
An industry has developed around the online resale of clothes - fern12
https://www.1843magazine.com/style/mobile-magnates
======
gingerlime
My wife has a website[0] selling vintage items to Japan that she finds in flea
markets, eBay, classifieds, charity shops etc. Mostly fabrics and kitchen
stuff rather than fashion items though. Pretty good profit margins on each
item, but it's very labor-intensive. Every item is unique, so it takes time to
takes photos, upload, write a description ... Once it's sold, most of this
effort is gone and you need to move on to the next item.

In that sense, I imagine teenagers might have time and energy for this kind of
sales process. The big money is made by those online portals and apps, rather
than the sellers.

[0] [https://www.frau-vintage.com](https://www.frau-vintage.com)

~~~
tcbawo
One of the most surreal moments of my life involved traveling to Japan in the
early 2000's and encountering a t-shirt from my high school at a clothing
resale shop.

~~~
rograndom
On a trip to South Korea more than 10 years ago, I was in a "hip" clothing
store with my wife's cousins. We found a shelf of hats that said "Mount Cabot
Lodge" \+ my home town & state.

My home town has ~15000 people, is not really famous for anything and there's
no "Mount Cabot Lodge". Mt Cabot is actually ~200mi away. I figure someone
threw a dart at a map of the US and used that to pick the town. I regret not
buying it.

------
mrep
It is a huge business. My mom has sold thousands of dollars worth of clothes
online after she lost weight (just don't ask my dad how much she originally
paid for all of it).

------
Animats
This was tried in the first dot-com boom. It was called Tradeweave. They were
trying to make a market in excess clothing sold off by retailers. That didn't
work out.

This is more like eBay - an army of poor schlubs doing all the work while the
advertising site takes a cut.

------
ManjimUPCYCLING
Yes, all those things are interesting to read and spot on. What I need is 1.
the person to set up the fast fabulous web site, 2. the person to take the
photos, 3. the person to write up the blurbs (could combine 2 and 3) and 4 the
person to keep track, package and post out the items. It is all very well to
talk about mom and pop stores, but part of the problem is not necessarily lack
of understanding etc. but lack of time and energy and money to pay for it.
Very hard to combine bricks and mortar and internet in this business without
employing people with enthusiasm and expertise. If you are covering outgoings
in small business today you are doing well. Making money is the next level!

------
ThomPete
[https://www.trendsales.dk/?ref=www.trendsales.com](https://www.trendsales.dk/?ref=www.trendsales.com)
an original Danish fashion blog turned into a marketplace for used fashion
clothes got bought some years back still doing really well and expanding.

------
18nleung
Reminds me of StockX - so-called “Stock Market of Things” that was launched a
few years ago. StockX, however, deals only in unworn/unused sneakers and
streetwear.

------
lerie82
The secret is buying from goodwill and reselling online. It's a great side
hustle and easy.

~~~
johnpowell
My sister does this. She makes a few thousand a month selling stuff on ebay
that she picks out of the bins at Goodwill in Portland.

I went up there for Christmas to help automate her workflow. She was doing it
on Gen 1 Surface which was less than ideal. So I gave her my old computer. She
actually likes digging through the bins looking for gems. It is just listing
them on eBay that is pain since she has to wash the stuff and then take
pictures and write up a description and list things.

She has a good eye. I went to the bins with with her and she would pull out a
pair of yoga pants and say should could get 60 bucks for them. And she did.

So there is a bit of skill involved. But she consistently makes a nice chunk
of change and I would say about 95% of what she lists get sold.

