‘My side hustle became my FULL-TIME job so I quit nursing and it’s paying off’

A woman has revealed how she quit her job as a nurse to become a full-time reseller and says it’s earning her more money per month.

Chloe Thompson admits she had never used the reselling platform, Vinted, before making it her full-time job.

The 32-year-old became intrigued by the idea after helping out with her partner’s antique dealer business.

It made her hungry to find a bargain – and sell it on for profit.

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Quitting her job as an orthopaedic nurse, Chloe, from Torbay, Devon, went in full force.

Now, she’s matched her earnings within her former role – sometimes more – by making one person’s trash, someone else’s treasure.

“I started without really knowing what I was doing,” she told What’s The Jam.

“But I very quickly became completely hooked on it.

“One day, I realised I found my [partner’s] work more interesting than my own – and it got me thinking about whether I could do something similar myself.

“I’ve always been much more interested in clothes and bags.

“So I thought why not give reselling those a go?

“I actually went into it pretty much full force.

“I had never even used Vinted before deciding I wanted to try reselling.”

Chloe started off with just £10 of charity goods and a few items from her own wardrobe.

Now, the stock she’s accumulated take up a full room in her home.

But she doesn’t mind, as it’s all part and parcel of the job.

Especially when she’s sold items for huge profit – such as a denim jacket bought for £12, which was flogged for £70.

She said: “I got it into my head that I wanted to make it my full-time job.

“I really loved the flexibility that came with reselling and that was a huge motivation for me.

“I worked very hard in the beginning because I wanted to see if I could actually make it work.”

After just four months, Chloe was able to confidently quit her former job.

Her story resonates with new research from Buzz Bingo, which has found that 28% of resellers are able to do this full-time, too.

While her income does vary month-to-month, she claims to be in a better financial position now than she was while in her traditional career.

She said: “Some months I make substantially more than I did when I was employed.

“But some months can be closer to what I was earning before.

“I think that’s one of the things people sometimes don’t realise about reselling – or running any business – your income isn’t necessarily consistent every month.

“There are busier periods and quieter periods; so you have to be prepared for that.

“Overall, though, I feel I’m in a much better financial position now than I was when I was employed full-time.

“And I much prefer having control over what I’m building.”

Chloe sources her products from a variety of places; mostly charity shops and wholesalers.

With the latter, she’ll purchase a large bale or box of clothing and find out what’s inside when it arrives.

While there’s a huge risk involved, as it’s unclear what she’s going to receive and whether the condition is up to scratch, it adds to the excitement.

She said: “It’s something I’ve become quite interested in, because, as a reseller, you’re essentially taking a gamble on your stock.

“[I] don’t know what brands I’ll get or whether I’ll be able to sell them.

“A shopkeeper wouldn’t normally buy a huge amount of stock completely blind and just hope that most of it isn’t damaged.

“So I’ve always found it quite unusual that this is such a normal part of reselling.”

To make her profit, she uses Vinted and eBay to list the items.

Currently, she has around 500 active listings and sells, on average, 150 items per month.

Each product costs her no more than £5 to buy – unless it’s something really special – and they’re often sold for between £15-£30; sometimes more.

As business continues to expand, Chloe is looking at getting an office or warehouse to allow more space.

For now, though, she’s working toward the festive period – as that’s when sales usually boom.

She added: “I find the start of a new season is always a really good period because people are updating their wardrobes.

“Rather than one individual sale, I’d say seeing the business consistently grow has been the biggest achievement for me.

“Going from never having even used Vinted to having enough stock to take over a room in my house has been quite surreal.

“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

“There’s so much to learn when starting reselling, from knowing what to buy and how to price it, to taking photographs, writing listings and understanding which platforms work for different items.

“I think it’s really easy when you’re starting out to feel like you need to know everything before you begin.

“But a lot of it is learned through actually doing it.

“Some of my mistakes have probably taught me more than my successes have.”

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