# Halloween costume and decor rush from a garage > 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 for: 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. - Platforms: Vinted, eBay, Depop - Orders a week: 20–120 - Space: Garage or unit - Kit total: £449 to £729 - Running cost: £74 to £122 (Consumables at 70 orders a week) - Updated 6 October 2026 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 - **[MUNBYN thermal label printer](https://sellersetups.com/product/munbyn-thermal-printer)** (£55 to £85): 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. - **[100 x 150 mm thermal labels, 500 fanfold](https://sellersetups.com/product/thermal-labels-fanfold)** (£12 to £18): Fanfold stacks feed flat behind the printer and hold more labels than a roll. 100 x 150 mm matches the label size UK couriers and marketplaces print. - **[30 kg digital postal scale](https://sellersetups.com/product/parcel-scale-30kg)** (£12 to £20): Covers the parcels most home sellers ship, up to 30 kg. Choose it when the 40 kg scale is out of stock. - ×3 **[5-tier steel shelving, 180 cm](https://sellersetups.com/product/shelving-unit)** (£40 to £70): Floor space runs out before height does. Number the shelves and each item gets an address you can pick from. - ×4 **[Clear stackable 32 L tubs, 4 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/clear-storage-tubs)** (£30 to £45): Label each tub with a shelf code and record the code against the listing. A sale then tells you which tub to open. - **[180 cm folding table](https://sellersetups.com/product/folding-work-table)** (£40 to £65): 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. - ×2 **[Grey mailing bags, 10 x 14 in, 100 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/grey-mailing-bags)** (£8 to £13): Self-seal poly bags add almost no weight, so a single garment posts as a small parcel. You can't see through the opaque grey film, and a label lies flat on it. - **[Small single-wall boxes, 25 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/single-wall-boxes)** (£8 to £14): Use these for boxed toys and beauty sets that a padded bag would crush, when double-wall board costs more than you need. - **[Honeycomb paper wrap, 100 m roll](https://sellersetups.com/product/paper-void-fill)** (£18 to £28): Stretches into a cushioned mesh and goes in the paper recycling. Choose it if low-plastic packaging is part of your shop's pitch. - **[Tape dispenser gun](https://sellersetups.com/product/tape-gun)** (£8 to £14): 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. - **[Brown packing tape, 48 mm x 66 m, 6 rolls](https://sellersetups.com/product/brown-packing-tape)** (£5 to £9): 48 mm is the width tape guns take. Six rolls last a shop sending a few boxes a week for a few months. - **[18 in ring light with stand](https://sellersetups.com/product/ring-light)** (£35 to £60): Daylight in a spare room shifts through the day. Set the ring light once and your items look the same in the evening show as in your photos. - **[Royal Mail Click & Drop](https://sellersetups.com/product/royal-mail-click-and-drop)** (£0 a month): Imports orders from eBay, Etsy and other marketplaces, buys postage and prints to a thermal printer. Use it for the orders where you choose the courier; the platform labels its own. ## How to lay it out ### 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. ### 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. ### 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. ### 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 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. ## 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. ## Common mistakes - 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+ orders a week: **[Double-wall boxes, 18 x 12 x 8 in, 15 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/double-wall-boxes)** (£22 to £34): Double-wall board resists crushing better than single-wall, so your boxed trainers arrive intact. - 100+ orders a week: **[Zebra ZD421d](https://sellersetups.com/product/zebra-zd421)** (£200 to £260): Once you print hundreds of labels a week, the faster prints and fewer jams are worth the higher price. ## 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.