down through the 1st page of your search and you've gotten to the dreaded "sponsored links", well under those strategically placed ads is the link to the next page (duh!).
4. Nothing speaking to you?, well you've searched the auctions and just cant find what your looking for. You have more options, at the top of the search page there are 3 tabs: all items, auctions, buy it now. In a default search you will only see currently running auctions. By clicking on the "buy it now" tab you will see everything listed in sellers stores, which usually gives you 3 times as many items to choose from and all at a fixed price! ~ no waiting!
OK, you've found that piece you want ~ what now?
This part is probably the most important part in making your decision about whether or not to buy/bid on that great piece you've found.
1. Get the Facts! ~ Be sure to read the entire listing. Dont just fixate on the pictures and the "sales pitch". Read the fine print!
2. Will it fit? ~ Make sure you check and understand the actual measurements (if there not listed, ASK the seller what they are). Don't just go by estimated size or the size on the tag. Vintage sizing can be significantly different than modern sizing, so be sure to use the measurements listed. Keep it real!, dont buy something you "hope" will fit you and return it because it doesn't. Ebay sellers are not the mall. The best way to determine your measurements is to find a garment from your closet that fits you well and you are comfortable in, lay it flat on table or floor and measure it across the bust, waist & hips. Also measure yourself and compare (if you don't have a flexible ruler, use string or yarn). This way you will know ahead of time if the item your looking for it the right one for you!
3. CONDITION: Here's where it gets a little sticky.
"excellent vintage condition" ~ "great vintage condition" ~ "previously worn and in great shape" with no other condition statement. Sure, they all sound good but remember these words can mean different things to different people. You may see "excellent vintage condition" and think OK, its in excellent condition with no problems. To the someone else it may mean OK, its old and you should accept the fact that theres flaws. While "excellent & great vintage condition" sound good, these statements can be a little vague. To avoid (hopefully) getting something your not expecting: make sure the condition is clearly spelled out in the auction listing. Things like "excellent condition ~ NO flaws" or "excellent condition BUT theres a small hole in..". The more you know, the less likely you are to receive something your not going to be happy with. If after all that your still not perfectly clear on the condition, than ask the seller for more details~!
4. AS-IS, All sales final ~ pretty harsh words huh?.
In the world of vintage re-sale, these words can be common (and in some cases acceptable). If the seller is accurate in their description and condition or your buying a "study/repair" piece than you should accept this fact. However, there are sellers out there that hide behind this "as-is, no returns" statement. If you've done your homework and you still get something that is not as described or misrepresented or heaven forbid outright lied about, you have recourse. Contact the seller and explain what the problems are and that they were NOT described or mentioned in the listing and you want to return it. Most sellers will do the right thing and accept the return, because lets face it, their human too and do make honest mistakes. But on occasion you'll run into a seller that says they won't and you bought it "as-is" and it states in the auction "NO RETURNS". Well, here's the facts "as-is" & "no returns" are basically meaningless if you used paypal for you purchase. So, if you get a piece that's not what you were led to believe it should be than you can turn to paypal for assistance in the return.
5. Check the seller out ~ Make sure you check your sellers feedback and DSR's.
If your thinking about buying from a seller with bad ratings you should know what your in for. Read the feedback, alot of times sellers will receive bad feedback for something that's not in their direct control or just a stupid reason altogether. On the other hand some sellers get what they deserve, and these are the ones you should steer clear off. There's a helpful site out their called: www.toolhaus.org ~ there you can check your sellers ratings and read the comments/replies to any bad feedback.
6. BIGGER is Better?: You may see big sellers who get a ton of $$$ for their items and think "I should buy from them, there cool", this is one of those times where bigger isn't always better. Smart shoppers will find that there is a ton of "smaller" sellers who offer amazing stuff and amazing service for far less money. Just cause you see some sellers constantly being blogged about doesn't mean that they are good sellers, usually it just means you'll end up paying more money for an item and have a lot more competition against you.
7. Should I wait or should I bid NOW?
Ah, the eternal question. I guess this all depends on you. Alot of people don't like to bid early anymore, they want to snag it at the last possible second. There's nothing wrong with placing a bid early on in the auction for a couple of reasons: 1. you don't forget to bid or miss the end of the auction. 2. Your more likely to bid realistically early on and not end paying far more than you wanted to by getting into a last second heated bidding debacle. 3. you put your max bid in and you do end up getting outbid you don't have to wait till its over to start looking for something else. But, if your one of the ones that need that last second rush of adrenaline than that's cool too!, just don't forget to bid!
O.K., so now your a Little more savvy shopper. You've won the item you want, paid and received it and your happy (or unhappy, lol) with your purchase. Now its time to leave feedback!
Both buyers and sellers love positive feedback, so if your pleased make sure you give it! It doesn't matter who leaves feedback first, you or the seller. Alot of sellers leave feedback in bulk, so they might not get to yours right away and thats ok!, dont stress about it. If you want to speed up the process than leaving positive feedback for the seller will probably get you yours quicker.
The dreaded DSR ~ oooooh,
Now you get to rate your seller on 4 different criteria with a system of 1 to 5 stars. Well, I have a surprise for you. This also is ebays way of punishing sellers. Sound weird?, why is that you ask?. Well, here's the truth about DSR's: ebay uses them as a measure of control over sellers. Ebay will punish sellers who fall below a certain DSR number in any of the four categories. But what ebay is not telling the buyers is that they are stacking the deck against the sellers by the way they word the ratings to you the buyer. Ebay tells you 4 stars is a good, quick, reasonable and satisfactory transaction. Which may sound good when your leaving your ratings. But what they are not telling you is that to a seller a 4 star rating is actual BAD, BAD, BAD.
Really!!!, why is that?
To ebay a seller with a 4 star average (remember, ebay said 4 stars is good) is considered to be a bad seller and can face penalties, such as: loss of powerseller status, diminished exposure in best match, listing limitations and even suspension! Truth is, a seller that falls below a 4.3 average on any one of their DSR's can/will be suspended from listing altogether, pretty sad huh?. Well thats what I meant by ebays measure of control over sellers. They tell the buyer one thing, and tell the seller something completely different ~ that's ebays little game. So, bottom line is that if your happy with your transaction make sure you leave 5 stars!. This is very important (especially to the smaller sellers) if you want to keep buying from them in the future.
Well, I am sure I may have missed something but I do hope you've found my suggestions to be helpful and useful in your quest for that ultimate piece of vintage!
Walter
