If you’ve been paying attention to Instagram lately (or noticed the multitude of signs around Chambers and other buildings) you’ve probably heard about Dime Limited. But what really is Dime Limited and what is it about? I sat down with the people behind Davidson’s most recent startup company to find out.
Dime Limited’s five founders are: Tai-Chen Bassin, a class of 2015 English major, Daniel Reitten, a class of 2015 Economics Major, Boluwatife Odumosu, a class of 2017 Mathematics and Studio Art double major, Ryan Dougherty, a class of 2015 Economics major, and Alicia Jetton, a class of 2017 East Asian Studies Major.
The group got together this spring semester, when Daniel returned from abroad and realized how many clothes he had that he didn’t wear and wanted to sell. He talked to Ryan and Tai (who are both also seniors) about it and they came up with the idea of Dime Limited. Dime Limited’s name came from Tai; the initials being DL, as in “keep it on the DL,” helps the company maintain a student feel as well as lets people know they’re on the in. The three seniors wanted to bring in a girl to add a more feminine perspective for choosing the women’s clothing they would sell so Alicia was contacted because of her well-known unique fashion sense and passion for style. Tife is very creative and a great photographer as well as having his own unique style, so he handles a lot of the photography aspects. Together the team brings in numerous different backgrounds and cultures, but shares a similar passion for personal style and expression as well as serving the needs of the Davidson community.
The goal of the company was to create a unique platform for a second hand market geared toward college students where items could be bought and sold as well as looked at to observe fashion trends and provide entertainment. Dime Limited tries to offer more choice from the somewhat conservative clothes many Davidson students wear as well as open an additional outlet for personal expression.
Dime Limited is unique on many levels; from the way the Instagram format is employed to create a minimalist aesthetic, to the high level of control the founders have over their inventory, to the way in which clothing orders are processed. Dime Limited strives to sell high quality, stylish secondhand items and goes through a process to achieve this goal. Potential buyers can email the company to set up a date and time to drop off clothing. Before anything is photographed to be put on the page, each item is looked over carefully to make sure it fits with the image and is in good condition. The clothing is then photographed against a white wall, the picture is edited and then uploaded to Instagram. Buyers can comment or send an email if interested in making a purchase. A product can be put on hold for 24 hours and paid for through Venmo. Clothing is delivered to the student’s mailbox within 2 business days in a custom stamped manila envelope. Overall, the process is quick, efficient, and easy to do.
Although Dime Limited currently only operates on Davidson’s campus, the company has plans to expand in the future. The seniors, Tai, Daniel, and Ryan, all plan to continue with the company after graduating while Tife and Alicia will still be at Davidson to keep it going. They also plan to have a website up and running in the next few weeks, which will allow expansion into other schools as well as allow different forms of payment and shipping methods. The group also hopes to hold other events such as the launch party that was recently held. The launch party was a huge success for the company and served as a way to get their name out and demonstrate their style as well as showcase some of the items available for purchase. Customers can look forward to both more events and the Dime Limited website in the near future.
Contact Information:
email: dimelimitedsupply@gmail.com
Instagram: @dime_limited