A shop manager quit her job to resell second-hand clothing - and now makes up to $5k-a-month.
Stephanie Thornsburg, 43, ran a thrift shop for 16 years - before turning her side hustle of selling her old clothes online into a full-time career.
She started off listing the clothes in her wardrobe - but now makes a living buying and selling second-hand items.
As well as being able to pay herself a salary, Stephanie also uses it to support her two children, 23 and 18, with her husband, Luke, 44, a configuration lead.
Stephanie, from Cincinnati, Ohio, US, said: “I make money by spending time digging and finding the treasures - then putting them on the second-hand market.
“I was ready to be my own boss, too - really take the leap.
“I managed other people for 16 years, after a while, it gets a little overwhelming.
“Now, I’ve never been happier - I’m helping promote slow fashion and I have so much free time on my hands.”
The mum-of-two has always worked in the second-hand industry.
She was the first person to open up a “bricks-and-mortar buy-and-sell store” in her area.
Stephanie managed the shop for 16 years and often felt she had to give up her free time to help out.
“My kids were eight months and five years old at the time,” she said.
“I started out as a store manager - and ended up working my way to district manager.
“When you’re manager, you’re the one who has to end up going in and taking care of things.
“I had to come in on so many of my days off, and work lots of overtime.
“Even if I wasn’t at work, you still get phone calls, and you’re still needed.
“You’d be getting questions at any time of the day.
“I also had some crazy emergencies - like a kid once accidentally crashing his car into the front of our store.”
Other full-time clothing resellers would often come to Stephanie’s shop for “inventory” - which inspired her to make the transition.
She said: “Resellers would particularly come to our women’s and designer stores.
“People bought our stuff to try and sell it on and make some money.
“It piqued my interest that people can do this all by themselves - they don’t have to work for someone.”
In 2020, Stephanie started selling the clothes in her wardrobe as a side hustle - before branching out to other products bought at second-hand shops.
It took her four years to make enough money to replace her nine-to-five income.
She initially started out making $1k profit per month, and now has a turnover of $60k-a-year.
“The trick is to learn which brands sell well,” she said.
“The money comes in when you figure out what those pieces are.
“Size is a huge component for me.
“The average size of a woman in the US is a 16, so I often find sizes 10 and up perform the best.
“It took me a full year to profit $1k to $2k-a-month doing this as a side-hustle - now, it’s $4k to $5k.
“I’ve been able to make what I was making at my old job - but I’m my own boss, and continuing to grow.”
Stephanie Thornsburg, 43, ran a thrift shop for 16 years - before turning her side hustle of selling her old clothes online into a full-time career.
She started off listing the clothes in her wardrobe - but now makes a living buying and selling second-hand items.
As well as being able to pay herself a salary, Stephanie also uses it to support her two children, 23 and 18, with her husband, Luke, 44, a configuration lead.
Stephanie, from Cincinnati, Ohio, US, said: “I make money by spending time digging and finding the treasures - then putting them on the second-hand market.
“I was ready to be my own boss, too - really take the leap.
“I managed other people for 16 years, after a while, it gets a little overwhelming.
“Now, I’ve never been happier - I’m helping promote slow fashion and I have so much free time on my hands.”
The mum-of-two has always worked in the second-hand industry.
She was the first person to open up a “bricks-and-mortar buy-and-sell store” in her area.
Stephanie managed the shop for 16 years and often felt she had to give up her free time to help out.
“My kids were eight months and five years old at the time,” she said.
“I started out as a store manager - and ended up working my way to district manager.
“When you’re manager, you’re the one who has to end up going in and taking care of things.
“I had to come in on so many of my days off, and work lots of overtime.
“Even if I wasn’t at work, you still get phone calls, and you’re still needed.
“You’d be getting questions at any time of the day.
“I also had some crazy emergencies - like a kid once accidentally crashing his car into the front of our store.”
Other full-time clothing resellers would often come to Stephanie’s shop for “inventory” - which inspired her to make the transition.
She said: “Resellers would particularly come to our women’s and designer stores.
“People bought our stuff to try and sell it on and make some money.
“It piqued my interest that people can do this all by themselves - they don’t have to work for someone.”
In 2020, Stephanie started selling the clothes in her wardrobe as a side hustle - before branching out to other products bought at second-hand shops.
It took her four years to make enough money to replace her nine-to-five income.
She initially started out making $1k profit per month, and now has a turnover of $60k-a-year.
“The trick is to learn which brands sell well,” she said.
“The money comes in when you figure out what those pieces are.
“Size is a huge component for me.
“The average size of a woman in the US is a 16, so I often find sizes 10 and up perform the best.
“It took me a full year to profit $1k to $2k-a-month doing this as a side-hustle - now, it’s $4k to $5k.
“I’ve been able to make what I was making at my old job - but I’m my own boss, and continuing to grow.”
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FunTranscript
00:00 Welcome to my day in the life as a full-time reseller.
00:04 I source 70 to 100 new pieces of inventory from the thrift store each week,
00:10 and this is how I stay organized.
00:13 To ensure my items get processed in the order they were purchased,
00:16 I use a very basic queue system.
00:19 Each new day of sourcing gets combined into a reusable bag.
00:23 When I get back from the thrift store, I line them up in the order they were purchased.
00:28 In my dream world, I'd be able to hang all of these up in the order they were purchased,
00:32 but that's just not the situation I'm currently in.
00:35 Then it's time to log my receipts into my spreadsheet.
00:38 I also track my mileage at this time.
00:41 I like to keep track of my expenses as the month goes along
00:44 instead of waiting until the end of the month.
00:47 For me, it's important to see how cash flow is looking so I can make any adjustments.
00:52 Maybe I need to run a sale on eBay or change my daily listing goals.
00:57 Keeping on top of my bookkeeping also keeps me encouraged.
01:00 When I can see the profit I've already made for the month,
01:03 I can feel confident to continue to source.
01:06 If you're not up to date on your bookkeeping, it's easy to get discouraged
01:10 because it may feel like you're not making any money.
01:13 I organize all of my receipts in this accordion file folder that I got at Walmart.
01:19 I separate it by each month, and this file folder can hold two years' worth of receipts.
01:25 I don't typically photograph the same day I source.
01:28 I like to do batch work, so I usually photograph on Mondays and Tuesdays,
01:33 then source Wednesday through Friday.
01:35 But for the sake of this video, I wanted to show you the entire process from start to finish.
01:41 All of my supplies for photography are stored in a basket,
01:45 and I photograph just out of my bedroom since I don't have a dedicated reselling room
01:49 since my kids are still living at home.
01:51 And there's nothing fancy about my setup, but it works.
01:54 I just use a plastic tote as my desk.
01:57 I start working on the oldest items that were sourced first.
02:01 I just grab that bag and get to work.
02:04 And I don't cherry-pick what's going to be photographed.
02:07 I just grab the item in the top of the bag and get started.
02:11 I like to write everything down in a notebook.
02:13 That way I can make any notes on condition and also have my skew, measurements, and weight recorded.
02:20 Then when I go to list, I just list these items in the order they were photographed and put in the notebook.
02:27 I reuse my skew numbers.
02:29 I use gallon bags, and they each have a skew number written on them.
02:32 When an item sells, that skew number becomes available again,
02:35 and I use it the next time I go to photograph.
02:39 Because I do batch work, I typically photograph 40 to 50 items each day.
02:45 If I notice a stain while I'm doing photography, I'll stain treat it and throw it in the laundry.
02:50 I'll also set aside anything that needs to be steamed,
02:53 and then I steam them all at once at the end of my photography day.
02:57 When I go to photograph, I make sure I'm in square mode,
03:00 and then I try to take 8 to 10 photos, generally in the same order each time so that it goes quickly.
03:07 Once I'm done taking the pictures, I will grab my gallon skew number bag and put the item inside,
03:14 and then I'll weigh it.
03:16 I always round up when I'm weighing an item.
03:19 That way, I give myself a little wiggle room for the weight of packaging.
03:23 Then I'll take that weight and jot it down in my notebook.
03:27 Once I've finished photography on all 40 to 50 pieces,
03:31 it's time to put it away in my inventory storage system.
03:35 I use these long boxes that measure 8 by 8 by 30,
03:39 but you should make sure you're using boxes that fit your shelving system.
03:43 So the item I'm putting away is skew number 350,
03:47 so I find the correct box and put it in its correct space.
03:51 Then when this item sells, you can see on these listings the skew number will show up,
03:57 and it's easy for me to pull that item to be shipped.
04:00 What's your best tip to stay organized?