Can you make a living buying and selling second-hand clothes?
It's called clothes flipping. You buy used, cheap clothes and resell them for the highest price possible.
But how much money can you really make by flipping clothes? I met up with a local clothes flipper at a Savers store to talk about how he did it and what you need to know if you want to make money flipping thrift store items.
Watch the full story on Good Morning Las Vegas between 6:30 and 7 a.m.
When Gerald Caguin realized he could turn his love for thrift shopping into make ends meet, he started flipping clothes. "I had a good month where I probably spent only like $60 and came out maybe like around $300 to $400."
But it's not that simple.
First, you need to decide on the type of clothing you'll resell. Start with what you know. Caguin started with tee shirts because that's what he likes. Then do research online to see how much you can profit from it.
"Right now like a lot of tees that people are into are those vintage single-stitch shirts," Caguin told us
I tried it myself. I grabbed a dress and a jacket. Gerald says it's likely I won't profit much from reselling this dress worth $15 from an unknown brand.
Nina Porciuncula: It's not that great of a choice?
Gerald Caguin: No, I wouldn't say so. But this jacket though... if you spent $20 on that you could probably make maybe like $10 more.
It's all leather plus it's getting cold out there so this jacket gets a pass.
Next thing to do: Take good pictures of the items you're selling because it's all about presentation. Have good lighting.
"I think with pictures you really gotta make it look like a certain way for people to buy it as well."
And think about where you're reselling clothes. Typical places are Ebay and apps such as Poshmark and Mercari.
Gerald uses the app Depop which basically looks like an Instagram for reselling clothes. And once you've made your first sale, it's easy to get the ball rolling.
The bottom line with clothes flipping.
It can be profitable but it takes time and effort to shop for the items to sell. You also need to watch out for changing fashion trends. And if you end up with unsold items, Caguin says, "You can always donate, or make package deals."
