Defunkd

[chasemac]

Hermosa, dude if you are in the new york area there is a warehouse that'll let you pick, but you gotta be willing to spend some dough. Row Clothing is what I have known them as, and you may find out through the game that they are spread out all over. Different ports mainly. I know they have spots in Miami, they had a spot in Dallas, New Jersey, Baltimore, and maybe New York now. They are one whole co-op ran through Whitehouse & Schapiro I believe, doesn't really matter to me, but A lot of the Japanese buyers fly in to Baltimore every week and make a fucking fortune. If you can get in with the right people they will hook you up. Obviously it's always tough because a lot of graders don't have time for cherry pickers, but I'd look into it. If you do, do tell us of your experience.

[CRAZYBUBBA]

Chase, you just blew my mind. About 30% of our mixed rags come from Shapiro-Row

It seems like everyone, world over, knows them.

[chasemac]

Crazy Bubba. I hope I blew your mind in a good way. Did you know Direct TV hates puppies. Sorry, that was random. But yeah man, I've done my due diligence I think. That's why this forum is insane. Truly insane. It's going to allow every one of us to share and tap into new markets. We take what we know and allows us to learn more because when it comes down to it, nobody knows everything. I feel by sharing this kind of information it'll help us all in the end. I mean, there are endless amounts of t-shirts in this world so why would anyone ever try to hide this information. Granted it doesn't go outside of a forum like this because the only reason we are here is because we live and breath the shit, but really t-shirts will still be produced in 3009. In the end, nothing is a secret if you do your work. It's all right in front of us, ya dig?

[hermosavtg]

Thanks for the tips chasemac. I'll be in Miami for the holidays this year so I will see if can go check out there operation over there.

[chasemac]

If that's the case check out DIS Vintage as well. Probably $1,000 minimum, but they got some goodies. Anything out you're way my man?

[hermosavtg]

DIS vintage. I'll call them up see if there still around, looks like they forgot to pay their hosting bill on their website. Are you located in Miami Chasemac?

[chasemac]

I am in Kansas City, the heart of America, which could be a curse or a blessing in the vintage world, but I try to keep a positive spin on everything.

[Frank]

Did you guys call any of those places?
I wish we could all chip in and buy in larger bulk to save money. If we combined our buying power, we cld have more agency in setting our own prices, comrades.

someday we need to have a nerd convention and meet somewhere. It's super cheap to fly in to Vegas or Phoenix. The surrounding thrift stores won't stand a chance.

[VP's]

I am down for combining forces. Or better yet we brand our vintage t shirt passion and have runway shows with HOT models wearing vintage tees. We can have auctions and set the price that way. Lets treat tees as works of arts. Anyone down for exploring these possibities with me? Lets get a lockdown on all factories in US. Lets keep the Japanese out!!!! What are your thoughts?
Mike
VintagePimps

[Frank]

[hermosavtg]

Seems to be vintage clothes is the only thing we, the USA, export to Asia!

Supposedly the Japanese vintage craze has already passed its peak a few years ago, at least thats what a lot of the guys at the flea markets tell me. But still they come to LA on a monthly basis, buy in bulk, and pay inflated prices to export. A lot of the Mexican "ropa usada" warehouse/mill pickers cater specifically to Japanese clientele, and I imagine they still make a killing on them. It's all cash. I guess they have their own vintage economy out there, since as far as I can tell the Japanese are not big buyers on eBay. Anyway it will be a tall order to keep Japanese out because they pay top-cash-dollar and buy in bulk.

I'm down for exploring the possibilities! There is only so much one small seller can do to expand.

[chasemac]

Man, you guys are really getting crazy with this shit. I have been straight up cold calling suppliers the last couple days, just gettin after it. It might be a slow market right now, but it's also a slow economy. The t-shirt will never die. I repeat the t-shirt will never die.

It appears a lot of mills and such are super low on vintage stock and several have shutdown their vintage lines, which means they are mixing everything together. This might be sad, but there could be something else here. We just gotta be smarter and better. The man to be talking to right now is Crazy Bubba. If you guys wanna pitch in on a container we can do this. Can you help us CB?

By the way Jimmy J, this forum is long overdue.

[CRAZYBUBBA]

The man to be talking to right now is Crazy Bubba. If you guys wanna pitch in on a container we can do this. Can you help us CB?

HECK YES. I have NO outside pickers and totally need local customers to help get the vintage thing going here. Right now we ship our vintage halfway across the world and get paid by the piece, which is not an ideal situation. The grade would shape itself to what you guys want, although I would hope that you could take everything (military, dresses, tees, jackets, denim etc)

I just picked up 2 burberry coats and one dior coat from a bale going to Karachi, and pair of vintage levi's from a central america bale :S We're seriously loosing out on alot becuase our emphasis has always been more on grading than vintage. I'm flexible on price.

[Frank]

Where are you in Central America and when can i come down?

Seriously, let's get this rolling. I'm totally small time and money is always tight, but i'll contribute in any way i can and buy in any size i can afford.

[hermosavtg]

Hey once they get that military coup thing sussed out I'm the next guy on a plane to Tegucigalpa. I f'cking love Honduran cigars, and will export some of those too.

But seriously It only makes sense to buy in bulk if you have a market and an infrastructure to move it on. Currently I have neither!

[CRAZYBUBBA]

Well I'm actually shipping to NYC each month, so I can ship smaller shipments to the USA.

We're in Puerto Cortez, Honduras.

Honestly, small time, big time, it doesn't matter to me. Right now we ship the vintage to our other factory in Asia (at our own cost) and then our customers pick by the piece. After accounting for our shipping cost, etc we're making $2.50 per/lb. I'd be willing to work with you guys around that price point, lower for our pre-prepared bales of mix vintage.

There's absolutely no secrecy about the way we run our operation. I could post pictures tomorrow, and you guys would never be restricted from entering the factory/seeing operations at any time. When can you come down? Anytime!

I would love to save the hassle of shipping to asia each time and start shipping closer to home.

I'm in Honduras now and the political situation has no bearing on day to day life. There was a curfew a few months back, when it first happened, but now it's just business as usual. We're also in an export free zone, so security is not an issue.

[VP's]

hey Bubba. I would be willing to receive in shipments. maybe me and Chase, and some other sellers can work together. I basically want to reinvent the vintage t shirt market. sell 1000's a day. How can we make this happen?

[hermosavtg]

How are you going to sell 1000's of t-shirts a day? Especially in wintertime? Most t-shirts I sell i make maybe $6-12 on. Those margins would be sweet at that volume.

I'm down for an NYC picking party. Whats the buy-in? Can it be in the springtime ?

[Frank]

NYC in the spring sound awesome!

[CRAZYBUBBA]

Seriously?

We try to stay away from throwing just any old poly-blend tee shirt into bundles, it's a slipery slope and never works well for us or the customer.

I get maybe 5 great t-shirts a day. I would never be able to handle that kind of quantity. We get by because we're making mixed bales with other vintage. 1000 lbs a day = 1x 200 foot container a month of JUST tees It's certainly possible with the right supplier or a more liberal grade.

[Frank]

I think a more liberal guide is a possibility, since we all sort of specialize in different stuff. Some of us are a lot more specific and narrow focused than others. Like I generally sell sports shirts, old varsity jackets, and jerseys- like that stuff.

[hermosavtg]

I imagine a more liberal grade means more 1989 March of Dimes 10k walkathon t-shirts, and possibly even some (gasp) GILDAN shirts mixed in.

[CRAZYBUBBA]

I imagine a more liberal grade means more 1989 March of Dimes 10k walkathon t-shirts, and possibly even some (gasp) GILDAN shirts mixed in.

NO In east asia they cane you for doing that stuff

I think that he's on the same page as me. Meaning he'd take vtg track jackets, trefoil sneakers, the old all stars, and selected sweatshirts (patagonia, champion reverseweave, North face etc). A wholesaler always wants to move alot of different items at the same time rather than sell 100000000 lbs of tees.

[Frank]

Ha, i thought i was the only one who HATES Gildan t-shirts. I seriously despise them. Too funny

[Fatandyz]

anyone aware of a source in the Boston area or anywhere in New England?