How resale app Poshmark can turn a sideline in selling second-hand fashion into a full-time job that

This trend is beginning to translate into retail, where resale is a growing market, especially among Gen Z (people born between 1997 and 2010) and millennials (people born 1981-1997).

A 2019 report by online thrift store ThredUp projected the overall second-hand market will reach US$51 billion by 2023, with resale making up US$23 billion. The global sneaker resale market alone could be worth US$6 billion by 2025. 

US$300,000 a year? The resale apps making teens big money

That’s where the shopping and resale marketplace app Poshmark, which went public last month, comes in. Scrolling through listings looks much like an Instagram feed, where shoppers can search for their favourite brands and make offers for better deals. 

Vinted, TheRealReal, and ThredUp are a few other popular apps in the resale space.

For sellers, it’s a tool to start a side hustle on a budget. Many start as university students and homemakers, and some are able to grow into a full-time business earning six figures or more in annual sales. 

Poshmark co-founder Tracy Sun said that a lot of sellers scale as they procure more inventory. “The path we often see people take is they start in resale and they learn how to use Poshmark, they build their audience, and then as they want to grow faster, they look to procure brand new inventory,” she said. 

We spoke with two Poshmark sellers who turned their side hustles into successful full-time businesses. Shannon Welch made US$127,000 in sales last year and Elaine Ratner has made US$1 million in sales since starting her Poshmark shop and subsequent e-commerce site. Ratner declined to disclose annual revenue through Poshmark alone.

Here’s how they scaled their shops based on sales and followers.

Once an item sells, Poshmark provides a free shipping label and takes 20 per cent of sales worth US$15 or more. For sales under US$15, Poshmark charges only a flat rate of US$2.95. 

Welch, 22, discovered Poshmark in secondary school when she realised she had too many clothes and had to downsize. She opened her shop in 2014 and, as sales picked up, she turned her frequent shopping at thrift stores into buying trips for more inventory. “A Free People jumper for US$3 that I could flip for US$60 or US$70 in a day, why not do it?” she said. 

Welch estimated she now makes more than US$30 per item on average. Outside the initial cost of acquiring the items she sells, she said there isn’t much more to the overhead. “[The United States Postal Service] provides free package supplies, so you don’t have to pay for any of that stuff. And really, all you need beyond that is a printer for your label,” she said. 

One of the main draws for Poshmark shoppers is that they can find brand names and designer labels for significantly less than the original retail price. But that’s not to say those items aren’t making sellers big bucks. One couple selling designer clothing has made US$190,000 on Poshmark since starting their shop in 2015. 

Part of that trust comes from the platform’s “concierge” service, she said, which vets all items sold for US$500 or more. Once a sale is made, the seller ships the item directly to Poshmark’s headquarters, where it’s reviewed for authenticity before it goes to the customer. If a piece is deemed a fake, Poshmark sends it back to the seller and the buyer is refunded.

At 10 sales, sellers can scale through wholesale.

Once a Poshmark seller has built up a customer base, their next step in building their business often comes through the app’s wholesale portal, which allows sellers to buy new clothing and accessories in bulk. These items are marked with a “boutique” label in the listing so shoppers can tell them apart from resale items. 

Poshmark gives sellers access to their wholesale portal once they’ve made at least 10 sales and have an average seller rating of 4.5 or higher. 

After about a year of selling, Welch tested wholesale on her shop with jewellery. She said these pieces were easy to list since the vendor provides photos and gives a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP). For example, she could buy five necklaces for US$10 each and sell them for US$50 each. “Usually the MSRP was at least five times what you’re paying,” she said. 

This gave her an opportunity to try out a bigger commitment. “It was an easy way to take that first step towards reselling full-time and really investing more money into it,” she said. 

After her designer items took off, Ratner also saw wholesale as an approachable way to scale as her clientele built up. “My boutique items just blew up and now I’m starting to sell out every single item I’m posting,” she said.

With more than 200,000 followers, sellers can become a style influencer.

As a seller’s shop picks up, they become known in the Poshmark community for a particular style in the brands they sell, how they put outfits together, and for a consistent look throughout their listings. This can make them the type of shop customers no longer stumble upon for one item, but visit frequently to see what’s recently listed. 

Ratner, who has over 257,000 followers on Poshmark, refers to her customers as clients. She said they trust her as their own online stylist and often look to the products she posts as a full outfit they want to replicate.

“I got to know my clients, I got to know their family, their kids what they do, actually got to know their style, their favourite colours, their sizes,” she said.

When she lists a new item, she’ll tag specific clients she thinks will like it. “I think that’s why they keep coming back to me because they feel that not only am I their personal stylist, I’m also a friend they can trust when I’m selling,” she said. 

Her relationships with clients are so impactful that they’ve sent her letters, messages, and gifts showing their appreciation. “I just never thought selling on Posh, I would get messages like this and helping girls change their lives and inspire them to be their best self,” she said.

At US$100,000 in sales, selling on Poshmark becomes a full-time business.

After graduating from Texas A&M University with an economics degree, Welch couldn’t find a job that excited her. That’s when she officially took her shop full-time, even though she’d been clocking more than 40 hours a week for about a year prior.

She’s glad she didn’t go the traditional route. “All of these entry-level positions pay, I think typical is around US$50,000 a year, and I’m making more than that doing something that I love and something that I know that I’m good at,” she said.

Welch also moved to Austin, Texas. “The thrifting is really just absolutely amazing here. There’s endless places to do it. And I knew that my business would thrive here,” she said.

In 2019, Welch made about US$127,000 in sales and has made a total of US$226,000 since starting her shop, according to Poshmark. 

Eventually, some sellers open their own stores outside the app.

Many sellers launch their own e-commerce sites and some have built a physical presence, said Sun. “When you get to this scale, anything that you see out there in the retail world that people are doing is an option for these sellers.”

She wants to expand her Poshmark shop outside the app, but is waiting on the right timing, as she and her husband plan a family. “If I wanted to open a storefront I could, and Poshmark income alone would be able to pay for that rent,” she said. 

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