3 Vintage Products Making a Comeback

Navigating trends can be a dangerous practice … something is hot one day, but by the time you’ve heard about it, the topic is already old news. Fortunately, many trends don’t die permanently — they sit dormant for a while and then come surging back. Such is the case with a few vintage items, which have come back into prominence recently.

If your business is looking to capitalize on some formerly trendy items that are seeing a resurgence, check out this list of vintage products that seem to be on the rise yet again.

1. Sports Cards

Anyone who ever traded baseball or basketball cards as a child knows that they were once a hot commodity. However, the trend of card trading seemed to drop just as the internet was coming into prominence. In fact, by 2010, revenues from new sports cards fell to just one-seventh of what they’d been at their peak.

Fortunately for those people who hung on to their favorite sports cards, the industry appears to be back on the rise. Just last year, Gary Vaynerchuk predicted that sports cards were “going to explode in value in the next few years and could make a great alternative investment. He also wrote, “I do believe that in the next 24 to 36 months, we are going to see enormous growth in the sports card market. Even more than what we’ve seen in the past two to three years.”

Vaynerchuk’s comments were prescient, because the coronavirus pandemic has only fueled the rise in sports card interest. As many Americans are stuck home without any sports to watch on television (or in person), traders are reporting double-digit increases in business, with new customers joining the hobby every day. The ability to trade cards online has only enhanced the market, Sports Illustrated reports.

2. Artisan Candles

In the 1970s, artisans cleaned up by making ornate, custom candles by hand, which adorned many homes in colors like brown, yellow and orange. The candle trend quieted down after that, and came booming back in the 1990s, with commercially available candles in unique, earthy colors becoming ubiquitous.

Today, candle sales are still robust, estimated at over $3 billion annually, and many artisan candle makers are seeing business boom recently. One candlemaker says that the coronavirus lockdown spurred sales of her all-natural candles, with consumers looking to candles for comfort. Although she shut down her brick and mortar store, her online sales exploded, reflecting sales that she normally doesn’t see outside of the holiday period.

Trends include all-natural candles, calming scents, synthetic-free formulations and the use of essential oils.

3. Scarves

Scarves were an absolute staple in the 1970s, with women wearing them on their heads, around their necks and even as belts. Although that trend may have waned as the 1980s arrived, the scarf trend appears to be coming back full steam ahead.

Scarf sales were already picking up steam over the past few years, but the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly spurred interest even higher. With face coverings mandatory in many areas of the US, scarves are back in style. In fact, retailer The RealReal says that searches for scarves on the site were up 162 percent recently.