# Introduction

This is my updated guide to secondhand shopping on eBay. I’ve utilized comments and suggestions from my original post on TF, along with things I’ve learned since to create the best guide I possible can make. I hope you guys find it helpful. 

Generally, gone are the days of stumbling into a vintage flea market like Brimfield or the Rose Bowl and finding a vintage treasure of a lifetime for $10. Yes, there are still gems out there (mainly in small towns in the middle of America, estate sales and obscure antique shops), but largely those days are gone as “vintage” became a hype commodity and resellers have gotten into the business. Perhaps one day we can return to the glory days of in person vintage shopping, but we have to deal with current reality and that leads us to our next best option, eBay. 

In my experience, eBay is the single best retailer for second hand clothes shopping. I genuinely believe it is the last bastion of true vintage on a budget. eBay offers extensive filters far more detailed than any other platform (even compared to Gem which is an amalgamation of different second hand websites but lacks many features), it is the largest platform, you get buyer protection and, crucially, it allows returns on many listings. eBay is also the only platform that lets you filter by the ever important, country of manufacture and material filters. 

# The Search 

Start by searching for the item you want in the most general terms possible. For example, type “coat” instead of “Harris tweed made in England raglan sleeve balmacaan coat.” Being very specific can prompt eBay to apply filters automatically and sometimes inappropriately, which you don’t want. The safer approach is to start broad and then use the filters so you can capture the most items. Skip the first filter “buying format” and go to the next one. 

**Condition**.   
Click “Pre-owned” only which instantly removes a large portion of low-quality junk. Next, skip “authenticity guarantee” (unless you are buying certain hype sneakers or watches, but that is beyond the scope of this guide). 

**Price**  
Don't be afraid to low ball "offer only" items and even "buy it now" items. Usually sellers will offer a discount, just ask them what the lowest they are willing to let something go for is, but be reasonable.   
You can go on a desktop and click on the link below to get a sense of expected prices for prior sold items. You must click off “completed listings”. For some reason this feature is not available on the app or mobile website.   
https://www.ebay.com/sch/ebayadvsearch

**Category**  
Narrow down the item until you cant anymore (this step is essential because it unlocks the “Country/Region of Manufacture” filter). Of note, sometimes you may have to go back a step and set up a new saved search if you feel you are subselecting too much. For example, if you are searching for a sport coat you will be forced to select between “coats, jackets and vests” or “suits and suit separates”. It’s likely the suits category may have more sport coats, but some sellers will list it under the coats and jackets category. So if you truly want to maximize your chances of seeing as much as possible, set up a second saved search with the other sub   
selected categories. You can keep the rest of the filters identical to make sure you are filtering out stuff you don’t want. 

**Size**  
When dealing with vintage, remember that your tagged size can vary given the age of  garments, stretching, and changes in sizing conventions over the decades. I will always search "around" my size. For example I am a true medium and size 40 in tops. But for pre-owned I will search S-L and 38-42. This is why it is absolutely crucial to know the next most important thing: your measurements. The key measurements are chest width (armpit to armpit), body length (usually from the top of the garment near the collar down to the front hem), and sleeve length (either from the shoulder seam to the cuff or from the underarm seam to the cuff). For pants, the crucial measurements are waist and inseam. Rise and leg opening are also good to know. I suggest writing all your standard measurements down in your phone notes for easy reference until you memorize them. If the seller has not listed measurements—and many do—just ask. Most sellers are friendly and will provide this information. Don't be afraid to ask them to show you how they measured as well (not everyone measures the same). Then compare them to your own measurements with garments that fit you well. Note, an overcoat will fit differently than a t shirt, so just apply it correspondingly. Also, keep in mind things like rise. A vintage OG 107 has an insane rise so if you see an inseam of 26 instead of 30, it may still fit you. You need to account for these different factors, and admittedly it takes some trial and error. At the bottom of this filter there is sometimes a “one size” option which i would recommend clicking, as some sellers don’t specify. 

**Item Location**  
I personally set to the United States since I live here, because shipping and returning something overseas can be expensive once you factor in potential tariffs. If you live in the EU or elsewhere, apply the same logic to your own region. Obviously some hard to find pieces are only overseas so exercise your own risk / finance tolerance. 

Generally I skip color unless I am very particular about it (for example a navy blazer I would click off “blue”) but as above click off “unspecified” to maximize your bucket. 

**Materials**  
*This is by far the most important filter*. The main materials you want to look for depending on garment type are natural materials including wool (look for the woolmark logo or “pure new wool” on pictures especially - see my post in /r/threadtalks for more info), cotton, cashmere, leather, and linen. You will also see terms like “tweed,” “animal hair,” and “twill,” which are fabric types rather than specific fiber contents, but eBay does not always distinguish that properly. Click off all the other random natural fibers “camel, rabbit hair, angora, flax etc if applicable. As before also click “unspecified”. 

**Brand**   
This filter is usually less important unless you are searching for something very specific, such as a vintage Brooks Brothers oxford-cloth button-down or a Drake’s tie. In most cases, your material and country-of-manufacture filters will be far more useful to you than brand.

Skip the next filters before country of manufacture. A lot of it is arbitrary nonsense such as “occasion, accents and season”.

**Country/Region of Manufacture**  
The second most useful filter. In general, selecting countries like USA, UK, Italy, Canada, and other European countries is a good starting point, as these regions have a long history of producing high quality garments. However, this is not an infallible rule. If you want a vintage madras shirt for example, you should select India, which historically is the major producer for madras cloth. If you want a vintage guayabera shirt, you will likely want to select Mexico and Cuba. There are also notable exceptions where excellent materials are used in garments produced in countries that historically have a reputation for low quality mass production. For instance, I found some beautiful pleated wool trousers made from Italian Loro Piana cloth but it was from a Chinese brand. This is why material composition comes before country of manufacture in the filter hierarchy. However for beginners, I recommend sticking to North America and the EU. As always, add non specified if you want to capture the largest bucket. Skip the next few filters and go to returns. 

**Returns accepted**  
Always select this unless you are 100% sure on the item. Free returns are an added bonus, though they are less common. In the beginning, you may lose some money returning items that do not fit or that you simply do not like in person. For many, including myself, this is worth it in the long run because, once you have your measurements dialed in and know what you are looking for, eBay becomes a gold mine and you will return less with time. 

    
**Misc filters**  
There are many arguably useless filters such as “Occasion,” “Season,” and certain “Features” options like “party/cocktail,” “travel,” or “summer.” Using these can cause you to miss good pieces, and many sellers do not bother to fill them out as it is somewhat arbitrary but can be helpful for specific items. Some other potential helpful filters may appear such as “type” which can be useful sometimes to seperate general categories like “coats” vs “jackets” vs “vests”, but usually I skip this. 

# Save your searches

Once you find a search you are happy with and have checked the listings (see my last pic for an example I set for vintage wool overcoats made in America and the EU), click the little heart next to the search bar and eBay will send daily notifications if something gets posted within your criteria.

  

# Closing thoughts

eBay truly is, in my opinion, the last great source of true vintage clothing available at reasonable prices. Curated vintage shops, such as Wooden Sleepers or Thoroughbred NY, can be excellent too, but you pay for that curation. By contrast, big-box thrift stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army are often the least efficient places to shop in my experience: you can spend a lot of time sorting through basic mall brand garbage, and walk away with nothing. Also, the chances of bed bugs are higher in goodwill and salvation army type stores. That risk is not exclusive to them only of course (even higher-end vintage shops or online sellers can have issues) but, in practice, curated shops and serious online resellers tend to be more careful. Their businesses depend heavily on reputation, and many eBay sellers store items in their homes and rely on feedback that reflects cleanliness and garment condition. I used to hit these type of stores extensively and only ended up with a handful of good pieces over the years. Since I switched to ebay, the amount of quality for the time I put in is night and day. Like I said, gems can be found in off the beaten path rural stores and estate sales, but most of us are not in a position to regularly thrift such locations. 

As a fair warning, you will lose some money in the beginning returning items. I returned a fair amount of navy DB blazers and fisherman sweaters until I found the perfect one. And let me tell you, once you find the perfect one, it is worth it. Just know you will lose net between $10-20 on each return, so again exercise financial risk and be as certain as you possibly can before purchasing. Ask all the questions you want. But know, you will inevitably lose some money but that’s part of the fun and that’s how you learn. 

Finally, I posted a few fit where I highlight some vintage pieces I picked up from eBay. First is an absolutely perfect vintage 80s union made in the USA Polo Ralph Lauren double breasted blazer. This is an example of an item. I’ve waited a long time for. The seller did not know that it was union made, and I got it for a steal for $170. For reference modern versions of this from Polo, which are made objectively worse retail for $1200. Second photo is a $30 made in US chambray with triple stitching! For reference, I have a $200 Buzz Rickson chambray which only has double stitching. Third pic is a fit with a vintage 100% merino wool fisherman sweater made in Ireland for $70 and vintage deadstock Polo Ralph Lauren Andrew double pleated chinos for $30. Fourth pic is a vintage US made great coat I found $40 (70% wool, 30% nylon but the fit and construction is top notch and it uses pure new wool. This shows that all rules are relative. And you have to look at the whole picture. Generally I wont go for less than 2/3 natural). Thanks for reading and happy hunting!

Comprehensive eBay Guide 2.0