4.10.10

humbled optimism

I had a very humbling weekend. This vintage dealer/buyer/been-doing-this-for-30-years-and-really-knows-her-vintage lady came to my house to buy my vintage in bulk from me. . . and I thought I was ready to sell it to her. I went through all my things the night before, removed the stuff I was not quite ready to say goodbye to (for me) and the things I was pretty sure I wanted to sell on my own at Etsy, which left about 200 pieces for her to purchase, including boots and shoes and purses and great dresses and coats and things. I felt pretty good. . . letting the stuff go. . . out of my life. . . no more over stuffing mess up there. . . just the cream of the crop left over. . . THEN AFTER. . . I didn't sleep. I couldn't sleep. what if the stuff I left for her really sucks? What IF ITS REALLY GOOD? What if she takes it all and then I don't have enough to sell? What IF ALL THE VINTAGE IN THE WORLD JUST DISAPPEARS AND I AM LEFT WITH NOTHING!!!! It got a little intense. What the heck is my problem? It is just OLD CLOTHES. Old clothes I don't even wear. They are just hanging there. Taking up space. Mocking me as I adore them. Fast forward through an unbearable, rolling around, asinine and ridiculous, uncalled for restless night, and the woman arrives. She looks at my stuff, immediately starts gathering a small pile, good stuff, things I suddenly can't part with. She asks me to put these aside, says these are for something else. OK. Then she says "Aside from the few things I gave you, that I don't think I can sell, I will take it all. What is your asking price?"  What?  I thought you were just going to give me a price???  I have to start this horror??? UUUUUUMMMMMMM. . . . . . . .  "$ Expletive." I tell her. It was an actual dollar amount and not an actual expletive, but it may as well have been since the amount she told me she would pay was 10% of my original asking price. and not a penny more.

WOW. That was way less than I thought this was worth. How embarrassing. Thing is, thats how people buy in bulk. No one piece is special. There are just things that may sell for more than $3 somewhere. . . . but you know where they will now be selling for more than $3 (but not too much more)?  My new etsy shop SecondSkinStyle.  That is right. I am closing the old shop since the name doesn't coordinate with my blog, and I am trying to be consistent, and I ordered business cards and labels and tissue paper and stickers and the whole nine yards so it is all coherent and Brand-ish and professional and stuff like that. There is nothing actually IN THE SHOP right now, but there will be. VERY very soon. Soooo, ya. Kapow! Got my wake up call. There is no easy way around the whole actual act of listing. I realize now the little bit of work is WAY worth it when dumping it all for a couple bucks just doesn't feel right. Welcome to reality Christina! I hope you find your own way to be comfortable since it is the only reality that actually exists! People actually work in reality! and you will too now. Congratulations and have a nice day! Why thank you for welcoming me, you chipper voice in my head! I will do my best and be super thankful I didn't throw this opportunity away for some quick cash!

Sorry. I am a bit schizophrenic. If you have not noticed.

By the way, I was super grateful to the lady for coming out and apologized for taking her time. She was adamant that it was not a bother and was happy she got to meet me and see what I had. She said it was good stuff and that I really should sell it on my own. She gave me tips and disclosed magical information to me. I felt like a very small potato. a baby new potato. I wanted to ask her to be my master. I still might.

Cardigan: vintage thrifted
pants: UO
Shoes: luck brand
hat: thrifted

31 comments:

Swalvs said...

I'm glad you decided to do it on your own. I'm sure it took so much time to have them and it's your right to do it the best way... And I'm also sure that it's gonna be a good future for you, a very optimistic one ;) Love you, you look amazing, especially in the second photo.

megannielsen said...

Gosh i'm glad you decided to do it on your own - there's nothing worse than feeling upset about parting with things. I just feel bad for you that the experience was so difficult! At least it sounds like she was a nice person!! Good luck with the new store - I can't wait to check it out!

Idée Géniale said...

Oh man, I love this post! Yup, love everything about it. The outfit is GORGEOUS, first of all.
then, the story you share with us is so open and honest, gah, how do you do it?!
I'm so excited for you. I like the idea of starting over, a fresh begining. I can't wait to see what you have in store (no pun intended) for us!

amanda said...

oooh, can't wait to see the new shop!! so glad you're gonna grab this by the horns and do it yourself. it's time consuming and it's hard but it will feel worth it when you are more a part of it. plus, you're more likely to know the person who buys your stuff! i mean, i bet a lot of your buyers are blog readers. and maybe they'll send you pics of themselves in your clothes. and then you know that they are going to take care of the stuff you handpicked with love. i think you're doing the right thing.

Anonymous said...

Ok so
1) did I wish you a happy blog birthday? I don't think I did so here it is! Congrats on the one year! I hope your blog goes on for a while since not only do we just see what you are wearing but we get to hear your stories and thoughts on life.
2) I'm excited for you and your new(ish) venture. I have issues with my shop as I opened it after I was a buyer for a few years and wanted to keep my good feedback so I didnt get a new username. This means that my shop URL is urmomm.etsy.com YOUR MOM. I know, classy. I would love to do a cleanup and retake pictures to make everything consistent and beautiful. AH who knows. Sales are slow right now so it makes me want to do something to sell more but I guess it's just a slow time...
3) those soul-less shoes yesterday... WHAT A BUMMER. I especially hate when I spend my hard earned money on something and then realize I can't ever wear it and have to throw it out. SO SAD.

Unknown said...

U look gorgeous sweety :) loce the colours.

Alice In Fashionland said...

That sounds like quite a stressful experience! Loving the cardi!

X said...

Amazing outfit and photos!:)

http://agitarsimonroe.blogspot.com/

Louise said...

I have that experience every time I try to sell my clothes at resale shops. It's god to be humbled. :-) I can't wait to see your new Etsy shop!

Eleanor Blackham said...

Haha, I really enjoyed reading this post! You are one of my fave blogger out there, very funny writing and amazing outfit (as always)really like the trousers today xxx

Open Door Studio said...

Love outfit, thats my perfect outfit comfy but stylish! You dont need that lady, (I bet she is wonderful) but I know that you can do it and make it YOUR own. You know what you need to do, and you will find your way. We should brain storm together......

dressperado said...

I find setting a price for things/services or even talking about money a very difficult thing to do. No matter what I do, it never gets easier. Love your outfit and your story.

veronika, tick tock vintage. said...

i've been on both sides of this situation. i've driven an hour to see about some vintage, and having the person quote me an absurd amount (not saying that i think your asking price was absurd) - it was unreasonable. i've also had people try to offer me the most ridiculous low-ball offers, like $20 for a pair of boots that i was selling for $60. craziness.

maybe try selling it all as a lot on ebay?

Anonymous said...

Awesome I'm not the only schizo type of OCD crazy person. Haha I'm sure your clothes will go to a good home. In the mean time I love that sweater you have on it's fantastic.

Jodi said...

I think sometimes we have to be confronted with a hard choice to clarify what we want and if it's worth the effort. I have been waiting for you to list more stuff. My fall wardrobe needs some inspiring pieces. Get to work girl! I've got money to spend!

Haiku Ambulance said...

Oh, my poor potato!

First, I'm glad that you renamed your etsy store. For some reason that kind of sat ill within me. Maybe just because Marie is someone I don't know, but kind of imagined her to be your alter-ego from another time period. I think I was mainly just jealous that you had another identity that I didn't know. It also frustrated me every time I searched on etsy for SecondSkinStyle. But that was my own autopilot.

Also, I am happy and sad for your little experience. But something that is humbling, is something that is usually really good. I think so, anyhow.

Also also, you look amazing in this number and I love it. I feel like cardigan is exactly what I wanted to give you for your birthday but couldn't find. At least I know you have one now.

Happy monday my little potato.

.Haiku

kornrose said...

Crazy way to figure it all out! And bravo for not just giving it all away for cheap...I'm not sure I could have held firm like you did with her standing in front of you awaiting a decision. Looking forward to the new store!

Unknown said...

New potatoes are the yummiest :)
This seems as another way for the universe to send you in your direction :) I too did a bulk-sale of my vintage aluminum pieces (though I kept a few ) and the dealer will make up his $ in 3 pieces ( I sold over 12), but I do feel a bit lighter.
And a big happy blog-birthday!
Mine is this month, too. It seems like forever ago when i started and i have learned a lot.
Keep on rockin' ;)

diptea said...

Wow. That is a good experience you had there Christina. I learnt so much just by reading it. You wrote this straight from you heart, the feelings the punctuation have so much emotion in them that I was still reeling for a couple of minutes before I could write this comment down. All the best for your new venture and may all good positive things come your way dear lady. Making the 'vintage buyer lady' your master seems like a very good idea. She seems very 'capable' and business minded plus she didn't think twice about giving you some sound advice. :)

Anonymous said...

Another lovely sweater. I would shop the new store, if that is any consolation.

Anonymous said...

Another lovely sweater. I would shop the new store, if that is any consolation.

Diana Hunter said...

Nothing like a good swift kick in the dreams to jumpstart your business efforts sometimes - huh?

I know how you feel

Anonymous said...

that is such a lovely cardigan, wowzers.

also, i'm glad you didn't sell your stuff for less than it is worth, you have a lovely collection and i think there is a certain satisfaction that would come from being able to personally connect your pieces with their new owner (well i'd like that part of vintage selling anyway).

haha, maybe when your kiddo is older you could pay him pocket money to do your listings for you so you can stick to the fun parts. i'm sure kids will still like the internet in a few years time :)

The Sound of Lace said...

Oh yeah im glad you kept it..cant wait to see it! i always have a had time getting rid of...anything! nice to see you working it out...


thesoundoflace.blogspot.com

thesoundoflace.blogspot.com

thesoundoflace.blogspot.com

Emmett Katherine said...

good luck with your esty store. Its understandable that you had a restless night knowing that you were going to let go of a lot of your clothes. I think us style/fashion/clothes bloggers have a bigger attachment to clothing than the average person!

like the colours of your outfit

~Em K

Unknown said...

congrats! I am very happy you decided to do this on your own and not sell you stuff for less than it's actually worth. i wish you all the best with the new shop. you go girl!

Ashley said...

Cant wait until you open the new shop! Love all your vintage finds, and the blog is amazing - I can't wait to see what you find next!!

www.countrygirlcityworld.com

Unknown said...

what a great story! I'm sure you will be (are) a success! good luck!

knittingnora said...

Your amazing and I can't wait to start buying stuff from you!!

Also, if that sweater you are wearing ever goes up for sale I will buy it!! PRETTY PLEASE with a vintage cherry on top.
Its amazing and magical and I will dream about it often..

Anyway. Hope you have a great week!!

Kimberellie said...

LOVE this outfit. And I am SO SO SO excited about all the stuff you are selling, esp. considering we are very similiar in size. Yikes. Put the credit card away. But seriously, I already spent my Oct budget and now I am looking up at your newest post and thinking: want want want want. Oh dear.

But yes. Damn straight you should sell it yourself! TO US!!!

;-)

fashion trends said...

Gr8 cardigan/sweater! Love the colors.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...