Have you ever browsed a rack of inner-city 'vintage' or consignment clothing and thought… "this seems kind of expensive?" Back in 2014, when I first moved to Melbourne and was a poor uni student, vintage shopping in Melbourne's inner north was a way to play around with style without participating in fast fashion. A lot of the clothes I bought at that time in my life still hang in my wardrobe — suede biker jackets that would sell for ten times the price now, and were cheaper than the synthetic alternative from Zara at the time. On a recent trip to Italy, I was reminded of the point of vintage or secondhand shopping — to make luxury brands and well-made clothes accessible to people who couldn't necessarily afford them new: 100 percent wool jumpers, leather coats, the kind of rigid denim that looks even better after a couple hundred wears. There's no two ways about it: the supply and demand of vintage fashion in Australia has made us accustomed to high price points; more often than not, it's not even cheaper than the brand-new alternative — so what's even the point? Is it worth it? Or are we just being price-gouged for clothing that's no better (in terms of construction and design) than current-season fast fashion? View this post on Instagram A post shared by Concrete Playground Melbourne (@concreteplaygroundmelbourne) When Lithuanian resale unicorn Vinted arrived in Australia on 1 July, it gave the Australian market (at long last) the key to European vintage resellers. The retailer launched with zero seller fees and a three-year prepaid shipping partnership with Australia Post built straight into the app — thus, the low-competition, high-demand cycle Aussies had been stuck in finally began to show some cracks. In response to the launch, Depop (which eBay acquired from Etsy on 30 July, in a roughly $1.4 billion deal) scrapped its 10 percent Australian seller fee — its first fee-structure change since launch here . A quick search on Vinted revealed the same item (same label, same condition) listed for a fraction of the price you'd see at Australian resellers. For instance, I bought a red cashmere Burberry scarf from a European seller for $40.86; on eBay Australia, pre-owned versions run $140 to $220 — scroll further, and you'll find scarves still tagged, never worn, resold at $400 to $750. Competition, per the ACCC, "leads to lower prices and more choice for consumers" and "inspires better quality products and services" — which pretty much sums up why it's been so bloody hard to get a good deal on vintage in Australia for the better part of a decade. Hopefully, we'll now be able to compete with our Euro and UK counterparts on well-made, archival-fit checks (without breaking the bank). A reminder before you start shopping: where possible, read the label — what it's made of, where it's made, and a little of the brand's own history will tell you more about whether a price is fair than the word "vintage" ever will. Images: Supplied