If you have a passion for vintage clothing you may be thrilled to discover that you can indulge yourself on EBay, As a previous owner of a vintage clothing store, I have a fair idea of what to look for, and what to avoid, and have made many successful purchases on EBay. The following article is a guide to buying vintage clothing on one of the worlds favorite online shopping sites.

Vintage items such as embroidered kimonos and shawls, accessories, coats and dresses and even shoes are easy to find. Their condition varies considerably, so make sure you read all of the information available about them if interested.

I would recommend that you have reference books if possible handy while you search on EBay. If you spot an item that you are interested in, you can also research it further by looking at other websites too, before you put on a bid.

You can go straight into the 'vintage' clothing section, but I prefer to search differently as I find that dealers put their items in this section and know how much they are worth. You are much more likely to find a bargain by searching in other areas, still under the main heading of 'clothing'.

For a sub-heading which you can type in yourself try using words that mean the same as vintage such as 'retro', 'old' and 'old fashioned'. You can also try years such as 1930's or 1970's if you want to be specific, and if there is a name brand of clothing that you are looking for type it in directly, and you are bound to have many choices to consider.

If you do decide to hunt in the 'vintage' section, be aware that you may come across some fake items, as well as original goodies. If you are unsure about an item then be prepared to email the seller to find out particular details. Asking about the items history can also help you decide if the seller is genuine.

When you find an item that you want to make a bid on, having checked available references, the next step is to look at the left hand side of the EBay page, and click on completed listings. Here you can check how much previous items similar to the one you are interested in have sold for. This will give you an indication of pricing and whether the item you are keen on is priced fairly.

Also look at the postage price that the seller is charging, as many unscrupulous sellers try to sting the buyer with an unfair price in-order to make as much money as possible.

If your item isn't being auctioned straight away, you can watch it on your EBay page and then put a bid in closer to the selling time. Putting a bid in too early can make the price rise unnecessarily as you enter a bidding war with another buyer.

Finally, good luck and happy bidding!

Learn more about this author, Bridget Webber.
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