Pre-loved costumes, props and decorations sold on Vinted, eBay and Depop in a six-week October peak, then stored dry until next year.
Built forYou collect used costumes and decorations at car boots and after-season sales, sell 20 orders a week in September rising to 120 in late October across Vinted, eBay and Depop, and keep the stock in a garage the rest of the year.
Kit total
£449 to £729
Running cost
£74 to £122 a month
Consumables at 70 orders a week
- Orders a week
- 20–120
- Space
- Garage or unit
- Budget
- £480
Why this setup
You collect used costumes and decorations at car boots and after-season sales, sell 20 orders a week in September rising to 120 in late October across Vinted, eBay and Depop, and keep the stock in a garage the rest of the year.
For six weeks around Halloween, you run your garage as a dispatch room. Orders climb from late September and peak around the third week of October. They stop on 1 November, so you need a setup that scales up fast and packs away flat.
Costumes are light and bulky. Most go in a grey mailing bag with the air pressed out, decor with glass or fragile parts goes in a box. Keep each costume's hat, gloves and mask together in a tub so the set goes out complete.
The kit
Every item, why it’s here and what it typically costs in the UK.
MUNBYN thermal label printer
It takes the standard 100 x 150 mm labels that eBay, Vinted and Whatnot all generate, and generic labels work, so the running cost stays low.
Typical price£55 to £85
See on Amazon
30 kg digital postal scale
Covers the parcels most home sellers ship, up to 30 kg. Choose it when the 40 kg scale is out of stock.
Typical price£12 to £20
See on Amazon5-tier steel shelving, 180 cm×3
Floor space runs out before height does. Number the shelves and each item gets an address you can pick from.
Typical price£120 to £210
See on AmazonClear stackable 32 L tubs, 4 pack×4
Label each tub with a shelf code and record the code against the listing. A sale then tells you which tub to open.
Typical price£120 to £180
See on Amazon180 cm folding table
Packing on the bed or the kitchen table means setting up and clearing down every session. A table that stays up lets you leave your supplies where you need them.
Typical price£40 to £65
See on AmazonTape dispenser gun
Once you ship more than a handful of boxes a week, a tape gun saves minutes on every session and stops tape ends sticking to themselves.
Typical price£8 to £14
See on Amazon
Buy this kit
Copy the full list to take shopping, or print it.
Postage per order
What most orders like these go by, at today’s published prices. Prices checked 6 October 2026.
Royal Mail Tracked 48 Small ParcelUsual£3.75
TrackedUp to 2 kgClothing and small boxed items up to 2 kg, with tracking for less than untracked 2nd Class.
InPost locker to locker, medium£2.59
TrackedUp to 15 kgShoe boxes, books and bags up to 19 cm deep, sent between lockers when the buyer picks a locker.
- Royal Mail Tracked 48 Medium Parcel
£5.70 to £12.25
TrackedUp to 20 kgTrainers, homeware and electronics up to 20 kg, tracked and cheaper than untracked 2nd Class.
About £1,138 a month in postage at 70 orders a week On most marketplaces the buyer pays postage; this is the cost when you pay it.
How to lay it out
Where everything goes, so each order moves one way through the room.
- 1
Three shelving units in a U
Put adult costumes on one unit, children's on another, and decor and props on the third. Each bay carries a code that matches the SKU on all three platforms.
- 2
One tub per costume set
Put the best sets in clear tubs so you can see every accessory and keep them together. Cheaper costumes go in labelled bags on the shelf.
- 3
Photo wall by the up-and-over door
A plain backdrop pinned to the wall with the ring light in front, so you shoot outfits in daylight with the door open.
- 4
Packing table in the middle
Keep mailing bags in a box under the table, the scale on top and the printer at the end nearest the dispatch crates.
The guide
Each step in the order you'll need it.
The calendar
August: sort and wash last year's stock, buy new lots and shoot photos. Early September: list everything on all three platforms. October: pack daily. First week of November: clearance bundles, then box up the rest.
Write the dates on the garage wall. A costume listed on 25 October sells for far less than the same costume listed in early October.
Listing one stock across three platforms
Shoot each costume once, laid flat with every piece around it, then once on a hanger. Upload the same photos to Vinted, eBay and Depop with the bay code in each SKU field.
When a costume sells on one platform, delete it from the other two before you pack. In peak week, do this from your phone the moment the sale notification lands.
Kit for this step
Washing and checking used costumes
Wash fabric costumes on a cool cycle and hang them to dry, as many contain glued trims that peel in a tumble dryer. Check every seam, zip and Velcro strip.
List any missing piece in the title. If a witch costume comes without the hat, say so in the title, because buyers return incomplete sets.
Packing for the October peak
Fold each costume around a sheet of card so it keeps a flat shape, then bag it with the air pressed out. Hats with wired brims go in a box with paper fill so they arrive round.
Print the day's labels in one batch at 6 pm, pack in label order and set the crates by the door for the morning drop-off.
Clearing and storing after 1 November
Bundle leftover children's costumes by age and sell them as dressing-up lots. Buyers looking for nursery and school play clothes buy through the winter.
Store the rest off the floor in sealed tubs with a moisture absorber. Garages get damp over winter, which leaves mould on stored costumes.
Kit for this step
Common mistakes
Each one costs you money or reviews, and each has a fix.
- Listing stock in mid October and missing the weeks when buyers plan party outfits.
- Sending a costume without its matching hat or gloves because they were stored apart.
- Reselling a child's costume with no safety label, or one with loose bells a toddler could swallow.
- Storing latex masks folded in a hot garage, where they stick together and split by next September.
- Forgetting to end a Depop listing after the item sold on Vinted, then cancelling an order in peak week.
When to upgrade
If decor sales pass about 60 a week, stock double-wall boxes for ceramic pumpkins and light-up pieces. A thermal label printer helps when the late October peak tops 100 labels a week.
- 60+ Double-wall boxes
- 100+ Zebra ZD421d
Questions
Can I resell used children's costumes?
Yes, but children's costumes count as toys in law, so check for a UKCA or CE mark and the label before you list. Skip any without a safety label, and remove loose bells or beads that a child could pull off.
Do children's costumes need to meet a fire safety standard?
Children's dress-up costumes are tested for flammability under the toy safety standard EN 71-2. Check the current rules on GOV.UK before you list, and look for the label. Keep costumes away from naked flames in your photos.
When do Halloween sales start on Vinted and eBay?
Check last year's sold listings to see when searches and sales picked up for you. List your stock by mid September so it has time to collect likes and watchers.
Can I sell fake blood, face paint and makeup?
Most platforms restrict used cosmetics for hygiene reasons. Sell only sealed, unused products in date, with the ingredient list visible in the photos.
How do I store latex masks between seasons?
Clean them, dust the inside lightly with talc and store them in a cool, dark tub, stuffed with paper so they hold their shape. Heat and sunlight make latex perish and stick to itself.
Which courier is cheapest for bulky costumes?
On Vinted, you pick the label option inside the app. On eBay and Depop, compare Royal Mail with couriers by size, since a costume in a bag is light but large. Evri is often cheapest for soft parcels, but check its size limits for your bag.
More setups
Updated 6 October 2026
