Why do you Thrift?
I love vintage clothing, so I came up with an idea to thrift clothes and sell them. I use that money to buy myself other clothes. I like vintage clothing because it is more detailed than clothing now. They make more items with prints all over and have dates on them to show what year they are from. Thrifting is also a fun activity that I get to do with my friends.
What is the process?
The process is pretty hard. I go to the Goodwill Outlet when they open and stay until about 5pm. They rotate new clothes in bins every hour. After I pick out clothes, I take them home and have to wash all of them. I then lay them all out and take pictures of each item individually. I then list them on three separate platforms: Ebay, Depop and Mercari.
What is your favorite part?
My favorite part is probably when I find items worth a lot of money. I have found several items. I went to resell them to another store for over $400. My best finds are Carhartt jackets each sold for $150. I have also found a Starter Green Bay Packers Jacket that sold for $150. My last best find is a Dallas Cowboys Satin Starter Jacket sold for $600.
What are some challenges?
Some challenges are when I spend a lot of time at Goodwill and end up finding nothing. Sometimes it is hard to find things when a lot of other resellers are there. I mostly sell clothes to Indy’s Finest Vintage by the mall.
How do you decide what to buy or not buy?
I decide by seeing if the item is a popular brand like Lululemon or Alo if I’m looking for girls’ clothes. If the item is vintage, I look at the tag on it to see if it is a vintage brand or I will look the item up online if I’m not sure. I typically buy either Lululemon/Alo or vintage clothing. I have a lot of inventory right now, so I am trying to focus on the more expensive items.
What do you do when your inventory is not selling as fast as you’d like?
When my inventory isn’t selling as fast, I will take clothes to sell at places like Plato’s Closet or Simply Chic. They don’t pay that well but I am still making my money back because of how cheap the Goodwill Outlet prices are. Usually when something doesn’t sell, I’ll take it to the Salvation Army. I’ve had to list some items on multiple platforms before and it still didn’t sell. I just give the item away at that point.
What do you see as the future of thrifting and reselling?
I can see myself still thrifting in college and maybe the near future. It’s just a fun hobby to do when I’m bored.
