So you’ve got it stuck in your head that you wanna buy a vintage t-shirt. A REAL vintage t-shirt. Maybe several. Maybe hundreds. Not a retro tee or a throwback but the real deal. We’re going to show you the best and worst places to do it. We have loads of experience cause we’ve tried them all.
The best places to buy vintage t-shirts are
- thrift stores
- on eBay
- vintage shops
- garage sales
- flea markets/swap meets
- estate sales
Now lets’ explore this more in-depth. In this article, we’ll discuss several determining factors that can influence your purchase. Including variety, price, convenience, and consistency. Even though we’ll be referring to vintage t-shirts, this can be applied to any vintage clothing.
OK. Before we proceed I’m going to share something that I want you to remember. One of the best parts about t-shirts is their future value.
You can buy a vintage tee right now, wear it for 10 years and sell it for a higher price. How cool is that? As they age, they only become rarer and more valuable. So don’t sweat it if you slightly overpaid for an item. You’ll make it back later trust me.
Shirts that were selling for $100-$200 ten years ago are going for $500-$1000 now. Regardless of condition. That’s the other nice thing about vintage t-shirts. It can have a hole or small stain or be faded and it doesn’t affect value whatsoever. A portion of my income is from selling “wasted” items. Shirts that someone would deem to be trash and yet, I’ve profited from them and sold to very happy customers.
Even though we’ll be talking about buying vintage tees. It’s always in my mind that you will be selling them at some point. So I’ve written the article accordingly.
Now let’s dig in. We’ll examine a bunch of places to potentially buy vintage t-shirts and discuss their virtues and drawbacks.
eBay
eBay is still the greatest online resource for vintage t-shirts on earth for several reasons.
- It’s been around since 1995. So it’s the first place people think of when buying or selling vintage online. It started as an auction-style platform which made it exciting and popular for sellers. I opened my first account in 2000 and even then there were plenty of vintage t-shirts to choose from. They built the foundation for buying and selling online.
- It has a HUGE selection. There are over ONE MILLION (Dr. Evil voice) vintage t-shirts for sale on eBay at any given time. That’s a lot of tees. Every single genre, category, and style you can think of is covered. Depending on your budget, you can spend $5 or $500.
- It’s convenient…choose an item, buy it, pay with Paypal. No sweat.
- If you’re patient. There are deals. Even if you can’t find the item you want or found one but it’s too expensive. You can always save your search queries and be notified in the future when a similar or cheaper item is listed.
- Use the make an offer button. So, you’ve found the perfect shirt but its slightly too expensive. Hit the make an offer button and set your price and click submit. Very often the seller will agree. Just make sure the offer is reasonable. If I’m selling a shirt for $59.99. Don’t offer $10. I’d consider any offer over $40 to be reasonable. That’s not to say I’ll agree, but I won’t be insulted. Even if the seller doesn’t have the actual offer button you can still message them directly and make an offer. Then they just shoot you back an invoice. It’s simple. I have customers do this all the time.
- If you have bid sniper software you can easily win auctions. Enter the item number, set your price, set your timer and that’s it. Bid sniper will automatically bid for you and notify you if you’ve won. I’ve bought HUNDREDS of items this way. It works well for auctions ending at weird times and helps if you’re forgetful. As soon as you see the item you want, set the sniper and it’s done.
- eBay has you well covered with their buyer protection program. When I first started buying on eBay it was the wild west. One time I bought a pair of speakers from a guy in Buffalo NY. Let me rephrase that. I sent a money order to a guy in Buffalo NY. He kept my money and didn’t ship the speakers. It was my first experience of online theft….it was terrible. It didn’t matter that they had a feedback system either. Negative feedback didn’t return my $600. That doesn’t happen anymore. eBay cracked down on scammers and thieves. Now they’ve got you covered and insured.
Etsy
Etsy is good/OK. Initially, their site was set up for people to sell hand made crafted items (jewelry, necklaces, etc) but has since expanded to include vintage clothing. A general search of the phrase vintage t-shirt yielded over 200K items. There is a decent selection actually. I’ve sold tees on Etsy so there are definitely buyers but eBay is still a much better platform for vintage shoppers. It doesn’t hurt to browse through. You can find some cool stuff.
Facebook Groups
Facebook groups are poor/decent. You can occasionally find authentic vintage items. But generally, it’s pretty sparse. FB sellers groups are better for niche stuff like moms with an 18-month-old baby who wants to buy a bulk lot of clothes. It doesn’t hurt to look though. You never know what’s coming down the pike.
Kijiji/Craigslist/Pennysaver
Kijiji/Craigslist/Pennysaver can be valuable if done correctly. Probably not the greatest place to look for a single tee but more likely a lot to make it worth your while.
There is a drawback though. Physically going to a stranger’s house to pick up an item can make for an awkward interaction. *Knocks on door* “Oh hey, I’m here to buy 4 Twisted Sister t-shirts from your husband.” “Oh, you didn’t know anything about it? Well, that’s why I’m here.”….*crickets*.
Plus bringing cash to a stranger’s house isn’t the smartest idea.
I used to buy musical instruments through Pennysaver ads all the time. Until there were a couple of instances where I actually felt unsafe. Enough so that I discontinued that mode of acquisition. Buying stuff should be fun, not scary or dangerous. BUT I found a solution. Keep reading.
It can be beneficial to run “looking for” ads on these platforms. Here’s a quick Kijiji/Craigslist/Pennysaver ad. It should say something like this…
“Looking for vintage t-shirts. Any size, condition or quantity”. 70s, 80s, 90s. Concert, advertising, sports, cartoon, funny sayings. I pay cash.”
How to write a short “looking for ad”
I’ll give you an example of why the ads work. Let’s say I have a wholesale lot of t-shirts to sell but don’t have the time or interest to list. If I browse the “looking for” section on Kijiji I’d see your ad and very likely contact you and start a conversation. So keep your “looking for” ad running consistently for best results.
*SOLUTION* After those negative buying experiences, I do things a little differently. Now, whenever I’m buying from someone I don’t know. I meet in a public place. Preferably during the daytime. Starbucks is perfect. There’s one in every neighborhood. Even if you’re buying a large item just meet in the parking lot. If the seller doesn’t agree to meet publicly there may be something fishy going on so be careful.
Flea Markets/Swap meet.
Flea Markets/Swap meet. Although the term flea market derives from the French term “marché aux puces”. Which literally means the market of fleas. Probably because it’s full of second-hand goods that were assumed to be flea-infested. These can be great places to find vintage t-shirts. I’ve found some really cool t-shirts and jerseys at the swap meet for sure. Most items are $30 and under too. Going there consistently can build friendships as well. You never know when someone might want to sell their entire inventory or dump a few items quickly at a discount.
Brick and Mortar Vintage Shop
Brick and mortar vintage shop. When I refer to something as brick and mortar I mean a conventional store where you walk in and buy. Going to an actual vintage shop has its benefits and drawbacks.
A major benefit is the tangible element of buying in person. You get to hold, feel, try on the garment, and make your decision accordingly. This is crucial in the buying process. There’s just something about touching a super soft fabric that will make you pull the trigger. That’s one thing online shopping cant offer.
Another benefit is if you want to buy a vintage tee and arent really concerned about price, it’s great. But, if you don’t want to spend a lot of money you may have a problem. Vintage shops are more expensive than thrift stores because they know the value of the specific items. Plus the prices are marked up to pay for the overhead of the store. Rent, utilities, advertising, labor costs all factor into the price of your shirt.
And if it’s a rare tee it will tend to be expensive. But if you’re willing to spend some cash and want it NOW. It’s the place to go. Most major cities have a few vintage shops. Just google it.
I’ve been to some pretty cool vintage stores. A couple in downtown Toronto come to mind. F as in Frank and Black Market vintage. F as in Frank has a solid selection of mid-priced items and some higher-end ones as well. Black Market is more of a flea market type atmosphere. They focus on lower priced stuff. $10 for a shirt or 3 for $25. But they also have a higher-end store called Public Butter.
Garage/Yard Sales
Garage/Yard Sales can be a decent resource. Generally, people don’t sell much clothing at a yards sale, but on the rare occasion, it can be a GOLD MINE! Picture a typical yard sale. Walking up someone’s driveway and looking around. There will be a pair of hockey skates, old golf clubs, some books, kids’ toys. Several barely used small appliances, and towards the side will usually be a rack of clothing. It’s pretty standard.
Rifle through and see if there’s anything good. Fortunately, many of the people having garage sales now are the ones that went to concerts in the 1980s and 90s. So the chances of them having a dope vintage are decent.
Also, don’t be bashful. Make sure to ask the sellers if they have any vintage t-shirts from the 80s or 90s they might be interested in selling. They often don’t display them because they don’t think there is any value. They rationalize (who would want to buy my old clothes?) YOU DO. So ask.
Mark my works if you are diligent in your yard sailing you WILL have great success. I have dozens of stories. Including a good one here.
I remember one time I went to a garage sale looking for vintage tees and I ended up buying a guy’s entire record collection for $25. It had like a hundred classic recorders. I sold several of them for over $25 each. Just keep your eyes peeled.
Estate Sales.
Estate Sales. What comes to mind when you think of an estate sale? Smelly old furniture and knick nacks previously owned by a 110-year-old granny. You probably wouldn’t think vintage t-shirts. I concur. BUT have a look at the following Youtube video. This guy bought 250 old Harley tees at an estate sale. It’s awesome.
So I guess an estate sale might be something to look out for. Often you can see the types of items that will be offered before the sale. Just google “local estate sale” and you’ll get a list. Estate sales and public auctions are almost always Saturday mornings. But they can be a lot of fun.
Public Auctions. Similar to estate sales. Find out what’s on the auction block before the event. If it looks promising go check it out. Bring a friend cause they’re fun regardless if you buy anything.
The local Thrift Store
“This is the place to come to find something you never knew you always wanted to have”.
I repeat this tongue twister to the clerk at nearly every thrift shop during check-out.
The local thrift store has 3 main benefits. SPEED, PRICE and TURNOVER.
SPEED. You can leave your house right now and unless you live in some one-horse town you can probably drive or walk to a resale shop within 10 mins. So that means if you left right now you could be back in less than 20 minutes wearing a bonified vintage tee.
PRICE. Regardless if you think thrift shops are overpriced (I certainly do) you can still buy any vintage t-shirt for under $20 and generally, most shirts are well under $10. Occasionally vintage sports jerseys are $30 or $40 but for the most part, nearly every item at the thrift shop is a pretty, pretty, pretty, good value.
TURNOVER. My main thrift shop for all these years has been Value Village (Savers in the USA). Their claim was 5000 new items a day. Not sure if it was true but the certainly had an awesome turnover. If you visited once a week it seemed as though there was an entirely new inventory. More turnover means there is a greater chance for you to find a vintage gem.
Lower volume thrift shops (Bibles for Mission or St Vincent De Paul) tend to have stale inventory. So only visit once a month. Value Village, Talize and Salvation Army seem to have much better turnover. It would benefit you to go once a week. Also planning a short road trip can prove to be bountiful. I used to take an entire day and drive all over the southern part of my province thrift shopping. I’d make a map and hit at least ten stores. It was a lot of fun.
At my peak, I would spend between 25K and 40K annually at thrift stores. That was in the early days when there were fewer people vintage hunting so I was virtually unopposed. You should still visit these stores consistently and you’ll be rewarded. Even if it’s one solid piece per visit.
Clothing Recyclers
I included this section just to ensure my list is comprehensive. Buying from a clothing recycler is an advanced technique used by virtually every big vintage seller. Although it occasionally can be a place to buy a single vintage t-shirt.
Here’s how recyclers work (in Canada anyway). The clothing recyclers (also known as rag houses, rag shops, wiper rags, textiles, bulk clothing, wholesale clothing, importers and exporters). They buy used clothing from the USA by the truckload. When it arrives it is sorted and graded. Then it is re-packaged in huge bundles and sold to places like India and East Africa. If you’re lucky enough to find one near you. It can be of super value and a consistent source of quality vintage.
I’m located in Ontario Canada. Our province was a mecca for used clothing until a couple of years ago. Many of the recyclers have shut down.
The minimum wage was drastically increased and competition from 3rd world countries is fierce. It’s tough to run a business when you have to pay your workers $14 plus benefits. In India, they pay $5 per day. These recyclers bid on price per pound. The Indian recyclers can pay much higher per pound because they’re saving on labor. So the American companies sell overseas. Sorry about the economic breakdown…lol.
Anyway, there used to be a place in Scarborough (sort of a speakeasy) you would call to make an appointment or show up and sign in. Then they would let you walk around this MASSIVE warehouse and pick freely.
When you were done you’d put your garbage bag of stuff on a scale and pay by the pound ($3 per lb). Which was AWESOME. Basically 3 medium t-shirts weigh a pound. So you’re paying a buck a shirt. Of course, like any vintage hunt, it can be feast or famine.
This particular recycler had nearly 100 employees segregating HUGE piles of used garments. They would sort hundreds of thousands of pounds per day that would arrive by the truckload. Truly a sight to behold. I always had fun there and generally good luck as well.
The very first time I visited I found a 1984 Echo and the Bunny men t-shirt just laying on the ground within the first five minutes.
The problem with rag houses was competition. If can be awkward to pick through a pile of t-shirts when you’re bumping elbows with someone looking for the same thing. That’s why it’s important to book a time when it’s not as busy. A weekday morning for example. It will make for a more enjoyable experience if you have free reign.
The most lucrative time in my career came after my original recycler closed but the owner introduced me to his sister. She was in the same business. For the next 5 years, I made trips to their facility every 6 weeks. With my help, we taught their sorters what type of stuff I was looking for. They would pick it and put it aside for me. It was truly the golden era of my career. Not only did i have large volumes of clothing but its was excellent quality stuff.
Unfortunately, they had to close in 2018 for the reasons I stated above. I’m grateful for that time and luckily have pics of every single one of those cool shirts in our gallery!
It may take some calling around and heavy research to find a recycler in your area. Mine was a 3 hr drive away. If you find one, inquire whether they allow pickers or sell by the pound. If they aren’t open to the public ask if you can meet briefly with the manager. See if you can set up a scenario where their sorters put aside specific items for you. You’ll have a list. Tell them you’ll pay a premium. (like $4 or $5 per piece for a t-shirt). This will get their interest. IF they do any sort kind of volume (50,000 lbs a day) then the should be able to pick about 500-600 quality pieces per month. If there are any hiccups just email me for help.
