Difference Between Antiques and Vintage (and Why It Matters)
With very few exceptions , buying used material is better than buying new one. There’s just one problem: Page after page of nearly identical listings on Ebay, Craigslist, Etsy, and the Facebook Marketplace takes time. And if you don’t know what you need, you will close your tabs feeling more confused than ever.
This doesn’t mean you have to spend years of your life studying antiques to buy used furniture or cool vintage jackets – but it does help to know the absolute basics, starting with what the words “antique” and “vintage” really mean. … – both on paper and in real life.
Antiques are much older and more expensive than vintage
Generally, an item must be over 100 years old to be considered “antique.” This really narrows it down: although a new crop of things gets labeled every year, real antiques are still rare. Unsurprisingly, this also means they are quite expensive.
Defining “vintage” is much more difficult. The word itself comes from winemaking and refers to the time and place of production of something, usually wine, but does not say anything about its age. Some dealers consider 20 to 99 years old to be “vintage”; others are a little stricter. It’s important to remember that no one agrees, so vintage can mean almost anything.
Ditch the marketing jargon
Unfortunately, learning the basic definitions only complicates matters. In a world where typing “antique” or “vintage” into a Wayfair or Amazon search yields thousands of results, have these terms completely lost their meaning? If not, how do you use them in real life?
The simple (and obvious) answer is that, of course, these words still mean something, but since they are fashionable marketing terms right now, context is everything. Obviously, all the “vintage” tables at Wayfair are brand new. In this case, you can safely assume that “vintage” refers to the aesthetic style, not when and where the table was made.
If you see something labeled “vintage” or “antiques” on a huge FMCG site that only sells new things, that’s just marketing. Ignore this and focus on the actual characteristics of the product.
If you want a real deal please inquire
Things that look vintage are extremely popular, making it hard to find the real thing. (We all know that people on the Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist will label anything “vintage” for people to click on.) Your best bet is to look for vintage sellers that include specific eras (or years) on their listings: “Vintage the Major League Soccer hat ”can mean almost anything, but the“ Vintage 1996-97 Major League Soccer baseball cap ”emphasizes the specific origin of the hat – its vintage , if you will.
Whether you’re buying vintage items, real antiques, or just second-hand items that look cool, keep in mind that the broader Old Stuff market is vast and complex. You will definitely have to plunge into several rabbit holes on the Internet to find what you want, but when you do, it will be worth it.