Yahoo Finance I Flip Garage Sale Finds Like Gary Vee: Here Are The Things I Always Make a Profit On
With the state of the economy as unpredictable as it is, everyone needs a side hustle these days. Whether it is flipping records, furniture, pre-owned jewelry or clothing and accessories like the ladies featured below there is no shame in joining in the fun (and profit) of reselling.
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The Story of Shrangrila
Thirty-six years ago, Debbie Gallo opened Chicago-based vintage store Shangrila with her husband, Jim. The store is located in the quaint neighborhood of Roscoe Village. As Jim’s publishing career was on the out and Debbie’s graphic artist job became irrelevant thanks to technology, the married couple got crafty. “While the rent was cheap, it was also a dump — however, it was practically in our backyard!” she explained.
Debbie had always loved thrifting and going to flea markets, and had a good amount of vintage merchandise in her own collection. Thanks to the pair’s creative circle of friends, she began supplying clothing to household names like Nirvana. Equally, she and Jim began to be sought out by costume designers who were visiting Chicago due to the booming film industry. Once she and Jim gave it a shot, the outcome was solid.
“Back then, we carried a lot of ’70s which wasn’t even considered ‘vintage’ yet — and also had a lot of ’40s and ’50s [material], because a Gap commercial made swing culture huge,” she recalled. People were starting to collect vintage band T-shirts which they carried intentionally as well.
However, by trial and error Gallo learned that not everything was worth keeping in stock. “I had a lot of early ’20s and Victorian clothing but, while beautiful, it was too delicate to keep in the store,” she said. “When someone tries on a tiny, fragile flapper dress and it rips, you say ‘forget it’ pretty quickly.”
Noting how cool it was to cater to the entertainment industry, Debbie continued: “We unexpectedly saw items of ours show up in movies over the years — as well as a mohair sweater that I had given Kurt Cobain when we saw him play at the Aragon. When he was on ‘MTV Unplugged’ I remember thinking: ‘That is one of the pieces I gave him!'” Knowing the iconic musician’s look, she generously donated some product to him. The rewards the store reaped were huge! Debbie was tuned in to the contemporary influencer strategy decades before it came into fashion.
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From Vintage to Street Fashion: Keeping it Modern
However, it was by sticking to her guns that Debbie’s Shangrila thrived throughout all economic climates. Debbie is resolute about picking what she likes (generally ’70s vintage items) and also paying attention to street fashion. What the men and women wear on the streets of Chicago inspires her the most. “Whatever people have on in the bars or coffee shops usually becomes popular in the retail world. However, the trends are constantly changing so you have to keep up on it,” she said. While her personal favorite styles include bell bottoms, big collars and wild patterns, if the 20-years-olds request 2000s clothing then she will find a way to stock it.
Additionally, Debbie also believes in making her wares affordable to remain competitive and also save space. Her store is famously small, similar to the UK and European shops, and so as quickly as she brings something in she has to get it out. “I don’t have a lot of room so my methodology is: Things move faster if they are cheap,” she said.
To execute on this mission, she buys things in bulk through house clean-outs and combs thrift stores daily. However unlike LA or New York — where people tend to want only Prada and similar labels — Chicagoans will buy something if it meets their style criteria. A lack of label-consciousness among her buyers means goods fly out the door as soon as they are brought in.
Yet, it is Debbie’s wealth of knowledge that has her stand apart from the crowd. Unlike younger dealers who oftentimes do not research their items, Debbie is a walking encylopedia. No one can fool her in terms of whether or not an item is from a specific era. She knows all of the details to make sure what she buys is as legitimate as can be. “A lot of people either lie or think something is from a certain era when it isn’t,” she explains. “We have so much information available it would be a shame not to use it.”
Flipping Finds Via The RealReal
Jumping on the “buy what you like” bandwagon is Wesley Saunders, a creative director, designer, comic book colorist and part-time clothing flipper. After her husband spent $1.5 million in six months, Saunders had to start selling her clothes in order to stay afloat. “He would spend hundreds on dinner and then we wouldn’t have money for gas so, in order not to feel like a prisoner, I took things into my own hands and started selling my own clothing online,” she said.
The RealReal, a popular luxury resale marketplace, was where Saunders decided to sell designer-priced items — as the platform does all of the marketing themselves. However, after giving up almost 50% of her profits, she started to sell clothing on her own via social media platforms like Instagram. Today, Saunders, who has a Rolodex most would be envious of, sells both classic and trendy items — from Burberry trenches to the sunglasses J-Lo wore on the red carpet the week before. As someone who loves scouring the internet for what is trending as well as studying designers on apps like StockX and GOAT, she knows what the general public wants. If it is eternally chic biker jackets, or a Taylor Swift sweater that is going gangbusters, then she makes sure to buy them up.
Saunders, who can get lost on eBay for hours looking for a single track suit, developed a successful business model by becoming obsessed.
“I have my staple pieces, like Chanel chokers or watches, that sell [snaps fingers] like that, but also constantly keep track of what is popular on sites like The RealReal, Poshmark, and eBay,” she said. The best advice Saunders could give anyone who is interested in flipping is to buy what they love, study what is selling and look for unique items that people can also wear every day. “While it’s great to carry stuff that is widely in demand, it is also imperative to carry things that never go out of style and, while it sounds obvious, to cater to the season. Never carry a sundress in winter,” she joked.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I Flip Garage Sale Finds Like Gary Vee: Here Are The Things I Always Make a Profit On
