I make an extra £500 a month by selling old clothes — this is my recipe for success

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Anna Cash Davidson, from Margate in
Kent, has a very fitting moniker.

The 27-year-old works in the music industry, but significantly increases her income by buying vintage items in bulk and reselling them online.

She’s one of a growing group of Britons who are making extra cash from
second-hand clothes, children’s old toys and abandoned household items worth hundreds of pounds.

With research from price comparison site Finder showing that 43% of us had at least one side hustle to provide an additional stream of money last year, it’s no surprise so many people are flogging used items on Vinted, eBay and Depop.

‘I’ve always loved buying vintage and second-hand clothes for myself, aiming to be sustainable, as well as loving the individuality of vintage pieces,’ says Anna. ‘When sourcing clothes for myself, I’d often see great deals on amazing clothing that wasn’t my size or that I loved but wasn’t quite my style, so I started reselling.’

The first item Anna bought to sell was a vintage PVC jacket, snapped up for £15 and quickly sold for £30.

‘Looking back it could definitely be worth more but I was super-excited that I’d made a profit,’ she says.

Anna started by finding items online, in markets or at car boot sales but now uses Fleek – a vintage wholesale marketplace for second-hand fashion – to source her goods in bulk.

She then puts them on Depop, Etsy and her own website – 
reduxvintage.com – which she set up with her brother to sell upcycled, hand-painted, vintage leather pieces.

‘Fleek has saved me so much time having to search for wholesalers as 
I can see so many in one place. It’s really easy to set up a video call with them where you can select specific pieces or purchase preselected bundles,’ she says.

‘There’s also the buyer protection of Fleek to help if anything goes wrong. There are also really good deals in the sales so I’ve found bargains on there.

‘I also like to handpick items in person sometimes or pick up other bits I come across in my endless online vintage scrolling.’

Anna’s second-hand clothes business makes her more than £500 a month but it’s a side hustle that takes time. As well as sourcing the items, she spends hours taking photos, editing and listing new products and going to the post office to send orders.

Another time-consuming element is recording social media content to boost her brand and reach new customers.

Anna also uses social media as a tool to know what’s going to be hot each season.

‘I only ever buy items I love but I also pay attention to trends through what sells on Depop, looking at social media and magazines,’ she says.

‘My whole TikTok For You page is sustainable and second-hand fashion and I scroll through Depop like it’s a social media platform, so I normally get a sense of what’s going to sell well through that.’

The younger generation’s priorities have changed, she says, adding that the popularity of shopping second-hand will keep skyrocketing.

‘People are increasingly aware of the environmental and ethical concerns of consuming fast fashion, something that was scarcely discussed even a few years ago,’ says Anna.

‘Shopping vintage also allows you to find unique and high-quality items at a reasonable price.

‘When I was growing up, everyone wanted to have a particular skirt 
from Topshop and you were only 
cool if you had that skirt. Now it 
feels like it’s cooler to source a 
unique item.

‘We’re also exposed to so many different styles at such a fast pace 
on platforms like TikTok. So apps
like Vinted, where you can often find a really cheap deal, allow 
you to experiment with fashion 
trends at a fast pace and then
easily sell items back on without having to contribute to fast fashion or losing out on money if you change your mind.

‘Clothes were also made much better back in the day, so you can find clothing that’s actually going to last.’

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