Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Cota.
Hi Shannon, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey in reselling began about a decade ago when I was shopping for myself at TJ Maxx. I was perusing the clearance section and noticed a pretty pricey brand marked down to nearly nothing. It wasn’t my size, but passing up on that deal felt wrong! I bought the dress and took it home, thinking I might try to sell it on eBay. I had purchased a few things on the platform before but never sold anything. I hung the dress up on the back of my bedroom door and took some pictures of it. I had no clue what I was doing, but I listed the dress on eBay. I did a 7-day auction because I didn’t know there were any other options; the dress ended up selling for a few dollars more than I had bought. It was exciting, though! Seeing the bids coming in was such a thrill. I was hooked. I started gathering the clothing I didn’t want and listing it on a new platform called Poshmark. They were marketing themselves as a super easy-to-use app where you could sell your stuff in 30 seconds. eBay was a bit complicated, so Poshmark seemed like a good alternative. Sales would trickle in once a week, and I started running out of clothes I didn’t want anymore. I began to think about other places I could find things to sell.
At the same time, I was beginning to find a community of Poshmark users on Instagram and YouTube. They called themselves “resellers” and sold on eBay and other selling platforms. I could not absorb enough of this content! I was fascinated by how these people had turned what I considered a little hobby into a business. I also noticed that most were shopping at thrift stores to get their inventory. They would find brands and styles they knew they could buy for low and sell for more.
At the time, I was a middle school orchestra teacher. One day, I stopped into a Goodwill after school to see what I could find. I had little brand knowledge besides those I liked, such as Banana Republic, Old Navy, and LOFT. I looked around for a while and bought a few things. I was so excited to come home with my new “inventory!” I photographed everything lying flat on our dining room table.
After that, my business continued to grow and grow. I continued thrifting (my favorite part), listing, and selling. I expanded to other platforms such as eBay, Mercari, and Kidizen. I came up with a name for my brand – “CovetedCurated.” I even rented a storage unit to store my inventory for a while, but the commute from our house started getting old, so I returned to using my garage. I was still active in the reseller community and used it to learn new brands. Resellers would post “haul videos” to showcase their thrift finds, and I would mentally note any brands I didn’t know. There were SO many I didn’t know!
I gave birth to our son, Miles, in February 2019. I had full intent on continuing to teach the next school year. However, after seeing his face for the first time, I knew I couldn’t leave him daily. Luckily, I had built up my reselling business to a level where I felt comfortable quitting my teaching job and attempting to resell full-time while caring for our newborn baby. It was bumpy at first. I was used to doing all these tasks solo – shopping, photographing, writing up the listings, shipping, going to the post office – and now I had a little sidekick! There was a learning curve, but I was determined to keep my business running so I could stay home with Miles.
Today, I have an inventory of over 1000 items. I still thrift often, and also get inventory through liquidation and wholesale sites. I process anywhere between 250 and 300 new items a month. I am very active on Instagram and TikTok, posting funny reselling videos and helpful tips and tricks!
Let’s dig deeper into the story – has it been an easy path, and if not, what challenges have you overcome?
It definitely could have been a smoother road. Reselling isn’t as black and white as buying low and selling high. Trends are constantly changing, and a brand selling for $50 today might sell for less than $50 next month. Staying on social media is essential to keep up with current brands and styles. To make consistent sales, you have to list consistently. For me, this means listing 10 new items every day. That means every week, I have to find 70 things that I want to sell! The treasure hunt at a thrift store doesn’t always end with treasure. Some weeks, I must go to 5 or 6 stores to get enough inventory to keep things running.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My business is all about finding stylish, designer clothing at a fraction of the retail cost. It’s also about saving the environment by keeping clothing out of landfills! About 85% of donated clothing ends up in a landfill. I love that I can do my part while bringing customers their favorite brands and styles. After almost nine years of doing this, I have accrued quite the list of brands to look out for, or “BOLOs.” Everyone asks me how I find such good stuff at the thrift store. It’s because I look at every rack and know what I’m looking for. I am most proud of being able to sustain my own business for 5+ years so that I could stay at home and raise my son. I will forever be grateful for reselling and all of the reselling platforms that allowed me to do that.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memories are all of the trips that I took with my parents. We traveled about twice a year, and I loved flying on planes, staying in hotels, and seeing different parts of the country!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.patreon.com/CovetedCurated
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/covetedcurated
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100065439401705
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@covetedcurated
