How a Vintage Reseller Turned Thrifting Into a $48,000 Business

Valentine’s business, Ghost Soda, relies on a grueling daily cycle of sourcing, repairing, and selling. She spends roughly 12 hours a day managing her inventory of over 1,000 pieces, which she restores by sewing hems, fixing zippers, and replacing buttons. While she began on Depop, she now generates 98% of her income through in-person events, often selling up to 250 items during a single weekend market.

Sourcing inventory requires a hands-on approach, primarily at Goodwill Outlet stores where items are sold by weight for $2.09 a pound. The work is physically demanding and occasionally visceral, involving long hours at garage sales and scouring digital marketplaces. Valentine treats every event as a financial calculation, balancing booth fees—which range from $500 to $800—against travel costs and potential sales. Despite the overhead, her eye for vintage trends, such as early 2000s labels like Juicy Couture and Bebe, remains her strongest asset. One successful flip, a Donnybrook coat purchased for $40, netted her $450 after she leveraged its celebrity association to drive interest at a Detroit market.

Beyond the profit margins, Valentine views her work as a necessary intervention in the fashion industry's waste cycle. She argues that the sheer volume of existing clothing makes the production of new garments redundant. By keeping thousands of items in circulation, she advocates for a retail model that prioritizes the restoration of what already exists over the demand for new, mass-produced goods.