I made £100,000 rummaging through old clothes – the 9 rules to raking in the cash

26-year-old Becky Chorlton has turned her lifelong passion for second-hand clothing into a thrift store empire in just four years.

She tells Emma Lazenby the secret.

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As she rummages through the packed clothes racks at her local thrift store, Becky Chorlton’s eyes widen with excitement.

There, among the slightly worn second-hand clothes, hangs a beautiful dress by designer Julien Macdonald.

In a flash, Becky grabs it from the hanger and runs to the checkout, a satisfied smile on her face.

It costs £1.99, but she knows it will be the perfect wedding guest costume and she can make a good profit from it.

A few days later she sells it online for £40, a profit of 1,900 percent.

But the art of scoring a bargain is in Becky’s genes. Her mother, Sandra, 62, has never bought anything new and taught Becky the art of charity shopping at a young age.

I started small, selling my own clothes online from a rack in my bedroom. I already had so much stuff that I had bought from thrift stores and it was all worth more than what I had paid for it.

Becky Chorlton

Becky, from Lymm, Cheshire, started selling items from her own wardrobe on second-hand clothing platforms Depop and Vinted while studying for a Masters degree at the University of Exeter in 2019.

Five years later, she earns around £3,000 a month selling second-hand goods.

She says: “As a student I had a part-time job in a shoe shop and earned about £6 an hour, but I knew I could earn more from reselling.

“I started small, selling my own clothes online from a small rack in my bedroom. I already had so much stuff that I had bought from thrift stores and it was all worth more than what I had paid for it.”

Becky was soon earning £100 a week, so she began scouring flea markets and charity shops for extra stock, often with Sandra, a retired receptionist.

She says: “I enjoyed shopping so much and I thought other people might be interested in what we were up to at flea markets and charity shops.

Always unique

“I started binge watching YouTube videos where American savings banks [charity shop] Goodwill bins, where everything is sold by weight. They told where they had been and what they had found.”

Inspired by what she saw, Becky launched her online profile @beckysbazaar on Instagram to give her followers an insight into her thrift store techniques and promote her own products.

She was soon earning between £2,500 and £3,000 a month. She calculated that she could earn at least £24,000 a year from her business, the same as she would earn from a full-time graduate-entry job.

She says: “It was scary, but I wanted to work for myself full-time and do something I absolutely love.

“It’s not just about the financial aspect. Promoting sustainability is also important.

“Some people don’t mind spending hundreds of pounds on a dress, but I feel great in my second-hand outfits and they are always unique. A bargain is a badge of honour for me.”

Year 2K [Nineties and Noughties] fashion is all the rage at the moment. I bought a Sweater Shop jumper at a flea market for £1 and it sold for £60.

Becky Chorlton

According to Sandra, Generation Z does not mind buying second-hand clothes, unlike previous generations.

She says: “There used to be a sense of shame around charity shopping, but now young people are proud of their bargains. It’s become cool.”

Becky plays into her buyers’ love for nostalgia and iconic brands from the 90s.

She says: “Y2K [Nineties and Noughties] fashion is all the rage at the moment. I bought a Sweater Shop jumper at a flea market for £1 and it sold for £60.

“At another flea market I saw some old surf clothing brands — Roxy and Quiksilver — and I knew they would sell well.

“I bought ten items for £1 each and they all sold for between £15 and £20 each.”

One of the entrepreneur’s biggest sales was an old leather Red Bull jacket she found at a flea market.

“I paid £30 and it sold for £250,” Becky says proudly. “That’s quite rare, but it’s a good example of what you can find if you look hard enough.”

Although the business is her idea, her mother plays an important role. Becky says: “Mum not only comes along on the shopping trips, she also helps me with the ironing and shipping.

“She also supports me emotionally with the stress that comes with running my own business.

“Some days we get up at 5am to go to a flea market in the freezing cold, so I’m lucky to have her by my side.

“I live about a half hour drive away from her, which is honestly a bit too far, but I needed to rent an apartment with enough storage space for my inventory and a space that I could use as a studio for my online content.

“I hope I can buy my own house soon, now that I have a steady income.”

Because Becky bought so much stuff at flea markets, her friend Steff Roberts (28), an outdoor instructor, helps lift heavy items and load her car.

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Sandra is also on hand to help her deal with negative online comments.

Becky says: “Some people think it’s wrong to sell something for more than you paid for it, so yes, I do get some nasty comments.

“I try not to let them bother me, but it’s hard.”

With 269,000 followers on TikTok, 127,000 on Instagram and a thriving business, Becky has no plans to throw in the towel. She has furnished her flat with second-hand furniture and may expand into selling homewares in the future.

She says: “For me it’s very important that my buyers get a bargain. I want them to be happy with what they bought — and what they paid for it.”