I get hundreds of people checking my Vinted since I used one of the UKs biggest icons to ‘model’ my clothes
SAVVY Aimee Watson modelled her clothes on a cardboard cutout of the veteran TV star, and now she wants to thank him in person.
Aimee, 33, noticed items she was trying to sell online were not gaining enough views – with shoppers only buying around one a week.
She came up with the idea of featuring a cardboard cutout of Sir David, 98, on her listings after she jokingly slung an item over it – and realised it could work.
Now business is booming – Aimee sells up to 15 of her bags, jumpers and shirts in a week and says her views have soared by hundreds.
After contacting David Attenborough in 2001 as part of a school project and never hearing back, Aimee says she would love him to reach out now.
She would like to thank him for boosting her bank balance, since she “couldn’t have done it without him”.
Aimee, a teacher, from Rowley, Staffordshire, said: “I admire David Attenborough so much.
“When he sees how good the items look on him, he’ll want to buy them for himself.
“He’s helped me sell a lot of items.
“I’ve had around 80 comments from people mentioning David, they have said it’s made them laugh and made their day.
“I’ve always said if it can put a smile on just one person’s face then it’s been a good thing.”
Aimee set up her Vinted shop three weeks ago after deciding to have a clear-out of her house.
At first, her items would only get a maximum of three views each and no real interest.
“I posted a few items and I kept refreshing to see if anyone had viewed them,” she said. But there was nothing.
“I looked at other items and saw others had so many views and favourites, I was conscious the longer you leave your items the harder it becomes to sell them.”
Aimee’s brother, Christopher, 29, thought it would be funny to gift the cardboard cutout to her for Christmas three years ago.
Aimee has loved the broadcaster since she was six years old. Her introduction to him was after she watched one of his BBC documentaries – and she quickly became a big fan.
She even wrote to him in 2001- while she was in year seven – but never heard back.
Luckily her husband Adam is happy to shared their home with another man. Although after their wedding, the life size cutout was permanently relocated to Aimee and Adam’s home gym.
“David has usually been a laugh at home and often looks out of windows,” added Aimee.
“We have had delivery drivers ask to take photos of him because of how funny it is.
“I went into my home gym and saw David ‘standing’ there and thought it wouldn’t harm to try.”
On a whim, Aimee decided to dress the cardboard cutout in one of her shirts. She noticed it looked like it fit – so took a photo and posted it on Vinted.
Her views shot up almost instantly, and so she has carried on using him for each item she wanted to sell.
“It was to get noticed originally,” she explained. “If I sell a jumper that is similar to others, using his photo makes people stop in their tracks and check it out.”
In just 24 hours, one of her items ended up with around 80 messages.
She said: “People online have said it made their day and gave them a good laugh.
“Another woman said I was an icon – and called it a shrine.”
Aimee and Adam have already made enough to fund their honeymoon to Mauritius in August.
And now she now wants to thank David personally for helping her shift her unwanted clothing.
“I’d have to thank him, it would be rude not to,” she said. “Hopefully he wouldn’t want any commission!
“Even though I wasn’t able to get a reply as a child, hopefully, I will get a response now.
“I hope it makes him smile – and he’d be all for recycling clothes, and saving the planet.”
New Vinted rules to be aware of
IF you fancy clearing out your wardrobe and getting rid of your old stuff on Vinted, you’ll need to consider the new rules that recently came into play.
If people are selling personal items for less than they paid new (which is generally the case for second-hand sales), there is no impact on tax.
However, since January 1, digital platforms, including eBay, Airbnb, Etsy, Amazon and Vinted, must share seller information with HMRC as part of a crackdown.
You’re unlikely to be affected if you only sell a handful of second-hand items online each year – generally, only business sellers trading for profit might need to pay tax.
A tax-free allowance of £1,000 has been in place since 2017 for business sellers trading for profit – the only time that an individual personal item might be taxable is if it sells for more than £6,000 and there is a profit from the sale.
However, firms now have to pass on your data to HMRC if you sell 30 or more items a year or earn over £1,700.
It is part of a wider tax crackdown to help ensure that those who boost their income via side hustles pay up what they owe.
While your data won’t be shared with HMRC if you earn between £1,000 and £1,700, you’ll still need to pay tax as normal.