Senior sellers of vintage-opinion please

[Texaswoman]

I see a lot of you in this group sell vintage items. Except for our generation, I am finding younger folks often consider "vintage" as the 1970's and 1980's. I still have clothes in my closet from those times! I'm interested in knowing what you see as the trend in selling "real" vintage items. In my area of Texas, lots of the smaller antique shops have gone out of business. The ones remaining are ones who rent space to others. Are most of our beautiful vintage pieces headed to the land fills in the future?

[VintageSouthernPicks]

Good question @Texaswoman . I've wondered myself whether it's this trend towards tiny houses and minimalism. I'm seeing my sales decrease a little every year, but I'm hopeful things will turn around. Christmas sales were good so people still buy vintage. And it's a slow time of year. I see a lot of antique shops go out of business too, and a lot of blogger friends of mine tell me they got out of their booth so it must be happening everywhere. 

I think it's a combination of competition, minimalism & algorithm changes.

[Teddyrose54]

For quite awhile here I need the UK many vintage shops closed. But I've noticed lately that they are making a come back. Auctions have started up again. Manly n line but still.....

Never thought about the smaller houses issue. Really good point. With the younger crowd it seems to be geared more towards Disney, marvel, dressing up for cosplay etc. There they do like the original products. Even I have down sized, so ornaments etc have had to go. Now it needs to be beautiful but also useful.

[VintageSouthernPicks]

@TexaswomanI'm so glad you've noticed a turn-around. I talked to someone today who has a booth in a mall & says she's getting lots of traffic, so that was encouraging to hear. Fewer antique malls hopefully means more people shopping in the ones that do exist. 

I know what you mean about downsizing too. I'm trying to do that as we speak, but why is it that I need the very thing the next day that I just got rid of???

[Teddyrose54 · Accepted solution]

@VintageSouthernPicks  You have no idea the amount of things I ditched, only to have to buy them again.

But you live and learn. So I know never to get rid of them again.

[Texaswoman]

So glad to hear an honest-realistic take on it all!