A student has revealed how she flogged a vintage Jane Norman dress costing 30p for £50 and now makes an impressive £2,500–per-month reselling other items during part-time hours.
When Scarlet Nation flew the nest to join university, she was quickly faced with a starking reality.
The 23-year-old struggled to afford her bills, including rent, and so looked for a quick way to make some extra cash.
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After scouring social media, she came across a £40 bundle on Facebook Marketplace filled with 120 items of vintage clothing.
And, using her fashionable eye, Scarlet managed to flog one single dress for £10 more than the whole package.
Within a week, she earned £2,000 – with stock left to sell – and has now turned her skill into a full-time gig earning up to a whopping £2,500-per-month.
“This bundle completely changed things for me,” Scarlet, from Dorset, told What’s The Jam.
“I make a full-time wage doing part-time hours.
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“I felt unsure [before] about how I was going to continue affording rent and food as student finance didn’t cover it.
“I was in debt from paying bills during my previous year at university – but I managed to pay this off within a month from reselling.
“I feel so much lighter and free as I’m earning a decent wage while studying.
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“I’m able to be flexible and see my friends and travel whenever I want without restrictions.
“I will definitely continue doing this on the side after graduating and I’m even thinking about writing my dissertation on women with side hustles who don’t even realise it.
“My friends at university have started to sell their own clothes on Vinted because of me, too.
“A few of them have looked into reselling and I’ve given them tips.
“We’re all drowning in exams at the moment, but they hope to start in the summer.”
Scarlet bought the aforementioned bundle in October 2025.
It included items such as the Jane Norman dress, Charlotte Russe tops, Vintage Aéropostable tops, Superdry vintage jackets and Billabong jackets.
She said: “My initial goal was simple.
“I just wanted to make some extra money while studying.
“But, within a year, reselling had grown far beyond my expectations.
“One of my biggest highlights so far has been doing a dream Christmas trip to London with my boyfriend and my friend, as well as her fiancé.
“We stayed in a small cottage and fully embraced the festive atmosphere.
“And it was all on my tab.
“My boyfriend had very kindly paid for our trips before this, so it was nice to be able to treat him.”
Scarlet sells through Vinted and focuses on highly trend-driven vintage categories, including brands Roxy and Billabong, as well as crochet pieces, low-waisted shorts and accessories.
Another website is Fleek, which offers a marketplace for vintage wholesalers to buy and resell.
She said: “Accessories do so much better in summer.
“And colours really matter.
“I use bundles to scale more efficiently and access higher-value stock.
“For example, I’ve bought four bundles and in my latest one, I spent £100 on 20 items.
“The returns came quickly.
“I made my entire investment back from just three items, as they sold for £40 each.
“Scouring social media has played a huge role, too.”
Scarlet now documents her ‘flips’ and shares the results on TikTok.
And all of this is being done alongside her studies for a business and finance degree.
She added: “I’ve been balancing university exams at the same time and I’m doing really well.
“I think reselling has helped me mentally, financially and educationally.
“Doing my own taxes and running a business has given me real life practice for what I study.
“On average, I spent 20 hours-per-week on the physical side of the business; such as washing, photographing, packaging and posting.
“This drops during busy university periods to 10 hours-a-week.
“Alongside that, I spent eight hours on admin, such as creating listings, replying to messages and sourcing stock online.
“It’s shown me how valuable the knowledge I’ve gained at university has been.
“I honestly don’t think I’d have been able to grow it to this point without what I’ve learned so far.
“It makes me really excited to see what I can achieve if I’m able to take it on full-time after I graduate.”
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