"Challenging" Year as Vintage Dealers Report Struggles and Burnout

A vibe check on the state of the vintage industry. Plus, what strategies *are* working in 2025?

I’m Emily Stochl and this is Pre-Loved 🎤 an indie media platform about all things vintage and secondhand. I've been telling the story of secondhand fashion since before it was cool, and in our (new!) Second Take series, I’ll help you navigate the ever-evolving circular economy.

Future editions of Second Take will be for paid subscribers. Thank you for reading:

Welcome to the very first edition of Second Take — a monthly newsletter series to help brands and shoppers alike navigate the ever-evolving secondhand fashion space. If the cornerstone of Pre-Loved is our thoughtful interviews with people who know vintage best, consider Second Take our monthly “strategy send” on what people in resale are really talking about behind the scenes of this multi-billion dollar industry.

Like me giving you an insider's guide to everything happening in vintage and secondhand fashion, and what it means for you: reported deep dives, independent research, trend analysis, actionable strategies you can implement, and expert insights, deep dives into what works (and what doesn’t!) — right to your inbox.

Here's what we’re covering today:

• A vibe check on the state of the vintage industry — spoiler: we asked, and the top word you used was “challenging”

• How dealers are competing on value, diversifying their revenue streams, and leaning into community in 2025

• Vintage Pucci revival — and how to celebrate this sunny summer trend!

• What to learn from Pickle, a peer-to-peer fashion rental marketplace, on community-building and influencer strategy

• My fab experience with measured-to-fit vintage at The Consistency Project

Last week, we shared the findings of our 2025 Secondhand Sellers Income Survey—giving vintage dealers financial benchmarks and industry-wide earnings data they've never had before.

The data doesn't lie: 45% of respondents feel worse off professionally than last year, and "challenging" was the top mentioned word across survey responses.

But today we’re going to talk about what is working in vintage in 2025. We'll do a quick vibe check, but then we're strategizing — sound good?

Before we get into the heart of today's letter, here's a quick reminder of exactly why we need vintage experts. Did you see the early stills from Ryan Murphy's "American Love Story"?! People were dying over how flatly the team portrayed Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's iconic personal style— pleading for the costumers to take a trip to The RealReal for some vintage Prada.

Fashion writer

Liana Satenstein

called the photos “hilariously heinous,” and stylist

Gabriella Karefa-Johnson

said the costuming was “a betrayal.” In fact, there were so many takes restyling the looks using vintage from The RealReal that

The RealReal

themselves jumped in with “How I’d Style the Carolyn Bessette Show.”

It all goes to show the power (and difficulty!) of tapping into authentic nostalgia — something vintage dealers do so well. As

Tara Maria Gonzalez

put it: “The reason that these small first looks and quick snippets are causing such outrage is because you have to get the wardrobe completely right with Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. There is no other choice.”

Indeed, nostalgia is an incredibly powerful emotion, and one that's very close to the heart. The most successful vintage brands understand that, and the true power of genuine storytelling. They’re able to connect to cultural moments in a way that feels authentic — this is your competitive advantage in an increasingly crowded market. Remember that.

Alright, let’s dig in to Second Take.

Vibe Check: Dealers’ Reality

In a word, this industry is “challenging.”

our survey in a word cloud

Our 2025 Secondhand Sellers Income Survey paints a clear thematic picture: an industry under pressure. Financial stress dominated responses — words like "struggling" and "underpaid" appeared repeatedly, with most dealers reporting minimum wage earnings, no matter the excessive hours worked.

There's also frustration around customer misconceptions. Many shoppers still don't grasp the sourcing, research, care, and curation that goes into each vintage piece — and this lack of understanding around how the industry functions creates unrealistic price expectations.

Finally, words like "stressed," "frustrated," "worried," and "burnout" capture the emotional toll on dealers who are passionate about their craft — and want to bring cool small businesses to your neighborhood! — but ultimately are struggling financially.

Reader, you might be feeling all these things yourself! If so, you’re certainly not alone.

But, while some dealers are cutting prices and burning out, others are taking a step back to build stronger. That’s what Second Take is about, we’re talking about those strategies:

The Path Forward:

1. Stop Competing on Price — Start Competing on Value

The economic pressures are undeniable. As dealers watch customers cut back on discretionary spending, they write in to say they’re being forced to "cut pricing way below it's worth." Meanwhile, sourcing and operational costs keep rising.

The knee-jerk response here is to lower prices to compete. But the most successful dealers in our survey are actually doing the opposite—they're doubling down on value. Here’s what’s actually working:

• Radical transparency: Educate customers on sourcing, cleaning, research, mending, and overhead costs. Help them understand why vintage costs more than fast fashion.

• Selective curation: "Downsizing and honing in on selling less and more curated to a specific genre," with strategic sourcing that's selective about inventory investments.

• Value positioning: Focus on well-constructed garments that justify higher prices. One dealer said: "I focus on natural materials and well-constructed garments—since these items are limited, they'll always be in demand." Emphasize durability, uniqueness, and craftsmanship.

• Price diversification: Instead of racing to the bottom, successful dealers offer items at multiple price points. One wrote: "Having a range of price points and a diverse inventory will save your business."

• Pricing confidence: "Don't be afraid to price higher! I've learned not to underprice my items. There is a buyer for each item!" Build labor costs into pricing and find niche audiences for specific pieces.

2. Diversifying your revenue streams

With "everyone feeling the pinch" and an "oversaturation of sellers in the market," the harsh reality is selling vintage alone isn't cutting it anymore as more sellers chase the same shrinking pool of customers. The tempting response is to just “sell harder” —post more, source more, work longer hours.

But the key is to “sell smarter.” Our survey shows the most successful dealers build 3-5 complementary income streams around their core vintage business. Here’s what’s actually working:

Master your foundation first: Don't diversify until you're profitable in your core business. Build on solid ground.

Start strategic, not scattered: Choose one complementary service based on your existing skills and customer needs. Test demand before fully committing.

• Consignment (35% tried this): Selling on other’s behalf gives you inventory without upfront costs, earning percentages on sales.

• Upcycling & Customization (25% tried this): Transform lower-value pieces into higher-value custom items and differentiate yourself in a crowded market.

• Personal Styling (15% tried this): Your vintage expertise translates directly into helping clients build complete wardrobes, which usually results in higher hourly rates than product sales.

• Clothing Repair & Alterations (12% tried this): Offer these services to existing customers to increase lifetime value.

• Clothing Rental (10% tried this): Instead of selling special occasion pieces once, rent them repeatedly. This is particularly effective for vintage formalwear and statement pieces.

• Space Subletting (8% tried this): If you have desirable retail space, rent portions to other sellers for additional income.

• Content Creation (8% tried this): Monetize your expertise and platform.

Build gradually: Add new income streams only as you can manage them effectively. The goal is sustainable growth, not overwhelming yourself.

3. Leaning into Community

The dealers weathering this challenging market are building communities and creating local networks of customers and colleagues who appreciate the true value of vintage. In practice, this looks like:

• Participation in markets and pop-ups that foster in-person community relationships beyond transactions.

• Building genuine relationships that turn one-time buyers into repeat customers and brand advocates.

• Creating communal spaces where vintage knowledge is shared, and passion is celebrated (not just monetized!) — PS: more on this to come in our next letter.

If there’s one takeaway from this whole letter, it’s: in a world of endless digital noise, authentic human connection is everything!

Trend Watch: Vintage Pucci…

Summer 2025 is all about the vintage Pucci with with people “looking for joy wherever they can,” and finding it in Emilio Pucci’s vibrant, mood-boosting patterns.

Influencers from Ken Eurich (1.7 million TikTok followers) to Amelia Liana (690k TikTok follows) have been showing off their vintage Pucci dresses, halters, and swimwear, and The RealReal’s Head of Fashion, Noelle Sciacca, recently told Marie Claire that searches for Pucci on the platform surged 111% this summer “with Pucci dresses, sarongs, and silk scarves flying off the digital shelves.”

The revival even has women unearthing their mom's vintage Pucci pieces, and upcycling them to create new, more modern silhouettes. (PS: this would make for such cute multi-generational social content!)

When a heritage brand experiences a cultural revival, of course their vintage pieces become exponentially more valuable—not just financially, but sentimentally — as they’re steeped with fashion history that new pieces can't replicate.

Now’s the time to showcase Pucci (and adjacent pieces!) with styling and storytelling. Pull out your psychedelic prints, bold florals, and geometric patterns and crate some Pucci-inspired narratives. Think Mediterranean summers with vintage silk scarves worn as head wraps, or an "Old Hollywood jet-setter" look paired with statement sunglasses. And position your most colorful vintage as antidotes to current cultural heaviness — might be exactly what people need.

Beyond Pucci: Staying connected to emerging trends allows you to ride waves of demand — when it makes sense! Of course you’re not going to chase every trend, just those revivals that align with your inventory and expertise.

What To Learn From Pickle’s Influencer Strategy

Pickle built their peer-to-peer fashion rental marketplace ("the Airbnb of fashion!") to a $12M Series A funding-round by using a strong grassroots influencer approach. Their path to success offers valuable lessons in community-building for any business, but especially in vintage (see strategy #3) where authentic community matters so much.

Here’s their story in a nutshell: the challenge of building a sharing economy marketplace is securing quality-supply (lenders) before you can attract demand (renters) — because without closets full of desirable clothes, there's nothing to rent.

While a fashion-tech startup's instinct might be to chase macro-influencers with big follower counts, Pickle's co-founder Julia O'Mara took a different approach to growth, which she shared with me on the latest Pre-Loved Podcast.

Julia literally stood on SoHo street corners with Pickle-green balloons, and worked with nano- and micro-influencers (think 2K-10K followers) to do street style photo shoots. Those creators got photos for Instagram content and populated their Pickle rental closets with pieces from their closets. Win-win.

• Followers were already interested in the creator's style—renting from their closet felt natural

• Renting clothes became a natural side-hustle for influencers (with some of the top lenders now paying their NYC rent with their earnings!)

• Influencers talk about their hustles, where they get their event fits, and the social platforms that work for them. These tight-knit networks converted more influencers to rent their closets.

This approach drove 85% organic word-of-mouth growth, and brand-love so strong that Pickle’s financial investors said “community” was more important than their other user-metrics when securing their $12M Series A funding.

The takeaway: You don't need massive influencer budgets to build community. Focus on authentic relationships with people who genuinely love what you’re putting out into the world.

Measured-to-Fit Vintage at The Consistency Project

Last quick note — if you know me, you know my love for pants from The Consistency Project. They’re a full-service vintage denim and workwear pants studio in Brooklyn, where you can get a fitting appointment to find your perfect pairs.

Natasha and the team at TCP will also do in-house alterations for you, which — as someone who always needs alterations on pants — is a game-changer.

I can’t underscore enough how revolutionary alterations are for vintage retail: rather than feeling like vintage "doesn't come in your size," alteration services make well-fitting vintage accessible to so many more body types.

Last month, Natasha posted they had deadstock hickory stripe Stan Rays in stock, which have been on my list forever, and I jumped on getting a pair — big thanks to The Consistency Project who keep measurements on file, because they were even able to alter my pieces to my exact fit from afar.

Offering alteration services doesn't just increase your revenue streams (see strategy #2) — it dramatically expands your potential customer base. Having my measurements on file meant I could shop with confidence, knowing pieces would be adjusted to fit perfectly. This removes one of the biggest barriers to vintage shopping and creates incredible customer loyalty.

If I can put one last underline under all this: this kind of value-added service is the perfect intersection of personalization and sustainability, and — I'm a great example! — it builds lasting customer relationships.

The thread that runs through every successful strategy in this letter is this: focus on what makes vintage irreplaceable. In a “challenging” market, your expertise, authenticity, and personal touch will be your lifeline. 💛 - Emily

💌 Everything Else You Missed This Week:

• 👗 Auction Alert: Julien's Auctions hosted the largest-ever auction of Princess Diana's wardrobe, with the Princess Diana Museum's curator acquiring her iconic Belville Sassoon shift dress for $520,000.
  

• 🏛️ Policy News: Congresswomen Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D, CA-37) and Nicole Malliotakis (R, NY-11) announced the bipartisan launch of the Recommerce Caucus— a “coalition championing the growth of the recommerce economy.” This political recognition of secondhand commerce as a serious economic force could lead to favorable policy changes (like tax incentives) for sellers.

• ✨ Archival Fashion Moment: Spotify's Billions Club Live concert in Paris featured Miley Cyrus wearing archival Thierry Mugler (1996/1997 Les Amazones Fall-Winter), continuing the archival theme of her Something Beautiful album.

• 🎓 Educational Initiative: Vestiaire Collective and Aware Collective wrapped up their six-month influencer education program, taking participants to a secondhand clothing sorting facility to witness the reality of textile waste. This type of transparency around fashion's environmental impact gives content creators an opportunity to “to grow, to share what they’ve learned, and to use their influence for good.”

• 🎭 Charitable Auction: eBay will auction Chappell Roan's 2025 upcycled Met Gala look to benefit LGBTQIA+ youth at The Ali Forney Center.

Which story caught your attention this week? Let me know what you're watching in your corner of the vintage world.

Got a tip for Pre-Loved? 💌 Solving a piece of the circular fashion puzzle? Have a buzzy piece of vintage news you want readers to know about? Put a tip in my inbox: prelovedpodpr@gmail.com. 📥

And find me across the internet on Instagram, TikTok, and Threads!