Thread: How to Determine Costume Resale Prices

A discussion's been going on on Facebook on a question that I think a lot of us have wondered about - what's a good guideline for costume resale prices? Here's what I came up with.

brand new (maybe used in photos but not danced in) 95% of purchase price;
used, great condition and < 1 year old - 90%;
used, good condition (sweat marks inside, great outside) and/or < 2 years old - 80%;
used, missing some embellishments and/or < 3 years old - 70%;
visibly torn, stained, or frayed (and not expertly repaired), 50% or less;

What do you think? How have you determined sales prices for your used costumes in the past?

I go by what similar items are selling for in the swap, taking into account condition, what I initially paid for it, and any improvements or add-ons.

I've also gotten more experience Bhuzzers to "appraise" costumes for me.

Originally Posted by shushanna

A discussion's been going on on Facebook on a question that I think a lot of us have wondered about - what's a good guideline for costume resale prices? Here's what I came up with.

brand new (maybe used in photos but not danced in) 95% of purchase price;
used, great condition and < 1 year old - 90%;
used, good condition (sweat marks inside, great outside) and/or < 2 years old - 80%;
used, missing some embellishments and/or < 3 years old - 70%;
visibly torn, stained, or frayed (and not expertly repaired), 50% or less;

What do you think? How have you determined sales prices for your used costumes in the past?

I think those figures are high, personally. I would never pay 90% of a purchase price for a costume that has been worn for up to a year, or 50% of a purchase price for a visibly torn one. But that's me, personally.

Putting a timeline on how old a costume means something different for different people. Depending on how many costumes a dancer owns and how often they perform- a costume that's 9 months old could have been worn once or 30 times. That would make a HUGE difference in resale value, in my opinion. Also, was the performance a 5-minute song at a hafla or a 30-minute show at a hookah bar?

More than having a set guideline, I would look at the Swap meet and see what other costumes that are similar (same designer, same style) are selling for.

Originally Posted by amarasdance

I think those figures are high, personally. I would never pay 90% of a purchase price for a costume that has been worn for up to a year, or 50% of a purchase price for a visibly torn one. But that's me, personally.

I think a lot of people would agree with you, Amarasdance. But the worst that can happen is that no one buys your costume at that price and you lower it.

I mentioned time in addition to wear and tear because there is a ticking clock on costumes - the metal inside most glass beads oxidizes over time, becoming noticeably less brilliant. It's a process that is independent of how often the costume is worn, unfortunately. The oxidation can be slowed by storing your costumes in a cool, dark, dry place, but eventually many sparkly metallic beads will oxidize. I figured the wear and tear would account for how often and how roughly it may have been used.

Also, if someone were selling a $700 Bella with a torn hem, in my size and favorite colors, I don't think I'd blink an eye at scooping it up for $350. But that's just me. I have confidence that I could make it look brand new with my magic fairy-seamstress wand.

I check the Swap Meet for similar items to what I want to sell.

Pricing resale items is difficult for me. Besides age not necessarily correlating to wear and tear, I suppose one has to factor in the brand the uniqueness of the costume. People are generally willing, from what I've observed to pay for a brand name they recognize as quality. Also I've noticed that unique items from a brand tend to do well with upholding their value, such as a Bella with a unique theme.

I've paid more, and am willing to pay more, for Bellas or Madame Ablas in my size simply because they were made with quality materials and quality workmanship and last forever.

I wonder if a percentage point system might work. Like, worn in a hooka bar or by a smoker and subtract 5% from the cost. Danced in ten time subtract 10%. If its a Bella, cut all the subtractions in half. Or something like that.

That's how they do it for cars. Mileage, condition, age and brand get turned into an algorithm.

There are all kinds of problems with trying to set guidelines. First off, there is the whole question of full disclosure. I might have a costume which I bought second hand but unworn, so I would technically call it new, then wore it to death under all kinds of circumstances for 3 months, but because it's a Bella or similar, not feel the need to disclose any of this. I could honestly say that I was the first person to own it and only wore it for 3 months and it was a name designer so by the guidelines it should be worth $X.00. In reality, it isn't.

I agree with others that basing value on what the market currently is asking is probably a good idea. Plus, knowing yourself what you are willing to let a costume go for. I have had several top of the line costumes which I have been fortunate enough to buy at a good price (read below market value) and then sold them for the same having only worn them once or twice. Chances are, had I worn the more often, I would have probably lowered the price. But maybe not.

The other issue, which is really about the buyer as opposed to the seller, is how much is the buyer willing to pay? And how much is based on what is fashionable. We have seen trends where costumes which were in the $400 - $500 dollar range are now selling for less than $100 simply because they are not considered fashionable. These are still very solid costumes, just within the belly dance community, no longer desirable*. So I would have to say that, even with guidelines, a lot of pricing is very subjective.

*I was at a Hafla recently were I say a lot of Turkish Super Fringes. I thought they looked great, but I know that many of the Belly Dance Fashionistas feel they are out.

{{{HUGS}}}

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

There are all kinds of problems with trying to set guidelines. First off, there is the whole question of full disclosure. I might have a costume which I bought second hand but unworn, so I would technically call it new, then wore it to death under all kinds of circumstances for 3 months, but because it's a Bella or similar, not feel the need to disclose any of this. I could honestly say that I was the first person to own it and only wore it for 3 months and it was a name designer so by the guidelines it should be worth $X.00. In reality, it isn't.

I see what you mean, but I think that if people choose to be dishonest, there is no method of determining a good starting price that they can't abuse. They could compare their worn out costume to a newer one on Bhuz, or they could compare their worn out costume to a newer one on the pricing guide. But fortunately, our community is self policing, and blatently dishonest sellers get outted.

The other issue, which is really about the buyer as opposed to the seller, is how much is the buyer willing to pay? And how much is based on what is fashionable. We have seen trends where costumes which were in the $400 - $500 dollar range are now selling for less than $100 simply because they are not considered fashionable. These are still very solid costumes, just within the belly dance community, no longer desirable*. So I would have to say that, even with guidelines, a lot of pricing is very subjective.

*I was at a Hafla recently were I say a lot of Turkish Super Fringes. I thought they looked great, but I know that many of the Belly Dance Fashionistas feel they are out.

{{{HUGS}}}

That's very true. If suddenly the color blue was out, then blue costumes would have to lower in price. And let's face it, some costumes are just ugly. I've seen brand new costumes by well known designers advertised on Dahlal or TheBellydancestore where I just go "huh?". But often those costumes don't sell, and eventually their prices are lowered till someone is willing to snatch them up.

I guess my intention was to help honest sellers determine a good starting price for their used costumes. They can always lower their prices if the costume doesn't sell, but dancers may feel hesitant to list a price without a good idea of what's typical. Yes, they can check Bhuz, but if they don't know the designer's name or the style's name, it can be difficult to search for.

The benefit of something like a Blue Book for cars is that everyone is on the same page. The owner can say "wow, my car is only worth $300, but it runs just fine. I think I'll keep it." Or "wow, my car is worth $3000, and I think we could use that as a down payment for that new car we wanted."

I don't like the blue book comparison, but there is one way I feel like costume are like cars - once you drive them off the lot, the value goes WAY down.

I am less likely to buy a new costume on the swap meet that is around 90% of the value - it's already been worn, and for that price, I'll just buy it new in my size or as a custom order. For instance, I've seen $650 costumes from Bellydance store listed for $625 - unless it is very rare or unusual, it's hard to justify paying that kind of price to myself.

Also, don't forget that bluebook also weighs initial MSRP, extra features, and the make and model (Mercedes don't depreciate the same way a KIA does). And those are still guidelines, they aren't exact - I've bought and sold cars for less and more than the bluebook values based on demand.

I wonder if costumes made of certain colors or certain fabrics are less likely to hold their values. Like how white shows dirt more, and some fabrics are more likely to pill or get runs.

I tend to take off $25-$50 off my resell price the moment it gets worn, then the price goes down depending on how many times I've worn it and what condition it's in.

The depreciation rate is seems to depend a lot on brand and style. Bellas depreciate less than everything else. So you can't apply any one set of depreciation percentages to all costumes.

Also, the flood of decent and inexpensive Egyptian costumes in modern, fashionable styles (for example the Desert Swirls from bellydancestore) has driven down the value of non-designer Egyptian costumes. I mean, it's hard to beat $165 for a brand new costume that comes in a large array of sizes and colors.

edited to add: I mean *used* Egyptian costumes