Yahoo News I boosted my Vinted sales after getting a huge celebrity to 'model' my clothes - you can do it too
A self-confessed David Attenborough 'fangirl' used his cardboard cutout to boost her Vinted sales - and now wants to thank him in person.
Aimee Watson, 33, from Stafford, noticed items she was trying to sell 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 the TV presenter into her listings after she jokingly put an item of clothing on it and realised it could work.
Now business is booming - she sells up to 15 of her bags, jumpers and shirts in a week and says her views have increased by hundreds.
After contacting David Attenborough in 2001 as part of a school project and never hearing back, Aimee says she'd love him to reach out now. She says she'd like to thank him for boosting her sales and she "couldn’t have done it without him".
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Aimee, a teacher, 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."
In April 2024, Aimee's brother, Christopher, 29, thought it would be funny to gift the cardboard cutout to her for Christmas, in 2021. Aimee had 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.
After the wedding, the "David cutout" was permanently relocated to Aimee and Adam's home gym.
She said: "David has usually been a laugh at home and often looks out of windows. 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 near-instantly, and so she used him for each item she wanted to sell.
"It was to get notice originally,” she added. "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 - and they’re planning to go on mid-August. 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."
