Second Hand/Vintage Clothing Capitol Generation Formula...

[wallyflies]

Whilst currently managing a Second Hand Clothing and Art Boutique, I came across a novel Idea.

One of many ways to attain sellable clothing, jewelry, accessories and the like is to buy large amounts by weight.

There are many paths toward receiving a return on investment after aquiring the product. I like to catagorize my main paths in tiers:

Tier One: We Get First Pick.
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I have met great people in the second hand clothing industry that are very knowledgable in terms of vintage clothing and other sellable items found in these treasure troves of apparrel. They are ready and willing to sort through, separate and repair said items for established clients/collectors, various online sales situations and in-store sales.

Tier Two: Open to the Public
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After our first cull, we would allow other customers to do the same for themselves for a calculated still affordable markup of 300% per pound.

(Purchased at $1.00/lb, transferred to a prime selling location, and sold for 3.00/lb)

Third Tier: Clearance and Special Sales
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After the second culling, clothes that have not sold in a reasonable amount of time at a markup of 300% could be sold at a clearance price.

($2.00 per pound, then $1.50/lb, then back to $1.00/lb.)

Fourth Tier: Donation/Tax write off.
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What is left could easily be given to places such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. for the purposes of clothing needy individuals and also offsetting taxes.

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What is needed most are 4 things:
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1)A means of transferring large amounts of product (van or truck).

2)Retail Space(monthly rent & other costs incurred).

3)The product itself.

4) Advertising.

I am estimating $10,000 as a good startup amount.

[Parvaze]

You do realize that the market for buying/selling used clothing by weight is quite mature in the US & Canada, right? Not to put a damper on your plan or to say there isn't room for more people just want to point out that it isn't a novel idea.

Best

[wallyflies]

Thank you for your input. Perhaps "novel" is not the correct term.

But even so, and also taking into consideration that the used clothing market is mature, I have noticed that the service of making such clothing more conviently available HAS STILL NOT OCCURED in my city.

[Parvaze]

Once again, not to rain on your parade but the key question for you to answer for yourself is how you will compete against the myriad of well established charities/churches/graders who are after the same clothes you are. For example, the info below was found from doing a cursory search for used clothing in Sacramento:

"Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services provides over 450,000 articles of clothing free of charge to families and individuals in need throughout the Sacramento community.

All items are dropped off at our facility in Oak Park, where volunteers sort through items by categories based on size, season and gender. Items are then displayed on racks, where clients can sort through items in search of what they need: men’s clothing, women’s clothing, children’s clothing, shoes, business attire, school uniforms, coats, umbrellas and much more. Clients are welcome to shop once a month and all items are provided at no cost. Most clients leave with 15-20 articles of beautiful clothing to help during hard times"

[wallyflies]

A) My area is not Oak Park.

B) I do not plan to compete with churches/charities/graders

C)I plan to make the large majority of sales internationally via the internet and with nearby VERY close connections that happen to be in the same business and can still make a profitt from my providing the service of centralizing large amounts of clothing.

Again, i am providing a needed service as well as product.

[Parvaze]

If you are not going to compete against churches/charities/graders where are you going to get the clothing from as these are the entities that people traditionally give their clothing to in bulk. As for international sales, there are no shortage of good sized competitors all vying for these customers. Once again, not to say you can't enter the market and be successful just be aware that there are a lot of people doing this.

As an aside that, I know something about this field as I couldn't find a reliable supplier of high quality used clothing who would grade and bale the way I wanted so ended up setting my own operation which I export overseas so I see both sides.

If you do get into this business and start dealing with very high end overstocks/liquidations of new clothing such as Prada, Gucci, Fendi, Chanel, Donna Karan Signature, Giorgio Armani, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Ginafranco Ferre, Ermenegildo Zenga let me know as I would have interest in that type of clothing.

good luck with your new venture

Best

[wallyflies]

This is a small business venture is ameans to an end. it is an opportunity to make a quick turn. I do not plan to go international as I am only wanting to make seed money for future personal investments and the door is wide open but closing fast .

Also, research "goodwill bins". This is where I would start with purchasing for the sake of startup.

[wallyflies]

oops...

EDIT: the only international sales i would do at this point is online.

[Parvaze]

Sorry wallyflies, I'm not understanding you. In your original post you ask for $10K for things such as rent, truck, product etc giving the impression that this was a business you wanted to be in for the long term because you have the right types of connections to succeed, however, in your most recent post you are saying that you want to do this to make a quick turn around in order to do something else, is that right? Either way, good luck in whatever you are trying to put together

Best

[wallyflies]

Thanks.

To Clarify: After I see a steady profit for myself, I would begin other ventures that I have planned and keep this business as long as it contiues to generate capitol. If it becomes evident that the time and monetary investment is no longer yielding positive results, I would divert those resources elsewhere and ultimately close said business.

/too much coffee