The Couple Running OC's Luxury Resale Game | On Que Style | Coffeez Ep. 318

Coffeez with Joe Shalaby

Joe Shalaby interviews Kirsten and Eddie Prosser, the founders of On Que Style, a luxury resale business based in Corona Del Mar. The episode

Key takeaways

• Purchasing a Hermes Birkin at retail often requires spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on other products first.
• On Que Style utilizes 'closet currency,' allowing customers to trade in unused luxury goods to offset the cost of new purchases.

Main topics

• Luxury Resale Economics
• Hermes Birkin Sourcing

Notable quotes

You literally have to start spending lots of money and they're literally going to ask you how much do you want to spend to get a bag.

Conclusion

The episode provides a fascinating look into the specialized niche of

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:18) Nice to meet you Eddie. So nice to meet you. Lovely couple. I'm your barista today. My name is Alyssa. So great to meet you. What can I get for you guys today? Speaker 3 (0:32) I Speaker 2 (0:32) would like a foam on a glass latte. Speaker 1 (0:36) Ice Speaker 2 (0:36) with a cup of vanilla. Speaker 1 (0:39) Beautiful. I love that. Cup of vanilla. I always get that too. Good choice. Just a nice balance, right? Beautiful. Okay. I will have Speaker 3 (0:46) a grande lata iced if you have it. Speaker 1 (0:48) Okay, wonderful. I will get on that for you. In the meantime, I would love for you to take a look at our assortment here. And grab a bite. Now tell me, I hear you have a store in Coro del Speaker 3 (1:01) Mar, Speaker 2 (1:02) correct? Yeah, I've been here for 60 years. Speaker 1 (1:05) I love that. I am not far from you, so I'm going to have to come and visit. Yes, Speaker 3 (1:09) you Speaker 1 (1:09) are. I'm excited. Speaker 3 (1:13) People just hang out at our place. Speaker 1 (1:15) Okay, you won't be able to get rid of me, so get ready, okay? Let's go on and meet Joe, of course. Joe, we have our guests here. Hi, Speaker 4 (1:28) Kristen, it's a pleasure. Thank you so much, Eddie. It's Speaker 1 (1:30) a Speaker 4 (1:30) pleasure. Thank Speaker 1 (1:30) you, Joe. Speaker 4 (1:32) Guys, I know it was a big drive, you know, all the way from Corona. Speaker 1 (1:37) Kirsten, you can have a seat here. Speaker 4 (1:39) What's up everybody? Welcome to another episode of Coffees. I'm your host Joe Shalvey and today we are sitting with Eddie and Kirsten Prosser, the founders of On Cue Style, a duo that is revolutionizing modern and innovative luxury fashion at a budget, bringing it to your doorstep, doing Instagram lives, TikTok lives, and making it affordable for all of you. Please welcome the one, the only, Eddie and Kirsten Prosser. Speaker 3 (2:06) Thank you so much. What an intro. It was Speaker 4 (2:11) a little harder than my intro because I had Speaker 2 (2:13) to do two people. And Speaker 4 (2:15) then a whole new name for a company. And different than my normal style. Your style is different. I appreciate you guys for coming. So I like to start the show with the same thing I ask everybody. What's your guys' morning routine? Speaker 4 (2:32) My morning routine is I get up super Speaker 3 (2:34) early. I'm on my business spreadsheets, cash flow management, all sorts of stuff. You do all the boring stuff. I do all the boring stuff, but then at like 7 o'clock, I'm on the golf course until around 11 o'clock. Five days a week. And Speaker 2 (2:49) me, I'm not a morning person. So don't try to call me 8 o'clock in the morning because I will not answer. Speaker 3 (2:55) See, it works out. You're selling Europeans. I Speaker 2 (2:59) stay there forever. So I wake up in the morning and I wake up very slowly. Normally when Eddie don't play golf, he comes with my coffee so I can wake up. And if he's not there, I go down and make my coffee and a juice. And then I usually go to my workout after that. And then go home, showering up, go to work. Speaker 3 (3:19) It's Speaker 2 (3:20) a Speaker 3 (3:20) hell of a morning. Yeah, she's living the dream. Yeah, she is. 100%. Speaker 2 (3:23) I'm not complaining. Speaker 3 (3:25) Especially with me as the coffee boy. Speaker 2 (3:27) Yeah, that's the best. Where do you get coffee from in Speaker 4 (3:30) Newport? Where's your guys' spot? Oh, Starbucks. Speaker 2 (3:32) Starbucks. I'm such a Starbucks lover. Kind of Speaker 4 (3:34) a Speaker 2 (3:34) boring thing. Speaker 3 (3:35) You don't Speaker 4 (3:36) like Starbucks? You don't like all the fancy spots Speaker 2 (3:38) by your Speaker 4 (3:38) house? No. Not really. Yeah. They've Speaker 2 (3:41) got Speaker 4 (3:41) us dialed Speaker 3 (3:42) in. Speaker 4 (3:42) Like Speaker 2 (3:42) Starbucks. Speaker 4 (3:44) Well, hey, you know, they've had it right the whole time. Somebody has to support them, right? Yeah. They're not a big enough company yet, right? Now, right now, you guys are in the luxury space, and you're really bringing affordable luxury. Well, I don't know if it's affordable, but, you know, discounted consignment luxury. Explain to me the difference, and we talked about this a little bit before. Explain to me the difference between... what you guys offer and what a consumer can get on their own at Hermes or Louis Vuitton and some of the benefits of working with a company like yours. Speaker 2 (4:19) Hermes, you know, you can't just go in and buy a bag. You literally have to start spending lots of money and they're literally going to ask you how much do you want to spend to get a bag. Speaker 3 (4:31) You'll have to not only be a client, you have to buy things that they... uh there's not high demand stuff like ready to wear stuff and you you'll end up spending anywhere up from maybe 100 to 300 000 before you get your first phone call on a birkin bag Speaker 2 (4:47) And normally you can't even pick colors. You just have to take what you get because if you don't take it, then you drop down on the list. Speaker 3 (4:53) Which is why we get the phone call because we're always stocked with pre-owned and sometimes brand new Birkin bags. People, when they get the bags, they might buy something for $15,000, but we resell them upwards of $25,000 to $30,000 to $40,000. But we don't, we pick up maybe 10%. on the gross margin. So the people who have to spend a $200,000 to $300,000, they're going to pay $15,000, just like if you get, let's say, a Daytona watch for $15,000. You're going to sell it for $30,000, but you're not going to give it to somebody for, let's say, $16,000 to resell for you. So they make us pay a premium, and then we just get a marginal commission for that. Speaker 4 (5:34) I see. Speaker 3 (5:36) But at Speaker 2 (5:36) least you can get what you want. But at least you can get what you Speaker 3 (5:38) want, as opposed to spending $300,000. Speaker 2 (5:41) And sometimes you have to, too, like some people just take it and then they resell it just because they don't want to drop down on the list. And Speaker 3 (5:49) plus, we specialize. We're curators of Hermes Birkin. So people know us, like my nickname's Eddie Birkin, right? So what happens is if somebody says... I have shopped everywhere in the world. I've got all the resources. I've had my assistant call every Hermes store in the world and we can't come up with what we're looking for. That's one of the things. A lot of times I get the phone call. So I might have connections really all over the world. So I just found a beautiful bag for somebody just recently. Big, you know, successful family. And they could call anybody, but they did. And I ended up getting the call, and I found this piece in Dubai from a reseller that I knew. Speaker 2 (6:32) Tiny little thing. And had it delivered. Speaker 3 (6:34) So it was a $43,000 bag. So pretty. That, quite frankly, the list price was $11,000, but by the time... I resold it to that client. I ended up still paying like $40,000. So it wasn't a big home run for me, but I was able to get it. And so that led me to getting picked up by more of their friends and relatives and neighbors that know that we can get and chase down really anything in the world. So we love that. Speaker 4 (7:05) I can't even imagine the people that you guys work with. Yeah. Like $43,000 for a tiny little bag. Speaker 3 (7:13) $11,000. Who are these people that are buying these bags? Because they can't get it. They want it. And Speaker 2 (7:17) they want Speaker 3 (7:17) it. Speaker 2 (7:17) And Speaker 3 (7:18) they want to rock it. And they got the money. So those are the Speaker 2 (7:21) people. Speaker 3 (7:21) But Speaker 2 (7:21) sometimes Speaker 3 (7:21) it's $100 Speaker 2 (7:21) ,000. Oh, yeah. It could be. Speaker 3 (7:23) We've sold our best Birkin bags north of Speaker 2 (7:26) $250 Speaker 3 (7:27) ,000, $280,000, $280 Speaker 4 (7:29) ,000. Speaker 2 (7:30) Oh, wow. It's crazy. So Speaker 4 (7:32) what is this? Like, I just never understood bags like that. You know, I told you I know sports cars. I understand the value. Okay. People are putting. It's the same thing. It's the Speaker 3 (7:40) same thing. Speaker 4 (7:42) Like an Speaker 2 (7:42) exotic Speaker 4 (7:42) car. It's Speaker 2 (7:43) a Speaker 4 (7:43) luxury. Speaker 2 (7:44) Or Speaker 4 (7:44) exotic Richard Speaker 3 (7:45) Mille watch or a paddock or, you know, an AP. You just simply cannot get it. So you've got to reach out to people who can get the piece. Speaker 2 (7:55) And it's like this, too. If you get a car in a yellow, then you have to have a mess bag in yellow so it matches the car. Speaker 3 (8:01) We had a client just recently. It was funny because the wife's texting us and she's going, does my husband really need two silver Ferraris? And I said, well, if he wants two silver Ferraris, but what are you going to get in exchange for the two silver Ferraris in terms of a handbag? She goes, a bunch of stuff. So let's start ordering. And so that kind of stuff happens all the time. Speaker 4 (8:24) So that's the exchange for the ultra, ultra rich. If you get a Ferrari, I get two Birkins. Exactly. 100%. That's not Speaker 2 (8:31) enough. You need two. 100%. Speaker 4 (8:33) 100%. And a Speaker 2 (8:34) lot of times, she's a Speaker 3 (8:35) saleswoman. Oh, she is. She's Speaker 4 (8:36) very good. Speaker 3 (8:37) Unreal. She's like, don't let him get a Ferrari without your Birkin. No, Speaker 4 (8:41) no, Speaker 3 (8:41) no, no. And that works both ways, too. Because when the wife has now purchased a $30,000, $40,000 bag, then I'm saying to the old man, hey. What are you getting? Well, I'm looking for a particular watch. Let me get on the phone and find you a piece. So it always Speaker 4 (8:58) works out with two pieces. Are your clients, like, do you get a lot from Corona Del Mar? Or you're like, you guys are international? Speaker 2 (9:06) Everywhere, yeah. We have lots of people that when they're traveling and they come back. They always come and see us. They barely land. We had a client for a while from Texas. If there's something she really, really wants, she flew in in her jet, just flew in and grabbed the things that I'd been sending pictures of, and then she flew home again. Speaker 3 (9:25) Yeah, but we have clients really from New York to Palm Beach to Miami to you name it. I mean, it doesn't have to be some. you know, big city. I mean, these are people that could live in Alabama or Louisiana or wherever. I mean, if they like their fashion, they got the money and they're looking for a certain piece. Now, we don't get all the market. I mean, we're just one of the many resellers. But the one thing we focus on is truly is our reputation. Because, like, you take some of these bigger companies that have gone public. They were focused on the venture capital first and racing to get to a public profile. And next thing you know, they blew their chance to develop a tremendous reputation. Because in our business, it's all about if you say you're going to do something, no matter what, you have to follow through and make sure that you execute. Along those lines and that's just kind of where we come from but Speaker 2 (10:23) I think that lots of our clients It's not just like all tourists We really have everything because you know we do sell clothes and shoes too and what is at least like 60 70 80 percent less Like in the store we have some of our big clients they go to the runway shows Let's say you go to a Christian Jewel runway show you need more pieces You don't want to go in and spend even if you can one of my big clients is Probably a billionaire. She's one of my best clients. She come in a shop all the time So I think lots of times even if you have the money you still want a deal I Speaker 4 (10:58) think all your clients would be billionaires because you know You know Speaker 3 (11:05) what's Speaker 2 (11:05) so Speaker 3 (11:05) funny Speaker 4 (11:06) about that? Speaker 3 (11:06) We talk about these billionaires, these high-profile people. To be honest with you, the guy that comes in looking for his first Louis Vuitton keychain for his wife. I mean, I'm Speaker 4 (11:16) all Speaker 3 (11:16) about that guy as much as I am the guy who's... He's Speaker 4 (11:19) the Speaker 3 (11:19) thousandaire. I don't really care. He deserves just as much luck. Like our Speaker 4 (11:23) executive producer, he's going to come in there and get a keychain. That's great. Speaker 3 (11:28) They're inspired by something. They're pumped up about it, and I see it in their eyes, and so to me, that's just as good. I'm not as turned on by... And Speaker 2 (11:38) I think also it's very important when you come and you buy your first Chanel that I... I want it to be such a great experience because it's maybe not like the $6,000 or $8,000 Chanel. It's maybe $2,000. But I want that person to walk out of the store, oh, my God, this was the best experience I ever had in my life. So I think it's so important. And that's what I try to teach everybody that work there. If they buy for $5, $5,000 or $500,000. Do Speaker 4 (12:04) you guys have anything for $5 in that store? Yes, we do. What Speaker 2 (12:07) about Speaker 4 (12:07) $5? Yes, we do. Speaker 3 (12:09) We do. a sock we have an opinion for five dollars Speaker 1 (12:13) but Speaker 2 (12:17) you Speaker 3 (12:19) know there's the other side of it too it's like so from the standpoint of uh why i think we've done very very well and is to have communicate to our clients that like for instance you don't have to uh spend all the money to be stylish at on q soft for instance why go to louis vuitton drop four grand for a bag, when we have the same bag, for instance, for $2,200, right? Speaker 2 (12:44) Because the market Speaker 3 (12:45) is, let's say, $1,800. We're reselling it for $2,200 to $2,500. But what we're now pitching is that you may have merchandise, we call it closet currency, that you may want to trade. So let's say you have, let's say, $1,500 worth of stuff in the closet you haven't used for two years. So you trade that in, and now you just pay $700 difference. For that bag, you would have had to pay $4,000 for at Louis Vuitton. So it's always about the solution. So when people come in, they're going, you know, my husband will shoot me if I drop another five grand. So you like the piece, right? Yes, I love the piece, but I can't beat up the credit cards. Well, what do you have at the house worth $3,000, $4,000? I'll buy it. You trade. You just pay the difference. People go, I love it. They come back with a box of stuff that they haven't used for Speaker 2 (13:32) two to Speaker 3 (13:33) three years. So those are solutions to help people stay in style. Because women always have to rock something fresh. It's all about that freshness. Yeah. Speaker 4 (13:43) We could just wear a black shirt Speaker 3 (13:45) every day. We need new things all Speaker 2 (13:47) the time. Speaker 3 (13:47) But guys, we like our watches. That's Speaker 2 (13:49) it. We Speaker 3 (13:49) like, you know, hip things. Like, maybe hip things meaning, like, our cars, our watches, that kind of thing. Speaker 2 (13:54) But what Eddie was saying to this thing you can trade in is actually really good ideas. Like, we had this client. She wanted this Hermes bag. And I think she could spend, let us say, $15,000, and the bag was $20,000. And so Eddie tells her, you know what, don't you have something home you can bring in? And she was saying, you know what? Every time my husband travels, he buys me Chanel bags. I have three of these Chanel bags. So she comes to me with a box. She never even opened it up. I think she'd bring in two Chanel bags or something. So her husband got happy because he only spent $15,000. And she got what she wanted. And he don't remember how many bags he bought for her. So it's not like he knew that she spent more money. He's Speaker 4 (14:33) partying on those trips. He's getting wild. I didn't Speaker 2 (14:37) say anything, but I was thinking the same thing. You're Speaker 3 (14:39) buying her a Speaker 4 (14:40) Chanel bag? did you do on that trip? Speaker 3 (14:41) Every time he Speaker 2 (14:41) travels. Well, Speaker 3 (14:43) exactly. A little guilt action. Who knows? Some husbands just love shopping to Speaker 2 (14:48) the Speaker 3 (14:48) whites. Speaker 2 (14:48) But it Speaker 3 (14:48) works out for us because when people are trading stuff, they're trading stuff that they're not using anymore. But for us, it's fresh inventory. Our business is how do we get more of it? Because we're selling so fast. Speaker 4 (15:00) Now, before you guys started On Cue Style, one of you understood fashion. The other one of you understood how to sell almost anything. Now, Kirsten, you grew up in Denmark and eventually worked with Donna Karan. Yeah. Speaker 2 (15:14) In Speaker 4 (15:14) Neiman Marcus. Now, what gave you your eye for luxury? Speaker 2 (15:20) I think since I was a little girl, when I was four or five years old, I started designing my own clothes. So when I did live... I actually been living in many different places. But when I did live in Spain for a while, I only designed clothes. Together I had a partner there with fashion shows and stuff like that. So my whole life I have been in fashion. I actually worked like a nurse, believe it or not. Really? Yes. I've been doing lots of different things. But fashion always has been my big thing. That's why I married her. So I can take care of you. Yeah, Speaker 3 (15:49) there you Speaker 2 (15:50) go. She takes good care of you. My whole life I have been designing clothes. Speaker 2 (15:54) It was actually funny when I took the job at Donna Karan, because when I married Eddie, I really married him for a green card, saying it like it is. We've been married for nearly 26 years, going on 26. I Speaker 4 (16:09) mean, that green card really worked. Speaker 2 (16:12) Yeah, that really worked. You found love Speaker 4 (16:13) for that green