At just 26 years old, Becky has been able to buy her first home
A former University of Exeter student has revealed how a side hustle of reselling second-hand clothes helped her make over £150,000 and buy her first home.
Becky Chorlton started reselling second-hand clothing in 2019 after finishing her sports science degree.
“I finished my undergrad degree at Exeter University and moved home for the summer. I knew I wanted to do a Master’s, but I had no money,’ she said.
Without a job, and her parents announcing “the bank of mum and dad is officially closed,” Becky’s journey began with selling her own clothes on Depop.
“I opened up my wardrobe and realised that half the stuff in there I never wore. Some still had the tags on, or some I had got from a charity shop. I realised I could probably get a bit more money for the items than what I paid.”
“I remember the first item I sold was a two-piece set. I listed it for £35 and it sold straight away. I was hooked.”
From here, Becky started scouting local car boot sales every weekend for clothes to resell.
“I’d buy clothes for as cheap as possible. Bring them home, wash them, iron them, sometimes even sew them, do stain removal. Then I’d model them, take pictures and flip them for a small profit.
“Sometimes I’d be paying 50p or a pound for an item, then sell it on for £10 or £15 online. I’d invest that money at the next car boot sale, buy more stuff and keep expanding.”
As her side hustle expanded, Becky began travelling across the UK to attend vintage wholesale and thrift events.
Even after returning to university for her Master’s, Becky was still earning around £70 a week by uploading new clothes every week, keeping a rail of stock in her uni bedroom.
Throughout her postgraduate degree, Becky kept up her trips to car boot sales and charity shops, but said she did face some criticism for her reselling.
“I definitely got some backlash at the start, for selling items on. You have to accept that some people might not agree with it, there might be some jealousy involved, or they just don’t understand.”
But Becky explained: “The money I make reselling comes from the work of getting up early, going to car boots, getting the clothes ready and promoting them. That takes a lot of time.”
She has also spoken about the sustainability aspect of reselling, arguing “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure” and that her side hustle helps tackle overconsumption, landfills, and fast fashion.
It was during Becky’s Master’s that lockdown restrictions were enforced, leaving her reliant on online sales.
“I started taking my side hustle seriously and set up a social media. That year, just working on it part-time, I made about £25,000. When I handed in my thesis, I started doing it full-time.”
She created her business, Becky’s Bazaar, which has amassed a following of 370,000 on Instagram and 490,000 on TikTok, where she documents her early-morning trips to car boot sales and shares tips for finding profitable bargains.
Within the first six months, her business had brought in a profit of over £10,000, and Becky realised that her once-small side hustle would enable her to put a deposit down on a house.
Then, at 26 and with her partner, she used four years of savings to buy her first home.
“Back when I started the side hustle, I wasn’t even thinking about buying… I genuinely didn’t think it would be possible for me.”
“I started this as some extra cash for the summer six years ago. Now the turnover is exceeding £150,000 a year. It’s complete madness.”
Becky highly encourages anyone hoping to get onto the property ladder to invest in a side hustle, with Becky’s Bazaar as an example of the opportunities that it could open up for you.
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Featured image via Instagram @beckysbazaar
