Starting an Online Business: Vintage Clothing


The following is web guide for starting an online vintage clothing business. Vintage clothing has been growing in popularity over the last decade. Though most will not become rich in this market, there is potential to earn a steady living. As in all antiques, the value of vintage clothing is based upon market, quality, and availability.


Starting Out: he following sites contain general information about starting a small business These sites contain information, usually divided by state, about writing a business plan, tax information, organization tips, and general information need to begin a business.

U.S. Small Business Administration Small Business Planner

This website is a government created site designed to help entrepreneurs. This site contains information on starting up a business such as writing a business plan.

SBDC.NET: National Information Clearinghouse

Laws governing small business differ by state. This clearinghouse list links to sites on business regulations in each of the fifty states and US territories.

U.S. Small Business Administration: Business Resource Library

This website provides information on obtaining a federal tax ID, information security, emergency planning, advertising, and other business topics

Small Business and Self-Employed One-Stop Resource

This I. R. S. website is dedicated to the tax situation of the small business and the self-employed


Basics of Internet Commerce: The following sites are of basic elements of internet commerce such as basic information on website construction, receiving payment, and shipping products.

HTML Code Tutorial

This page provides practical tutorials for HTML elements. This site contains clear illustrations for each tag and their uses

1 & 1 Web Hosting for Beginners

This site offers economical web hosting perfect for those just starting out. This site also offers security features.

DreamHost Web Hosting

This web hosting service offers many levels of web hosting. SSL security certificates are available.

Web Hosting Available Through GoDaddy.com

GoDaddy.com offers several packages for being businesses and eCommerce.

Verisign: Online Payment Processing

Verisign is one of the larger corporations offering secure online payment services. They offer encription services, anti-phishing services, and anti-identity theft applications. This company is a subsidiary of PayPal.

Accepting Visa Online

This is a website provided by the Visa Corporation about the benefits of accepting Visa credit cards.

Accepting MasterCard

This is a website provided by the MasterCard Corporation about the benefits of accepting MasterCard credit cards.

Accepting American Express

This is a website provided by American Express concerning the benefits of accepting American Express credit Cards.

Accepting Discover Card

This is a website provided by Discover Card concerning the benefits of accepting Discover Card Credit Cards.

UPS: Small Business Owners

This page lists the services avaliable to small businesses through UPS.

US Postal Service Business Services

This page lists services available to businesses through the US Postal Service.

FedEx Small Business Center

This page lists the services avaliable to small businesses through Federal Express.

DHL Small Business Center

This page lists the services avaliable to small businesses through DHL.


Guides Vintage Clothing: The following sites are guides to vintage clothing and vintage clothing store websites.

BBC Antiques: Expert Tips, Vintage Clothing

This Guide discusses things to look for when selecting vintage purchases.

About.com: Vintage Clothing and Accessories

This page has links to other pages on many vintage clothing topics including the following: a guide to Victorian lace, pictures of women's clothing for 1940's Sear's catalogs, and explanations of clothing of the 1800's.

Vintage Textile

This site has wonderful pictures of vintage clothing. This is a good example of what a quality vintage clothing site can be. Though this is a commercial site, this site also contains articles on collecting vintage clothing from different periods.

Atomic Online: Essential Guide to Retro Culture

This site contains a rather extensive list of online vintage clothing store websites.

Fashion Dig

Though not a spot for bargains, this site offers a directory of vintage clothing stores which makes it a valuable resource. This website also offers space for vendors. The wealth of this website is really its organization. It can be searched by decade, designer, and type of item. This page is particularly a good site for seeing how others price items.

Amazon.com: Books On Vintage Clothing

This page is a list price guides and books available on vintage Clothing though Amazon.com


Vintage Bargains Online: A business's success is closely related to its stock. Finding the right items to sell is a long process that requires of hours of searching. Local thrift stores, yard sales, and flee markets are invaluable in the vintage clothing market, but there are also many bargains available online.

Ebay.com

Though there is heavy competition, there are still bargains to be had especially for that who knows what they are looking for.

Online Auctions via Goodwill

There are many vintage bargains available on this page. Word of warning, item descriptions are often rather ambiguous.

Flea Market Guide

This page is a directory of flea markets across the country. Most entries list location and the flea market's hours of operation.

Thethriftshopper.com

This website offers an online directory of over 7,000 thrift stores nationwide. The database is searchable by both city and zip code. Search results are listed by proximity. All search results list the address, phone number, map directions, and store hours.

Housing Works Thrift Store

This site is the online portion of a NYC thrift store. NYC is a valuable resourcse for locating vintage designer pieces.

Silk Runway Fashion Auctions

This website specializes in designer clothing, but they have a good selection of vintage items.

Yahoo Directories: Used and Vintage Apparel

This is a list of online vintage and used clothing stores.


Created for SLIS 748
By: Jessica Babb
Last Updated:
January 28, 2007