Maggie Nett has been a digital marketing specialist for campus marketing and communications at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh for over three years. In this role, she helps with enrollment management by creating email marketing campaigns for prospective, new and current students.
When she is not busy promoting UWO, she spends her free time running her own online resale business.
Nett’s resale journey began in 2018 with a plethora of unwanted clothing items she wanted to get rid of. She knew the items still had value, but had trouble selling them in retail stores.
She then turned to Poshmark, a marketplace platform for buying and selling clothing and home goods.
Maggie Nett from UWO with her resale items
“I knew they were worth something, so I didn’t want to just donate them. I was looking for ways to sell clothes myself and came across Poshmark. I had never heard of it before, but I was intrigued, so I created an account and published my articles,” said Nett.
Nett discovered a whole community of resellers on Poshmark and other online platforms that make money reselling clothes. She soon learned as much as she could about how to effectively resell items online.
Since then, she has sold more than 3,000 items across different platforms.
“I mainly source my items personally from thrift stores, but I also like to order items online. To prepare the items for listing, I first have to steam the clothes or wash the shoes to get them photo-ready, photograph the items, and then inventory them,” she said. “I list three new items every day, which also takes time to research the style and price I should list something at.”
Successfully reselling items is more time-consuming and difficult than it might seem. Nett has spent a lot of time researching brands and trends, as well as what other sellers have to offer. Even after four years, she says, there is still trial and error.
“Trends are always changing, so it’s important to know what the next emerging styles are. I also think it’s important to sell items that I enjoy and not just buy items by brand. Some resellers focus solely on vintage items or only sell items based on a specific style. That’s the great thing about reselling – it’s entirely up to you what you want to sell,” she said.
Maggie Nice ’14
For the 2014 Marketing graduate and Fond du Lac native, however, resale isn’t just about the extra income.
“I am very passionate about buying second-hand for sustainability reasons. The fast fashion industry is incredibly bad for the environment and creates so much waste. Thrift stores often throw away items that don’t sell or send them to other stores to sell by the pound as a last chance. Resellers are another great way to give items a second chance.”
“I’m also passionate about sharing my love of used clothing, accessories, shoes, and even home decor and furniture — and educating people about how buying second-hand can reduce the impact on the environment,” she said.
As a woman-owned company, Nett is proud of what she has achieved to date and encourages others to attempt resale if interested.
“Anyone can get into reselling as a hobby or side hustle, and I encourage you to give it a try, even if it’s unused household items or clothing on Facebook Marketplace. Anytime an item can get a second life before it’s thrown in the trash, that’s a win for me,” she said. “Cyclic fashion is sustainable. Thrifting is a great way to get unique items at a great price and it gives me so much joy to know that I can earn extra income for my future by doing something I love.”
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