Creating Community in Vintage Sales – WorthPoint

In the vintage space, variety is the name of the game. Vintage resellers, in particular, are part of a diverse and vibrant community. While there is always competition in any business involving sales, many resellers have found ways to connect with others, share advice, and network.

Will Seippel, the CEO of WorthPoint and an avid collector and reseller, has prioritized networking and creating a community of collectors for his entire career in vintage and antiques. “Reselling is a business that requires a great deal of discipline. When you are looking for merchandise to sell, you have the mindset of a buyer, but when it comes to putting pieces up for sale, you have to look at the process as a seller, and those two points of view are very different.”

WHAT’S INVOLVED IN RESELLING

Before discussing how to find community and network with others, it’s essential to understand how the reselling business works. It’s more complicated than buying a vintage or collectible item at a sale, a store, or a venue and then reselling it for a higher price. Questions about inventory, shipping, fees, and other costs arise from a purchase and subsequent sale.

Every reseller has to understand sales price versus value. If a vintage toy or piece of antique art is for sale for, say, $25, a reseller has to know its value and how much a collector or customer would pay for it in the marketplace. These two amounts are not always the same.

The worth a professional like an art historian or toy expert would put on a piece is vital to know. Someone who has been involved in the antiques business or has studied and collected a specific genre of vintage merchandise will have a broad understanding of the market. One of the benefits of a strong reselling community is that there are usually other collectors, sellers, and buyers who share a common interest and can advise those who are newer to the business.

Once a seller has established the value, they must determine a sales price; this is where it gets tricky. Each seller will have to arrive at their prices based on their expenses, including shipping, storage, auction platform fees, and carrying costs. Seippel, who has spent years selling via antique markets, online auction platforms, and vintage events, advises knowing your fixed and variable costs before deciding to purchase an item. Especially with higher-priced merchandise, niche items, or large pieces of furniture, crunching the numbers is essential if you want to stay in business. “It’s hard for a reseller to go it alone,” said Seippel.

Staying connected is vital in the reselling community. Thankfully, social media makes that even easier now, with websites, marketplaces, and online forums where vintage enthusiasts can get together to buy, sell, and offer advice to each other. Instagram is one of the more popular places for resellers to post and comment on each other’s profiles and offerings.

The platform has also been helpful for live sales. Many resellers use the “Live” feature to boost sales, interact with other vintage fans, and host live auctions, where buyers can commit to a purchase via the comments. Facebook/Meta now owns Instagram. However, Facebook Marketplace and live sales happen on that app as well.

Misty Pate, who says on her page that she is “a thrifter, junker, vintage hunter, a full-time vintage reseller, and professional weirdo,” recently posted a reel about the friendships formed in the reselling market. The video shows the first time she met a fellow reseller who she got to know online through auction platforms and live sales.

Followers streamed into the comments to talk about their experiences in meeting other sellers, and it was clear the post hit the mark, gathering almost 5,000 views since she posted it on January 1, 2025. WorthPoint got a chance to speak with Misty last year for an article about her collection, and she told us,

The online reselling space is pretty saturated, and marketing is key. Just like a brick-and-mortar location, sellers have to know how to “keep people in the room.” Everyone has their favorite collectibles and their favorite sellers, so the content is a big help online because it gives you access to followers, many of whom turn into customers. That’s the thing about online sales: you aren’t limited to a geographic area; you can reach other sellers via Instagram, WhatNot, YouTube, etc. Coming together online to share ideas is a great way to reach out.

GATHERING WITH EXPERTS

Social media alone is not enough to sustain a reselling business. Since most resellers regularly go out “in the wild” on picking trips to source items to sell, it’s no surprise that there are gatherings for vintage pickers. One such event is the BOSS Reseller Remix, held each year in Las Vegas. Will Seippel has been a regular attendee at the event, and in this video, the organizers, Katy and Vicky Zilverberg, spoke to Will about his experience as a reseller.

Seippel explained that his role as the CEO of WorthPoint is just one of the hats he wears, telling Katy and Vicky, “What we do is focused because I am a reseller. I don’t do marketing studies; I know this market.” Seippel attends reseller events, sometimes on his own and sometimes with WorthPoint team members, to meet new people, share his knowledge, and network with others.

As more people get into vintage reselling as a side hustle or a full-time gig, experienced sellers will have more opportunities to share their knowledge with newbies who are just beginning to consider reselling as an income-producing option. WorthPoint supports the reselling space, and as the world’s largest online resource for researching, valuing, and preserving antiques, art, and collectibles, we welcome our readers to offer advice to each other, share articles, and participate in the community of vintage sales.

Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug, Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.

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