'I made £5k using an easy car boot sale side hustle that anyone can do'

Emily Zervakis started reselling clothes she no longer wanted at home and has made thousands already

A woman has revealed how she earned £5,000 by flipping finds from car boot sales. Emily Zervakis, 38, kick-started her side hustle by offloading her own clothes online, pocketing £350 in profit.

Inspired by the ease of making extra pounds, she ploughed that initial earning into purchasing clothes from boot sales and charity shops. Among her most impressive hauls was snapping up a coveted Mulberry handbag valued at £360 for just 30p.

Hailing from Eastbourne, East Sussex, Emily turned a tidy profit by selling the bag for its full worth, and also managed to buy a sought-after Jellycat soft toy for £1.50 which she later sold for £75. In the span of just 10 months, Emily's initial investment of £2,500 blossomed to £5,000 – all reinvested into her venture.

Emily said: "It's great fun. I love going charity shopping. It's my happy place. I've always loved second-hand. You can find the most unique pieces. I've spent £2,500 and I'm at £5,000. I still have tonnes of stock to sell."

Car boot sales have been a childhood staple for Emily as they were a source of holiday funds for her family. In January 2024, spurred by nostalgia and potential, she cleared out her personal items and made sales via Vinted and Facebook Marketplace, reports the Mirror.

Reflecting on her success, she said: "I was just selling stuff around the house. I made £350 between January and February. I thought 'I'm going to see if I can grow this'."

Emily began her journey by scouring charity shops, jumble sales, car boot sales and Vinted for potential treasures. Initially, she opted for the most affordable items to determine what would sell on, and gradually saw her profits increase.

She shared: "Now I look for expensive labels - I can tell by the feel. "I look for Joseph Ribkoff. Mountain t-shirts sell well. I get them at the boot sale and they sell for £25 to £30 each. I look at unique, niche items.

Some of her favourite finds include a set of three football t-shirts she bought for £7 each and sold for £20 per shirt. She also discovered an Alexander Wang bag in a charity shop for £3, which she is selling for £110. Emily revealed: "I've found so many awesome bits. I go to boot sales and get clothes for 80p and sell them for £8 to £10. It's small wins and big wins."

She sells her finds across Vinted, eBay and Depop, and ensures she is constantly listing items - she's even had to rearrange her living room to accommodate her stock. Emily advised: "I list items while watching telly. You need to be consistent. You need to list daily."

Currently, Emily is challenging herself to turn £3 into £1,000 - and has already reached £600. She hopes to inspire others to see how easy it can be to make some extra cash from buying inexpensive and old clothes and reselling them online. She concluded: "At the minute I'm just reinvesting to make it into some kind of sustainable business. Eventually it will pay me."

Emily revealed that her husband, Kacan, aged 40 and a designer by profession, is fully supportive of her new side venture. She also mentioned how their two sons, aged eight and four, are keen to discover the profits from each sale. She expressed her enthusiasm for the business, saying: "They are learning about it as well. I just love finding stuff. It's bringing old clothing to life again. I just love it."

Emily's top tips for finding bargains - and selling them on

• Start small at a car boot sale and rummage through a pile of clothes and spend £10 on items from places such as Next and M&S - "you'll see it grow"
• List consistently
• Take good photos and write a good description
• Look for unique items
• Check what similar items are selling for on eBay and Vinted