From a 9-5 desk worker to a professional op shopper, Tabitha Coleman has turned one of her biggest passions into a full-time job.
Born unexpectedly in 2019 during a maternity leave stint, The Thrift Store started as a humble side hustle. Fast forward nearly three years, and it's become a rising force, far surpassing its initial modest intentions.
The second-hand business has been booming and with a worth of almost NZD 40 billion it’s showing no sign of slowing down. The rise of environmental awareness has had a huge impact on the second-hand market with 43% of respondents in a survey carried out by DIY market research provider, Pollfish, saying sustainability is a big motivator in shopping for pre-loved goods.
Growing up exploring international markets and local op shops Tabitha's love for the thrill of the chase and satisfaction of getting her hands on a bargain grew. Now she’s back in New Zealand, these markets and op shops are a part of her workplace.
What were your passions and interests before the start of your business?
I’ve always loved shopping second-hand. I grew up in second-hand clothing. In the 90’s there was no trending #preloved hashtag, it wasn't cool per se, so as a teenager, I was a reluctant thrifter, but when I started earning my own money, I started to see how far my money could stretch by buying second-hand, and thus a new interest was born.
I used to grab the North Shore Times on a Friday, circle the garage sale listings then on a Saturday morning, head out to garage sales to look for bargains.
These days I’ve got two little ones so I’m time-poor and tend to do a lot more thrift shopping online, there are some fantastic pre-loved Instagram accounts out there so it can be quite a dangerous interest thrifting.
How did you get the name of The Thrift Store and what was the inspiration behind it?
I wanted a name that said what it does on the tin, and while in NZ/Aotearoa, we tend to say op shops, The Thrift Store stuck with me and I don’t think I can let it go now! When people ask me what the store is called, they never forget the name which I love.
How much effort and Mahi did you have to put in to get The Thrift Store up and running?
I gave myself a deadline of three months and a budget of $500, and I made it stretch. At the time my son was only little so I turned his naptime into my work time, and then I did most of my work in the evenings.
The set-up was pretty makeshift. I turned our spare room into a storeroom, invested in lighting, and clothing racks and tried to figure out how to store a whole bunch of stock in a small space. A memory that makes me laugh to this day was trying to save on buying a lighting kit and using an old lamp I projected onto a mannequin—and no, it didn’t work.
After I had the room set up I taught myself the world of e-commerce—how to design and build a store, list products, manage inventory, how to fulfill orders, ordering couriers—the lot!
I think the hardest part was putting myself out there. My background is in PR, and I launched the website just to earn a bit more money while on maternity leave to start with so I didn’t want to make a big deal about the store in case it didn’t work out. While I was on Instagram a lot, I didn’t know how to market the store, and so a lot of it was smoke and mirrors to start with.
I didn’t need to worry after a few months I started to build up a fantastic Instagram community and I started to see regular sales come in.
Fast forward to today and I’m now in a position to hire some help which is a huge relief as I’m run off my feet, but it’s also bizarre as I never thought this would become my job. I’m over the moon with how it’s all turned out.
Telling people you run an online thrift store must spark some interesting convos, what was the most memorable?
Oh yes. When I started the store, some people asked me if it was a hobby, or whether I just spent my days in op shops. I also think because I held a senior corporate position previously, some people didn’t understand why I gave it up to run a thrift store. The answer was easy, I love the work, I love supporting the second-hand clothing industry and I love working my hours.
Now that the business is established I don’t get those questions anymore, but for those who are looking to start, just ignore the raised eyebrows, the second-hand industry is one of the largest growing industries out there and your wallet on the planet thanks us for buying second hand.
What challenges did you face when setting up The Thrift Store?
I didn’t have any marketing budget, or an audience to speak of to start with. So starting with about 70 followers on Instagram was a challenge.
My audience started growing organically after a few months because the product sold itself but I also learned how important it was to showcase the clothing in an attractive light. Product photography is so important and I also think engaging with your audience is a close second.
What has been the highlight of your journey so far?
I think it’s been moving The Thrift Store into a little cottage so I wasn’t running the business out of the spare room. It felt like the business became legitimate once it had its own little dedicated space, it’s also nice to go somewhere for work.
A close second highlight has been launching the wardrobe clear-out service and becoming a consignment store. Every time I advertise more thrifty wardrobe clear-out kits online, they sell out within a day. It’s an awesome feeling.
if you could go back 10 years ago and give yourself one piece of advice what would it be?
I’d tell myself to lean into my hobbies/passions more because if you can monetise a passion, you’ve got yourself a successful career.
Do you ever get pieces of clothing you mean to sell but decided to keep, if so what were they and why?
Yes! I'm a bit of a minimalist so I don’t go too crazy but some highlights have been a pair of Saint Laurent cat sunglasses, a Lululemon ¾ jumper I wear and wear and then my pair of Alias Mae sandals which I sourced as new for $40, bargain!
The funny thing is, now that I sell on behalf of people, I end up buying their items, but hey, it’s weirdly supporting my business, I guess?
And finally, what’s next for The Thrift Store?
I’m looking to hire staff and eventually move into a larger warehouse space so I can grow the team.
The wardrobe clear-out service is going from strength to strength so I’ll be evolving that over the next year or so.
Finally, we’re breaking into new markets, I offer worldwide shipping and we’ve had a few orders come in from Australia so I’ll plan to do a bit more marketing in other markets.