Ali Dieguez always enjoyed thrift shopping while she was in college: On her way home from the gym, she'd stop by the thrift store next door to find pre-owned brand-name athletic wear. When she'd find a few pairs of Lululemon leggings that weren't her size, she'd post them on Poshmark, a resale platform.
But it wasn't until she returned from her semester abroad that she realized resale could provide viable income and flexibility around her busy schedule. She started selling activewear on Poshmark in January 2020.
Months later, demand for casual clothes picked up during the pandemic. "The one thing that people were trying to do was work out in quarantine," she said.
As governments lifted restrictions, Dieguez broadened her inventory to other clothing like dresses and denim. She also lists items on other resale platforms such as eBay, Mercari, Depop, and Curtsy to tap the wide scope of customers.
In 2021, Dieguez made $13,740 in sales on Poshmark, which Insider verified with documentation. The 23-year-old put $3,668 of her earnings toward her tuition at San Diego State University last year.
To manage both school and her business, Dieguez meticulously scheduled her classes, gym time, homework, Muay Thai training, and resale work. Typically, she woke up at 5 a.m. and went to bed around 7 p.m. "I was kind of boring," she said. "I had the same schedule basically every day, but it worked."
She finished her last semester at San Diego State University in May 2022 and plans to complete her bachelor's degree in kinesiology after one more summer course. To continue her career in wellness, she's saved much of her resale earnings to enroll in a one-year massage-therapy program in the fall.
"I wouldn't be eligible for any financial aid," she said. "But I'm able to pay all my tuition upfront because of the money I've saved from reselling."