I’m Emily Stochl and this is Pre-Loved 🎤 an indie media platform about vintage. Become a paid subscriber for secondhand business intel, weekly tips, and curated vintage finds.
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Hey hi hello! A story I’ve been tracking for two weeks finally revealed itself! I’ve been waiting to see what Law Roach bought when he went to this Bob Mackie auction at Julien’s, and now we know (!!). It was a custom chevron-striped halter gown, previously worn by Carol Burnett for an opening monologue on her show in 1973.
Law paid $3,840 for it— not a loan, a purchase, this is “we don’t borrow — we buy”-Law Roach we’re talking about here— and put it on Ariana Grande for a promo for the SNL Christmas special, which she’s starring in alongside Cher on Saturday. I’m calling it now: we’re going to see more vintage Bob Mackie in this special. Mark my words, this is an Easter egg!
Today’s letter includes: How vintage dealers are preparing for 2026 (I polled the community), why beat-up handbags became more desirable than pristine ones, and eBay’s big bet on live selling. Plus, your final steal-my-saves of the year —a pop-of-red knit, Taxco silver, a slouchy suede shoulder bag, and more, all under $200.
From the Pre-Loved tip line: a reminder to use a P.O. box for your resale business! Concerned mom and vintage store owner, Elizabeth, wrote in: “I’ve purchased a few items off Whatnot recently, and find a lot of young girls selling there don’t use P.O. Boxes for their return addresses, which leaves them vulnerable to stalkers and weirdos. As a mom, this scares me and I want to find a way to remind them all to use a P.O. Box. Just trying to protect our industry of young, vulnerable girls!” Thank you for this reminder, Elizabeth!
Indyx Wrapped provided year-end data on our 2025 wardrobe habits. The digital wardrobe app, Indyx, released their own ‘Wrapped’ this week, sharing stats like: how much of your closet you actually wore this year, your most-worn pieces, total possible outfit combinations, garments added, and cost-per-wear leaders. The “percentage of closet worn” stat seems to be the one making the rounds on social—mostly from people sheepishly admitting they’ve touched too little of their wardrobe, and setting goals for improvement in 2026.
eBay is betting big on live selling. The platform is hiring a Director of Fashion & Beauty for eBay Live, with “a decent size team,” signaling they’re serious about competing with platforms like Whatnot and TikTok Shop in the live re-commerce space. The job posting emphasizes they need “someone deeply, deeply entrepreneurial” —translation: someone who can build fast. eBay’s existing seller base and authentication infrastructure give them an edge, but can they capture the energy that makes live selling work and draw the right sellers to the platform? We’ll see who they hire! They just had Liana Satenstein on selling bags from the Vogue closet and supposedly it was the highest sales to date.
Your End-of-Year Vintage Seller Checklist
It’s the end of the year. I polled a few vintage dealers, and here’s what the Pre-Loved community wants to tackle in their vintage business this January:
