Shopping Resale Online Isn't Fun

Here's why

Last weekend is mostly a blur. I was sober, but I was shopping. I joined thousands of other vintage enthusiasts at the Manhattan Vintage Show to hunt for pre-loved treasures in a sea of polyester, feathers, and furs. In between stripping in front of strangers and experiencing the high of finding a Yves Saint Laurent bolero that was clearly made just for me (shout out to Collective Good Shop, I people-watched.

Shopping for pre-loved fashion in-person is a completely different experience than shopping pre-loved online, and I witnessed the findings of Mynt Condition’s 2022 survey firsthand.

Motivations are different.

When shopping pre-loved in person, the most common goal is to find something special or unique (i.e. my YSL bolero), with 55% of survey respondents citing this reason. When shopping pre-loved online, people want a deal. 63% of respondents who shop pre-loved online do so because they want to get a better price than they would at a primary retailer.

Additionally, people who shop resale in-person are more concerned with the environmental impact of their behavior than those who shop resale online. 30% of respondents who shop resale in-person cited “saving the planet” as a motivator, compared to just 10% of respondents who shop resale online.

Behaviors are different.

Interestingly, even though the majority of people shopping resale online begin their journey looking for a deal, this group is more than twice as likely as in-person shoppers to consider paying over the retail price to secure an item they truly want. While 20% of respondents who shop pre-loved in-person would consider paying above retail for an item, a whopping 49% of respondents who shop pre-loved online would consider forking over the extra cash.

People who shop pre-loved online are on a mission; people who shop pre-loved in-person are on a journey.

When people shop pre-loved online, they often know exactly what they’re looking for — and it’s often something that’s unavailable at the primary retailer. 27.5% of respondents who shop pre-loved online ended up there because the item they wanted was discontinued, sold out, or otherwise unavailable.

Entering the sensory overload chamber that was the Vintage Show, I had no idea what I was looking for, but I was certain that when I found it, I’d know. I knew when I tried on the YSL bolero and the shop owner told me was made in the ‘90s but its silhouette was revived for the ‘23 collection, and I knew when I took this Moschino neon tweed jacket off its hanger and another woman asked me if she could try it on. (She could not.)

When I left the Vintage Show with my finds crammed into a grocery bag, I felt supremely satisfied — far more satisfied than when I’d received anything I had ordered online, hard-to-find or not. There’s something romantic about interacting with other people, learning the history of a piece, and thinking about who owned them before. And there’s a huge opportunity to bring this part of the consumer experience online. We are so excited to beta launch with you.