After a long week full of school and cheer practice, Sam Rochleau and Zoë Henderson, juniors, find time to bond on a weekend thrifting trip. They hunt for hidden gems, their eyes scanning the racks for pieces they can profit on. Each new find becomes a potential sale, and as they walk out with bags in hand, they know their successful haul will help keep their business afloat and their followers satisfied.
Rochleau made an Instagram account to sell clothes when she was in sixth grade where she has now been able to earn over $20,000 and gain around 4,500 followers. She said shipping across the country to states like Texas, Tennessee, California and Florida is the norm, while also shipping internationally to countries like Canada and the UK.
“When I [first] started my account, I only ever shipped to people because I had blocked everyone in St. Louis. I was kind of embarrassed by it,” Rochleau said. “I started to unblock people when I was in eighth grade, once the account got a little bigger and people started to learn about it.”
Henderson, who joined the account earlier this year, said she thinks it’s cool that people have started to make their own closet accounts after Rochleau started hers years prior. As a customer of these accounts before she became a seller, Henderson said she has a unique perspective on the process.
“With second-hand shops like this, it’s so great for both the buyer and the seller,” Henderson said. “The buyer is able to [purchase] things they never would have been able to dream of affording before, and the seller is able to make money super quickly.”
Since starting the account, Rochleau said she has made more friends and learned that honesty is important with buyers. Along with learning about customer service, she said she has more knowledge regarding the financial side of running a business.
“After looking at what [clothing items] retail for, I set the price as [to] what I think people would buy them for,” Rochleau said. “I have also started to understand the prices better [since] I’ve been doing it for longer.”
Henderson said Rochleau goes above and beyond for her customers and is always helping them out when she can, even if that means driving out to deliver packages. She said that the most important thing for their business is to form a relationship with their buyers.
“This account has really taught me how to be patient with customers,” Henderson said. “Just making sure you have a good community associated with your brand is so important to keep clients coming back.”
Vanessa Cabassa, junior, recently started to make purchases from @_samandzoescloset.co after seeing clothes she thought were cute. Cabassa said she was attracted to the variety and amount of options their account had.
“They have a lot of clothes that they’re always selling and it’s super convenient,” Cabassa said. “Anyone can go and buy from them because they have so many different styles.”
When thinking about the future of their account, Henderson said she still sees their business continuing. She said she knows she will always be able to text Rochleau and ask when they are going thrifting again, not only to keep up their account but to also maintain their close friendship.
“In the future, [the closet account] will be such a good way to be able to connect with [Rochleau] again,” Henderson said. “When life gets crazy in college, wherever we end up, it’ll be okay because we’ll still always have this link together.”
