When Angie Molinelli started selling her used clothing items online more than 10 years ago, it was just a hobby.
A decade later, it’s almost a full-time job.
“I just started selling and it just took off,” Molinelli said.
“Then after mat leave I was like, ‘What the heck? I am just going to stick with this.’ I didn’t go back to my job and I have been doing just that.”
The Calgary mom is part of a growing number of Canadians and Albertans participating in the second-hand economy — an economy that one survey suggests is generating billions of dollars in transactions.
It was an easy transition for Molinelli. She loved shopping at thrift shops and she had a lot of gently used items lying around.
So when she went on maternity leave, she decided to put those items up for sale.
Soon she had a following, which led her to set up her own website Angie Re:find in 2016.
Her advice to others looking to turn their hobby into a job: find a niche, get a loyal customer base and commit to what you’re doing.
“It’s like any business, you can’t just expect this to come super easy, you have to work at it.”
Working from home, and selling to strangers, does come with risks — safety risks and fraud risks.
Sites like Kijiji recommend people meet in public places, only accept cash and use common sense when responding to ads.
Molinelli says she has never had a problem, but she has added security to her home as she prepares to expand.
She also uses a locked container where customers can pick up their goods and drop off money outside of her home, with a camera set up to monitor the activity.
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