Are you curious on how to flip Thrift Store clothing to make $30 per hour? This is the story of one stay-at-home mom who was determined to find a way to stay home and fill-in the financial gaps, only to discover a great part-time job, earning $25-$30 per hour!
We love and want to share ideas that many are doing out there to make extra money! We have our page with over 130 money-making ideas to help you find that 2% income increase each month.
“What is this 2% you speak of,” you ask? Well, be sure to review our article on the 2% rule – the secret to how we became debt free.
What is amazing is that we encourage you to start small, to start with the goal of increasing your income by 2% each month and has many do this, they often find part-time or full-time endeavors and far surpass their goals and reach their goals much sooner.
With that , today we’ll be interviewing Darby Stouffer, who is the founder of Darby’s Dresses: She harnessed her love of thrift store shopping to sell handpicked, feminine, affordable clothing, available from the comfort of your couch. She sells through a Facebook group to her audience where new items are added every weeknight!
Her story of how she started with a $12 investment to turn around and be making $25-30 an hour a short time later is an amazing story and a great idea.
Here’s that interview below on How To
Flip Thrift Store Clothing To Make $30 Per Hour
Hi Darby! Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m a stay at home mom living in Middle Tennessee. I have two little boys, Michael and Gideon, ages 2 and 6 weeks, who keep me on my toes with their hijinks, and a wonderful husband Chris who does the same. I’m 23 years old and one of 8 children. Growing up, I was homeschooled and graduated from college with my B.A. in Christian Studies in 2014. I enjoy reading, music, theology, politics, and above all, thrifting and fashion!
How did you get started with your business?
I started Darby’s Dresses in the summer of 2015. My son Michael was 8 months old, and we were really struggling financially, but I wanted an option that allowed me to stay at home with him while still making money. MLMs aren’t for me or my personality, computer-based work was going to be a challenge with how active he was, and I wanted to do something I was interested in and passionate about to keep me from burnout. It didn’t seem like there were many options on the table, until something clicked.
When I had my son, as is common, I gained weight. I had lots of gorgeous clothing from my single days (back when I had a lot of expendable income!) that either I didn’t expect to fit in again, or that wasn’t practical for my stage of life. I decided to list it on Facebook to see if any of my friends were interested. Lo, and behold, they were! I sold about 20 of my old pieces and made a couple hundred dollars. I also received lots of comments about how cute my clothes were.
So when I was desperate for a way to make money from home, I thought “Hmm. I love clothes, I love finding good deals, and I’m good at it. I wonder if I could make selling clothing I find at thrift stores into a business?” I sought feedback from my friends and they all agreed it sounded like a great idea. I did some research and purchased some necessary supplies (mailing supplies, a tape measure, etc.) and went off to the thrift store to see what I could find.
As luck would have it, that day all dresses were $0.25. That meant whatever I sold them for, the profit would be almost 100%! I grabbed all the cute ones I could find, paid $12, went home, and started listing them on a Facebook page and Instagram account I created that day.
And what happened next?
I started selling things! Truth be told, it was a little bit slow at first. I tried not to spam my friends unnecessarily with it, and with any new venture, it takes time to build a customer base and prove yourself as trustworthy. But, I didn’t give up. Sales began to come in little by little, and I started going to the thrift store regularly to get new items. I attempted to market myself as an advocate for women who want affordable fashion but who don’t want to take the time to thrift shop themselves. I also did my very best to build myself a reputation of someone who offered excellent customer service and speedy shipping.
And it worked! Word spread. People told their friends. Very quickly my numbers grew and my sales increased.
Where are you with the business today?
I’m posting new items of clothing every weeknight. I just rolled out new ventures of offering jewelry and boutique items. I’m also now offering a limited amount of subscription boxes; like Stitch Fix, but a fraction of the cost. Of course, the items are thrifted/consigned, but my whole goal with the items I offer is for my customers to feel like they are purchasing a new item. I am very strict with quality control, and do my best to list any flaws the item may have, big or small.
I also recently have been able to offer returns. One of the biggest concerns with online shopping, understandably, is that you can’t try on the item. Between providing detailed measurements with all my listings, and now offering the option to return the item for store credit, I attempt to negate that risk as best as I can.
I’m so excited about the growth I’ve seen. When I first started Darby’s Dresses, I would be lucky to profit $100 in a month. Now I’m making many times that, I’m debt free, and I’m making about $25-30 an hour with the work I put into it. Not bad for an initial investment of $12! I have many plans and dreams for where I want to take the business, but I’m being very careful not to get ahead of myself, my existing capital, and my main priority which is my family and my children.
What advice would you offer to someone who wants to start a small/home business?
A few things.
1: Do something you’re interested in. Otherwise you will burn out quickly. One of the reasons I stuck with the business even when it didn’t make me a lot of money at first was because it’s something I love. Thrift shopping was so fun for me, and still is to this day. I love finding the hidden gems and amazing name brand items for a steal. If I had picked a job related to something I found boring, I highly doubt I would have stuck with it and would not have seen the success I’ve seen to date.
2: Find people to emulate and ask questions from. When I started, there were several people doing similar things on Instagram. I stumbled upon them and became friends with many of them. We collaborated together, shared each other’s pages, and generally worked hard to help all of us succeed. I’m so thankful for those ladies and the insights and the help they provided me, and I now strive to provide help to others in the same way.
3: Know your own limits, practical and financial. I am so glad I have not gotten into any debt to date with my business. There may be a point someday when it’s necessary, but for now I’m happy with growing as I’m able and within my means. I could also probably see more growth and more money each month if I invested more time into it, but I’m really happy with the figures I have right now, especially since I still get to be a stay-at-home mom and spend time with my children. I love the freedom I have.
4: LISTEN to your customer base. One of the things I love about my Facebook group is that I can get excellent feedback from my customers with a couple clicks. I am constantly asking them what their thoughts would be on X or Y decision or direction I am thinking of taking. Sometimes something I think is a great idea, they don’t. And guess what? Most of the time, they get the final say. Because without them, I don’t have a viable business.
5: Keep excellent records. Especially while starting out, it’s common and easy to spend more money than you’re making. Sometimes that’s necessary when starting out, but you need to keep close track of every expense, big or small, so you can truly know how well you’re doing. And, of course, know all of these important details when tax time comes!
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share about my business. I hope any ladies reading this who love name brand clothes but also bargain hunting will join my group. We have so much fun and offer so many amazing items for super affordable prices! I also frequently do giveaways in the group, and I’m sure those reading love free stuff!
Thank you to Darby for sharing her making money from home experience! What an awesome story about how she turned her love of thrift store shopping into a business.
June Rostad
When my daughter was a baby, I used to pick up clothes at the Salvation Army on half-price day, and then turn around and sell them on eBay. … I still, to this day, look for stuff, although on a more limited basis. A little while ago, I found a brand new (with tags) Northface jacket for $10, and scored it for $5 because it was half-price. Was able to sell that one for a handsome profit! 🙂
Sarah
If you have a goodwill outlet store near you, it’s a great place to buy clothing to resell. You buy clothes by the pound, and they also have a discount when you buy over a certain number of pounds. I have found some gems at these places!
Teresa
This seems inappropriate to me. The Goodwill stores are a place for poor people to find low cost clothing. To take advantage of that by taking clothes meant for the poor (therefore depriving them of same) and then turn around and sell them for profit is distasteful at best. I personally find the practice unethical and immoral. Perhaps you would also like to go to our local Union Mission when they are giving blankets away in the winter to keep poor folks from freezing to death. load up on them and then turning around sell them to make a few bucks. Or hey! How about you run down to the local food bank and grab a bunch of food out of the mouths of the poor and see if you can turn a profit on that! Rather than bragging about what you are doing, you should be ashamed.
sofi
Teresa, I see you are considerate to the poor. I have been to my local goodwill many times, and I have never seen is lacking for supplies. There is plenty to go around. When a person buys something from goodwill or other thrift stores, she is actually helping the poor.
Jen
Teresa, perhaps you’re not familiar with Goodwill stores and their practices. Goodwill is a for-profit company. Anyone and everyone is welcome to shop there. Any purchase that anyone makes helps them further their programming to help the underprivileged or those in unfortunate situations. Basically, by your thinking, anyone making a middle class income should not be shopping at Goodwill. My entire wardrobe is thrifted. I’m not only helping Goodwill and Salvation Army further their missions, I’m also keeping textiles from ending up in landfills. I agree with Sofi, there is new stock on their floors every single day. There is an abundant selection to choose from and no one is being hurt in any way by the practice discussed in this article.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that you are compassionate for the underprivileged. However, your attack on this woman is what is shameful. You don’t seem to be very educated on what you’re lashing out about and unfortunately that reflects poorly on you. Please, educate yourself before saying hurtful things and being rude to others in the future.
Nora Mowat
Goodwill can only handle a certain volume of things in their stores so the rest will go to the outlet stores. Some things may not be up to par for the quality of the store.