Welcome to The Seller Scoop, a monthly newsletter covering the vintage resale industry from The Vintage Seeker. Was this email forwarded to you? Get your own copy delivered straight to your inbox: Subscribe here and make sure you select the option for resellers.

Hi vintage vendor*,

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Imagine you’ve made the decision to try out a brand-new market in your town.

You’re stoked about the opportunity to reach a different segment of shoppers. 

Maybe you’ve tried other local markets and haven’t found the right fit yet, or maybe you just want to try something new. Maybe it’s your first-ever market.

You’ve filled out an application to participate, gotten approved and paid your booth fee upfront. 

You spend evenings and weekends leading up to the event perfecting your 10x10 setup.

Curating more stock. Carefully affixing price tags to your inventory. Repainting your old sign. Recruiting a friend or family member to help you with load in on market day. Promoting the event all over your social media.

Hours before the market, you find out it’s cancelled.

It’s not due to weather or accident. It’s just simply not gonna happen.

That’s what vintage vendors, artists and crafters in Toronto went through on June 25 after the organizer behind The Next Market pulled the plug on her event.

Vendors received an email from the organizer in the wee hours of the morning that the event was off. She blamed the venue for cancelling it. 

Some vendors missed the note — you know those early-morning market starts, checking your email is not exactly top of mind — and showed up to the venue with all of their wares, only to find locked doors. 

The cancellation hadn’t been posted to The Next Market’s social media, either.

Spidey senses among the local vintage community were tingling: The Next Market had been cancelled a month prior, too. The organizer had cited emergency surgery for that one. Another spur-of-the-moment decision.

Except this time, the venue’s owner, Messy House TO, put the organizer on blast: she actually hadn’t paid her deposit to hold the space ahead of time, which was a clearly stated requirement in the venue contract.

A TikTok video from an artist vendor shares that the organizer was difficult to reach after the first cancellation. A previous market held by the same organizer in Ottawa had problems as well, the artist says.

Within hours of the news breaking, the organizer changed her Instagram profile to private. Within days, she announced she’d be shutting down The Next Market altogether. Vendors would be refunded, she said.

A few were, but most haven’t seen their money returned. Between the two cancelled markets, there were more than 130 vendors involved.

The Next Market scam was a painful moment for the small-business community in the city, but the affected vendors have created some good out of the situation: they self-organized to host The Comeback Market Jul. 29-30 and again Aug. 12-13 after Messy House TO offered up one of its spaces for free as a make-good.

The venue didn’t have to compensate the vendors. 

But reputation goes a long way.

Messy House TO comes out of this maintaining a good relationship with vendors who may use the space again down the line. 

Meanwhile, The Next Market organizer has soured any chance she had of legitimately working with the community. 

Well-established markets already have their reputations behind them. But what about the new ones? What about other vendors you engage to help with your business? How can you protect yourself as a seller, or as a market organizer?

We share five tips in this email. Just scroll down!

If you’re looking for more, I’m excited to announce Ashlee Froese, an award-winning lawyer, is joining the Vintage Sellers Community in September to discuss contracts, trademarks and startup law for shop owners. (To attend, join here!)

Speaking of working with a vendor, I’m coming to you late with The Seller Scoop this month because I recently relaunched our website alongside the developer I worked with.

I’m thrilled it’s finally out in the world after months of planning and working through all the details, moving all our content over and dealing with many unexpected tech-related hiccups. 

Communication and regular meetings have been the most important things working with a vendor on such a long project. Read more about what this site represents for the vintage and resale market here.

We’re all about connecting shoppers and sellers, so be sure to check out our redesigned Events Calendar, too! It has a powerful search tool to find events in your local city or province/state.

I need your help, though!

I want to continue building this event calendar into a definitive resource for finding markets and resale events. But there are so many going on that I can’t keep up researching them all. :) 

If you’re vending at or hosting a market or event, please submit it to the calendar! It’s free to list — that means free promotion to help drive traffic (we do have a few guidelines for submitting which you’ll see here). Add it to your promotion schedule.

Our website gets visits from thousands of users every month, and we love nothing more than finding out that a customer came to a market because they found out about the event on our calendar.

We all know The Next Market is not representative of the vintage and resale events regularly happening in towns across North America filled with hardworking people like you. 

This calendar is your tool to show people where they can have a fantastic secondhand shopping experience.

*Not a seller, vendor or market organizer? Somehow you’re on my seller email list! 

Update your preferences in the link in the footer of this email if you only want to receive content for buyers.

There are lots of reasons you might start working with another vendor as a reseller, vintage vendor or market organizer yourself. 

Maybe you’re looking to hire help for your shop. Or you call in someone to help you rework your logo. Or you’ve come across a new market in your town and want to sign up.

Working with a new vendor is always a bit of a leap of faith, and unfortunately sometimes it takes a while to learn that they weren't the right fit. 

But how can you protect yourself as much as possible from the outset? Here are five tips on vetting a vendor before working with them:

1. Research, research, research. Go beyond their website or their brand social media (that’s what they want you to see!). Check LinkedIn profiles and other personal social media. Google their name and city. Have they appeared in news articles or other websites? You should be able to get a good idea of their background and reputation. Read testimonials. Seek out vendors who have them, and who consistently produce quality material. If they don’t have much of an online presence, ask if they can send you references. Ask your network to see if anyone knows the vendor. Even if you’re signing up for a brand-new market, you should be able to get a good idea who the organizer is before applying. 

2. Do pricing comparisons. But not necessarily for the reason you think — going with the lowest price can backfire. If every market in a city charges $200 a table and there's one charging $50 and supposedly offering the same exposure and service, that’s a red flag. If you’re paying $100 for a logo but every other designer in that experience bracket charges $500, you may need to adjust your expectations of what you’re going to get.

3. Communicate with the vendor a little. With markets, you’re often filling out an application form and sending it into the ether. But for less-established events, communicate via email or DM first when you can. See how the organizer handles inquiries and concerns. This should give you a good idea of how they may handle future problems. Whenever possible, meet them in person or via video first. This is especially true if you are signing on with someone for a bigger project — in that case, multiple meetings may be warranted before ever signing an agreement.

4. Review the contract. If they don't have one, ask for one. The contract should outline payment terms, fee/delivery schedules, cancellation policies, hidden fees, refund policies, etc. An application form does not constitute a contract. Contracts protect your business too, not just a vendor’s.

5. Trust your gut. It’s a saying for a reason. If you have a bad vibe or something feels off or too good to be true, it probably is. 

For more ways to protect yourself and your shop, attend our upcoming event in the Vintage Sellers Community: Trademarks & Startup Law for Resellers. 

• Collectives are hot: Rumours Vintage Collective is now open with five dealers in Nanaimo, B.C. and Era Vintage just opened its doors in Toronto, Ont., backed by four dealers.
• Toronto seller Saint Ivy Vintage shares how she uses TikTok to share vintage bundles — to the tune of four- to five-figures a month — in article in Business Insider.
• Bricks-and-mortar shops are popping up all over: The Collection Vintage has opened a storefront in Perth, Ont. and Past Lives Thrift is now open in Ottawa, Ont.

Here are some things buyers and vendors should keep in mind when scouring for or selling common thrift store finds including lighting, radios, ceramics and holiday decor.

Polish up your resale shop’s online presence by taking consistent product photos. Photography expert Reem the Visual Artist, award-winning photographer and director of the Canadian Photography Learning Centre, shares a few tips.

Submit it to The Vintage Seeker’s FREE events calendar if it’s not already listed to help spread the word. Our website is used by thousands of people every month. Please review the guidelines before submitting!

• You need not worry about big brands eating into your resale pie: Bloomberg reports brands that have launched resale programs are nowhere near their projected revenues — not only is consumer awareness a problem (one that independent resellers share), but consumers are more likely to check a buy-and-sell marketplace before dealing directly with a brand. You can register for free to read the full article.
• How's this for innovation: A vintage dealer in New York City uses a mobile rack for his shop and roams the streets. 
• Mushroom decor has been hot in the vintage world for a while — and it's hitting the mainstream now, according to Bustle. Vintage lovers setting trends! Stock up on everything mushie ahead of fall.

Upcoming VSC events

Vendor Booth Merchandising Tips & Tricks with The Retail Duo (Aug. 16)
Trademarks & Startup Law for Resellers with Froese Law (Sept. 21)

Talk shop with other vendors, get business advice from experts and learn ways to connect with more customers!

• Attend regular events with international experts (web designers, branding pros, photography teachers, etc.)
• Ask questions, get shop feedback and share advice on our private discussion boards
• Promote your shop through panels, workshops and promo opportunities
• Connect over member calls for ongoing motivation and support
• Access exclusive how-tos and articles to support your biz