One man's trash is another's treasure, but for clothing reseller Rick Senko, ‘trash' happens to be $6.5 million. That's how much he made in 2024 by finding great deals in a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, flea market, and he told "CNBC Make It" that he expects to make more money this year.
"I have never taken a day off in almost 20 years," he said. "I get after it every single day."
Used clothing reselling sounds simple enough on the surface. You buy used clothing, list it on eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), and sell it for a higher price. However, it gets more complex when Senko takes viewers behind the scenes of what a typical day looks like.
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He's At The Flea Market In The Early Morning
The best deals go quickly, so Senko arrives at the flea market at 6 a.m., when it's practically empty. He waits for everything to open up so he can be one of the first people to scan for promising clothing.
"I have a lot of tenacity and consistency," he told CNBC. "Every single day, I woke up and did my job to the best of my ability."
The job pays incredibly well for professionals like Senko.
"When you unlock the ability to multiply money…take $5, put it on eBay, and sell something and get $25 back, how in the world can you rest?" he said.
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What Senko Watches Out For
Senko entered reselling during the Great Recession when his cell phone broke. He then came up with the idea of buying a cell phone for $35 on Craigslist and selling it on eBay for $70. His eBay listing sold the same day, resulting in a $35 profit, which was life changing at the time.
While beginner's luck helped him profit from that initial sale, he's become a savvy reseller who focuses on clothing, but Senko tipped off viewers on some risks to keep in mind.
Senko knows individual clothing brands and subtle details that help him distinguish real clothing from fake inventory. He showed CNBC some examples of real and fake clothing brands in a flea market.
He also isn't the type to haggle over a few dollars. He's okay with paying $20 for an article of clothing that he could have gotten for $15, as long as it brings in a profit.
"A guy woke up early to be here," Senko told CNBC. "He's got to make some money. If I'm the only one who makes money, and they don't make money, they stop coming to the flea market. If they stop coming to the flea market, I'm out of business."
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From Consumers To Businesses
Senko told CNBC that he became eBay's top seller in men's pre-owned clothing in 2021. He made $2.5 million that year selling more than 100,000 items per year at the time. That's a lot of listings, shipments, and packaged items. He now has a warehouse to store used clothing.
Senko told CNBC that he boosted his earnings to $6.5 million by taking a business-to-business approach. Instead of selling to consumers, Senko sells to other clothing resellers. These resellers hope to take Senko's inventory, sell the items individually, and realize a profit. It's a lot less work for Senko to do these big orders versus selling the items individually, but he also knows the value of what he's selling.
While he can find $5 clothing that he can resell for $75, other resellers are less likely to get those types of returns from Senko. However, those same resellers may not want to arrive at flea markets at 6 a.m. every day and stay on that grind for almost 20 years without any days off. Furthermore, not all of those clothing resellers may be located in a big city like Fort Lauderdale, which attracts wealthy consumers.
Know the value of what you have. You might have some clothing and items around the house that you can sell right now to start your journey. For Senko, it all started with a cell phone. You never know how much money you can make by reselling, and you'll even get rid of some of the clutter in your home.
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Image: Shutterstock
