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I was completely unaware of how much money might be lurking in my own garage until a writing friend told me her biggest eBay profits come from retro clothing found in charity shops from which she regularly makes two or three hundred pounds for shoes or much more for platform boots, and several hundred pounds apiece for dresses from iconic designers like Mary Quant and Ossie Clark.

Although ‘retro’ goods are profitable in almost all appropriate eBay categories, such as collectibles (misspelled ‘collectables’ on eBay UK) and sports clothing, it’s under ‘Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Vintage Clothing & Accessories’ in the UK where you’re more likely to find the kind of high profit items we’re considering today. 

To whet your appetite, consider these recent eBay sales for clothing and accessories you should focus on buying at charity shops or by placing your own ‘wanted’ ads. in local newspapers:

*  A Vivienne Westwood ‘Sex Pistols’ muslin top fetched £670.00

*  A Chanel Black & White Boucle Dress made £428.00

*  A Chanel Fringe Shoulder Bag made £419.00, while a Chanel Tote Bag fetched £340.00.

*  An Ossie Clark tiered dress made £290.00

Find the right pair of platform shoes or boots from forty or fifty years gone by and you’re looking at up to £90 a pair on eBay, which is nothing compared to prices paid for shoes from a few decades earlier, where men’s shoes from the thirties and forties often fetch several hundred pounds a pair. 

In fact prices for gear from the sixties and seventies can be small beer compared to those reached by intricate and fancy designs for Victorian and Edwardian clothing and accessories, notably art deco and big name designer creations from the 1940s onwards, such as Chanel, Christian Dior, Ossie Clark, and others who feature regularly in eBay’s record price breaking categories.

My research also revealed a range of vintage clothing and accessories I will definitely pay more attention to at the many auctions I visit, where it’s common to find racks filled with Victorian dresses and shawls, alongside numerous top hats and christening gowns, a great many of which are in good condition and requiring just a few minor repairs and a professional dry clean. 

Here are a few recent eBay sales for items I know can be located inexpensively at jumble sales, flea markets, small auction rooms and boot sales:

*  A 1920s art deco design beaded flapper dress made £310.00

*  A Christian Dior little black cocktail dress from the 1950s fetched £310

*  A 1950s chiffon dress coat, coloured white, and good for evening or bridal wear, made £277.88.  Next day a white designer gown from the 1940s, also suitable wedding attire, went for £268.

You’re excited now, counting your profits already, so let me give you a few tips for turning pennies or a few quid at most into hundreds of pounds, from buying at boot sales and flea markets, auction rooms and charity shops, and reselling those items on eBay.

BUYING TIPS

*  Look out for Victorian baby clothes, especially christening shawls, the more elaborate the better.  Expect full-length outfits, hand-embroidered, with matching shawls, to fetch the highest prices on eBay.  Good condition is paramount and not that hard to find even on Christening gowns aged one hundred years or more.  That’s because, although the Victorians had much bigger families than modern day parents, meaning outfits were used many times across several generations, those items were extremely well cared for and many remain in good condition today.   You can make your own repairs to light tears or missing embroidery but you should not clean garments yourself as water may cause colours to run and fabric to disintegrate.  Instead have your garments dry cleaned by specialists in delicate fabrics and, as you’ll soon be sending lots of work their way, ask for a discount on normal prices.

*  Victorian ball gowns and wedding dresses, also mourning outfits and shawls, especially hand-embroidered and heavily embellished with beads and lace, command high prices on eBay and are commonly found at smaller auction salerooms where bidding traders are few and many blissfully unaware of prices commonly fetched for those items on eBay.  And long may they remain that way which means you should never leap for joy each time you buy a garment for a tenner in expectation of making twenty times that amount on eBay.

*  Top hats often appear for sale at auctions and flea markets and are among the very best sellers on eBay, where recently a Victorian silk top hat went for £282.00 compared to many similar items I’ve purchased and sold on eBay for an easy £100 profit each time.  Most likely best sellers are made from silk and have a clean inner rim, preferably also their own original box.   Even higher prices go to hats in boxes bearing their maker’s name alongside a mention of the maker being appointed to make hats for royalty of the day.   As for most things, the older the hat, the better its condition, the more valuable it’s likely to be. 

LISTING TIPS

*  ‘Flapper’ in your eBay listing is almost guaranteed to double your profits on eBay, especially describing dresses from the roaring twenties with lots of fringing and low cut tops.  Flapper style dresses with lots of tiers are hugely popular on eBay, and regularly fetch several hundred pounds a time.  I have seen these items sell for less than a tenner apiece at auctions here in the north, possibly because they sometimes need minor repairs and they always need cleaning – and that’s just too much like hard work and possible expense for some dealers to stomach!  But not for you, and not for me either, because we know that buying cheap and working just a little harder than most sellers is the way to make a great living on eBay.

*  Give potential buyers are few ideas for using your garments and accessories and double or further increase your market potential.  A white shawl for example, can be listed as suitable for weddings and christenings; a top hat might look good on a bride groom; and a Victorian mourning outfit makes a great Goth ballroom or wedding gown. 

Last, but not least, become known as THE person to buy Retro and earlier garments and accessories from on eBay and turn this into a regular big profit money maker.