About The Vintage Merchant
Our Service Pledge
Welcome to The Vintage Merchant where you'll find a delightful selection of vintage clothing for women and men, seasonal vintage home wares, and collectibles from books to games, glass to ceramics, luggage to lamps, and historical architectural salvage to kitschy decor!We promise to respond to your order or question within 24 hours of receiving it.
About Us
We hand-select each of our treasures here at The Vintage Merchant: clothing & accessories for women & men, as well as an unique selection of home wares!We've happily been in the vintage industry since the 1970s, and with Ruby Lane since 2002.
We've been blessed with fabulous and loyal clients over the years, and are thrilled to make new friends as shoppers discover our wares!
Here are a few of the wonderful messages we've received:
*Thanks so much for the jacket. I wore it yesterday and it fits perfectly. My girlfriend said I looked very handsome. :)
*Hi Mary!! I just wanted to thank you for the amazing ivory oxford heels! they are absolutely perfect. I'm wearing them for my wedding next June. We're having a vintage themed old fashion wedding. I couldn't be happier about this purchase. Thank you SO SO much!
*I received my jacket on Monday and I just wanted to tell you that I absolutely Love this jacket! It fits me so perfect! I could not be happier with this purchase! Thank you so much!
*The dress and the slippers arrived few days ago. They are both better than described and I love them very much! Thank you again!
*I received the blouse today & it is beautiful even the way you packaged and folded the blouse was very nicely done. High Five! to you I definitely will be ordering from you again.
*I just received the dress and it's so beautiful! I've been collecting vintage dresses for a while because I love them so much but this is absolutely the most beautiful dress I have purchased so far! It will definitely get to experience many, many, events and activities in the upcoming months. So, I just wanted to say thank you!
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We hope to help you find your special something here, too! if you don't see what you're looking for here, please ask.
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*Graduate of The University of Hawaii, with a major in Fashion Design.
*We are proud to be a member of the Vintage Fashion Guild.
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Come follow The Vintage Merchant on Facebook and Instagram, too, if you have an extra moment ~ occasionally we offer random discounts through our social media, thank you!
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We are in an interesting marketing niche as age is an attribute to our inventory, rather than a detriment.
We offer an ever-changing selection of vintage collectibles that we treasure, and that our clients treasure, as well.
Some vintage vendors refuse to handle merchandise if it has any flaws of any sort, however, depending on the item, it's rarity, the current demand, and the condition, we do handle some collectible pieces that are less than perfect: any and all issues are always noted.
Now "vintage," "vintage look," and "vintage inspired" are keywords that nearly every manufacturer and shopping outlet use to market their products more than ever before; here at The Vintage Merchant you will find only AUTHENTIC vintage and antique wares; our goods are AT LEAST 20 YEARS OLD, with most of them being much (much) older.
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We do not have a brick and mortar shop, we work out of our home, so we do not list our address;
thank you for understanding .
If you'd like to stop by in person some time to pick up a large item, though, please email us, and we'll work with you to set up a time when it would be convenient for you to come by.
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At this time, we do accept Paypal for payments once again, however we do not agree with and will not abide by their 180 day return policy. As part of their policy, Paypal has suggested that if they feel the need, they will withhold funds paid for purchases for 180 days (yes, that's 6 months), and as a Mom and Pop vintage shop, we cannot afford to do business that way, but at this time, we still have no viable alternative to offer our clients.
Please understand by placing an order with us, that you are automatically waiving the 180 day return policy to protect both you and us: we DO still offer a 14 day window to return an item if you are not pleased with it when you receive it; we do charge a 20% restocking fee for all returned items.
In some circumstances we will make an exception and accept USPS postal money orders.
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Our Layaway Plan:
We require:
*33% deposit at time of layaway request/order (the total must include shipping expenses)
*33% due within 2 weeks of initial order
*final 34% due within 4 weeks of initial order.
*Late payments or payments for less than the agreed upon amount automatically cancel the sale.
*No refunds on any deposits made
*No exceptions.
You are most welcome to make payments early, if you wish to shorten the layaway time-frame.
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Sizing Vintage Clothing
Label sizes are variable:
*from maker to maker
*from Junior sizes compared to women's sizes
and vintage sizes measure much differently than contemporary sizes.
So, we always list our clothing by measurement.
We strongly recommend to determine the measurements for clothing to fit you, to do the following:
*select (a few different) garments from your own wardrobe that fit the way you like
*lay them flat
*measure from seam to seam
The most common to keep on hand are:
*underarm to underarm ( chest = men, bust = women)
*at the natural waistline
*at the hip (typically ~ 9" down from the natural waistline)
*length [sometimes measured from center back of the neck (for sweaters, shirts, blouses, dresses, jackets, vests, coats), sometimes from the underarm (for bustiers, strapless dresses, some swimwear)]
Then
*Compare your garment's measurements to those of the item you are interested in,
*keep in mind how tight or loose you like to wear your clothes (knits can stretch, corduroy won't),
*and the ultimate decision is yours.
Remember if you're shopping for an coat or jacket that will be worn over a layer of clothing, including possibly bulky sweaters, you need to allow extra room for that. Again, if you have a coat (or jacket) that fits the way you like over a layer of clothing, please measure it and use those as a guideline to help you get the best fit possible.
When it comes to sizing, please keep in mind:
Typically, for American women's sizing:
*a bust of 38 translates to an 8,
* a bust of 40" as size 10,
*a bust of 42" as size 12, and so forth, up and down.
similarly,
*a waist line of 26" would be considered a 6,
*28" as a size 8,
*30" as a size 10, and so on.
In contemporary sizing, shops such as Sears (which is considered an American standard of sizing) categorizes
*sizes 0 and 2 as extra small,
*sizes 4 and 6 as small,
*sizes 8 and 10 as medium,
*sizes 12 and 14 as large.
Extra large sizes seem to be more variable, generally speaking.
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We LOVE our International Customers!
We ask that you please understand:
*Shipping, insurance, delivery confirmation and any customs, VAT or entry fees that your country has are YOUR responsibilities.
*FOR EXAMPLE: UK shoppers: a good rule of thumb is to expect to pay approx 1/3 extra on top of the purchase price in import charges, eg 33% extra to the UK government for processing through customs.
*We will NOT falsify information on any customs form to attempt to avoid fees or charges due.
*Weight allowing, we do offer USPS First Class International Mail as an option since it is much less expensive, however, PLEASE UNDERSTAND that USPS FCMI cannot be tracked beyond US borders, and that we have no control of how your country chooses to pass packages through customs; therefore we suggest if you have any concerns, it may be more efficient and reassuring to ship via Priority instead: this is your decision.
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Our Return Policy
PLEASE READ
First, we ask that you PLEASE refer to the above suggestions to insure a good vintage fit/size experience; it just takes a little extra time, and it could save you a bit of heartache; thank you.
If you are not pleased with your purchase,
*email us within 3 days of delivery of your item
*We promise to acknowledge your return request within 24 hours (UNLESS we are out of town on a buying trip: you will be able to see that notice on our front page when we are away).
*You must ship the item back to us within 14 days of the acknowledgment and realize that YOU are responsible for return shipping and insurance.
*The item must be returned via the original carrier (unless agreed otherwise in writing),
*in its original packaging,
*insured for its purchased price, and it
*must be received in the same condition as when it was shipped to you with all of our tags and identifying marks intact.
We recommend you use delivery tracking and get a delivery receipt.
Once we verify the returned item is as originally sent, we will issue a refund within of the purchase price minus a 20% restocking fee within 3 days.
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We'd like to thank you once again for choosing to shop with us here at The Vintage Merchant. We hope to see you again soon, and often. xo