I’m Gen Z and I Make $4,200 a Month From Side Gigs — Here’s What I Do

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If you’ve been considering starting a side hustle, you’ve likely explored the various options by searching for ideas online. One of the most common side gigs is finding items at thrift stores or yard sales to sell for a higher price online — commonly known as flipping. While this strategy may seem simple, it’s not always easy to find the correct items to sell, and you don’t want to be stuck with a living room filled with clutter. 

We spoke with Sophie Riegel, owner of Poshmark closet @sophie_riegel, to learn how she averages $4,200 per month from her Poshmark side hustle. Riegel is a 23-year-old mental health speaker and coach who also runs her own Poshmark closet and flips fashion-related products online. 

She started cleaning out her closet in college and realized she could make extra cash by thrifting and reselling. Her closet grew from there, and she’s made $75K-plus on Poshmark since.

How Does Sophie Make Over $4,000 Monthly From Side Gigs?

“A lot of my time is spent running my thrifting/reselling business,” said Riegel. “That time includes finding, photographing, researching, organizing, cleaning and shipping the items.

“In addition to being a reseller, I’m also a professional speaker, certified coach and author. I speak all over the country about my experience with mental illness and have written three books related to that topic.”

Riegel shared that her digital shop brings in around $4,200 per month alone, and the income from other side gigs varies. 

How Did She Get Started? 

How did she start selling on Poshmark? Riegel mentioned she was forced to return home during the pandemic and, like many of us, was bored. She started going through her closet to look for items she could sell on Poshmark to make money and stay busy.

She took the time to learn the ins and outs of reselling clothing and quickly realized it could be a profitable venture. In November 2020, she started going to thrift shops to find items to sell exclusively for Poshmark. From then on, she knew she wanted to go all in on reselling stuff. 

What Does She Resell? 

We wanted to learn more about what types of items she flips, so we asked about specific purchases she looks out for:

“I specialize in selling adult shoes, clothes and accessories. Athletic shoes are always in demand since they have a high retail price and are used in every season. High-end/designer bags and backpacks are also in demand throughout the year, especially because they don’t go out of style as quickly as clothes do. Other items like winter jackets, boots, sandals, swimwear, etc., are much more seasonal and sell well for only a few months out of the year.”

What’s the Process Like With a Reselling Side Gig? 

We also asked Riegel to walk us through the process of running a side gig around flipping stuff. 

“I go to thrift stores or yard sales, buy undervalued items and sell them online,” she said.

“For example, I might walk into a thrift store and find a pair of Nike shoes for $5. Then, I will bring them home, clean them if needed and get them listed on the different reselling platforms. Then, I wait for the item to sell and ship it to the buyer. I have over 1,300 items in my inventory right now.”

Here are the steps involved with flipping stuff as a side hustle:

• Do tons of research to know what to look for
• Source inventory
• Clean inventory (if necessary)
• Photograph inventory
• Edit photographs
• Store inventory
• List inventory (and research each item to determine the price at which to list it)
• Sell inventory
• Pack inventory
• Ship inventory
• Repeat

Where Do You Find Items To Flip?

According to Riegel, she finds good-quality inventory at thrift stores. “Any time I travel, I go to the local thrift stores and I find great items. While some areas I have been to have better inventory and prices than others, I think wherever you are, you can find high-quality items.”

She added, “In the warmer months, I also go to flea markets and yard sales. If you know what to look for and have a depth of knowledge, you can find good inventory almost anywhere.”

What Should You Look Out For?

“I avoid consignment stores because the prices are too high for me to hit my desired profit margin,” Riegel shared. “I do a thorough quality control check before purchasing any items.”

Here are some examples of quality checks:

• Shoes: Check for wear on the soles and bend them to ensure they don’t crack
• Clothing: Look out for stains and holes
• Bags: Ensure all of the zippers work correctly

“I do make mistakes sometimes, though,” Riegel said. “I have missed flaws in items and found them once I started my photographing process. In that case, I will either re-donate or sell them and note the flaw in the description.”

How Can You Get Started?

We asked Riegel for advice on getting started on a fashion reselling platform like Poshmark, and these are her best tips:

• Start small and don’t spend a lot of money
• Start selling your own stuff
• Have fun with it, and be open to learning
• Don’t get discouraged when it isn’t extremely profitable at the beginning
• Be nice to the workers at the thrift stores

Closing Thoughts

If you take some time to study the market, you can turn flipping stuff into a profitable side gig. Riegel mentioned she sells most of the items on Poshmark but also uses eBay and Mercari.

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