JACKIE RABBITS: Jackie is a true-vintage dealer and Whatnot live seller - on going full-time with 17 years in reselling, and pushing through stage fright to do dollar-start auctions.
Pre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
In this episode, Jackie Rabbits shares her 17-year journey in the vintage reselling industry, from starting at age sixteen to becoming a ful
Key takeaways
- Jackie began reselling at 16 to navigate periods of homelessness and poverty.
- The transition to full-time reselling required an 'ego death' and significant financial planning.
Main topics
- Vintage Reselling
- Live Selling on Whatnot
Notable quotes
I'm a shy girl, but guess what? I don't want to be shy about my business.
Conclusion
An inspiring look at how personal adversity and creative passion can f
Transcript preview
Speaker 2 (0:05) Hey, vintage lovers. I'm Emily Stoeckel, and this is Pre-Love Podcast, the show about rad vintage style and guests you'll want to go thrifting with. This is the space where we talk about all things vintage secondhand and pre-loved across the fashion space. And for new listeners or longtime pals to follow along with all things thrift, vintage, rad, retro, and sustainable, you can find me, Emily Stoeckel, across the internet as at Emily M. Stoeckel. Come hang out. I'd love to chat with you. If you're a vintage dealer, collector, thrifter, resale pro, or circular fashion person, This is your reminder to subscribe to PreLove's multimedia platforms. You can find weekly bonus content on Instagram, TikTok, Substack, and Patreon for all the business intel, market trends, industry news, and one-of-a-kind stories. about the business and culture of vintage and secondhand fashion, including the latest findings from PreLove's second annual secondhand seller's income survey. One-of-a-kind salary data research on this industry for vintage dealers who are building their small businesses and don't even know where to begin with benchmarks. It's a must read. Go check it out. But before we do that, let's chat about today's guest. We are chatting with Jackie of Jackie Rabbits, a true vintage dealer whose path to reselling started early. Jackie was frequently thrifting with her mom as a kid, customizing denim and streetwear as a teenager, collecting antique dolls, and staging elaborate backyard photo shoots that stretched her creative muscles. She started reselling as young as 16 years old and landed an antique mall booth soon after that. Six years ago, she took the leap into full-time reselling, ego death and all, we talk about everything that it took to make that decision, and these days she has a packed weekly calendar of live shows hosted on Whatnot. As Jackie has built up her vintage business, She's built a distinct point of view around handmade, richly detailed vintage while also becoming one of the earliest true vintage sellers on Whatnot, pushing through the stage fright to go live and sell nearly every week. We're getting into all of that. Her dumpster diving stories, honest advice on pricing and pacing in your business, pushing through the nerves of going live for the first time, plus all the other practical wisdom she's picked up along the way. Let's dive right in. Hey there, and welcome to PreLove Podcast. I am so excited to have you on our show today. I would love if you could introduce yourself to the listeners and tell us a little about what you do. So Speaker 1 (2:22) I'm Jackie. My vintage name is Jackie Rabbits. I've been selling for 17 years, reselling vintage. goods and clothing for 17 years, six years full time. And I have stuff in two different store locations. And I also do live selling. Like Speaker 2 (2:42) that's a pretty long background with vintage selling. Have you been like into vintage and fashion your whole life? Speaker 1 (2:48) Yes. Okay, kind of. Yes, but more so. really got into it, like, in my teenage years. So I feel like it started in, like, high school, which we'll get into, like, my actual educational, like, thing. But I didn't really go to high school, but when I was a teenager, I really started getting into, like, streetwear. And I, like, believe it or not, even though I'm a true vintage girly, I was, like, really into, like, streetwear, sneakers, like, airbrushed outfits. And I started customizing denim. So that kind of, like, started there. And then the true vintage, like, started when... I was like a teenager and I wanted to do like like backyard photo shoots. And that was just straight up Femi like headpieces and all the like true vintage like florals. And I would just do like these crazy elaborate like photo shoots. And they were like two worlds colliding. Wait, Speaker 2 (3:51) I love that. That's so cool. So it sounds like you were always like pretty into styling and creative pursuits. I Speaker 1 (3:57) feel like I've always wanted to do fashion. Like when I was a teenager, I had like the dream of like moving to New York and doing like couture design or whatever. But me being me, I was actually like super bad when I was younger. And like up until the fifth grade, that's like the last time I wrote an actual essay in school. And then like sixth through seventh grade, I was in an alternative school where I like. learned independently on a computer and then like I didn't go to high school so I like dropped out and got my GED so basically like my education kind of stunted my dreams a little bit and like my lifestyle. So that's kind of how the dream of like my like idea of like my fashion dream kind of like died. But I also, but I was always like a reseller and like doing, like I said, like the custom design stuff on the side and just like trying to like be like expressive and use it as like a creative outlet, I guess. Where Speaker 2 (5:03) did you grow up and were there like other people around you who were? doing similar things to that? I know you said like you dreamed of going to New York. Speaker 1 (5:11) No, that and that's another thing too, is that like, I've always kind of been like a really like one man band. And like in school, I got like bullied all that they're okay, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna downplay the girlies that loved me. Um, because there were people that were like, oh my gosh, like she stands out, like she doesn't care, like, and she's like so cool or whatever. But I very much have always been like a one man band. But then there were like the bully type girls that were like, I remember this one girl one time was like, um, she told one of my friends, she was like, if she dresses like that every day, what does she wear for Halloween? That will stick with me. I swear on my life that will stick with me like for the rest of my life. And it's like. But now it's like a tenfold because it's like, this is literally my life. Fashion is like my actual life. I didn't see it in this way, but it's literally my life. So it's like, I can like laugh now and be like, bro, you're a part of the testimony. Speaker 2 (6:08) Exactly. You're a part of the story. How did you get into thrifting? Like, were you, when you were into the streetwear kind of stuff, was that a big journey into thrifting or did it really like, did you just? get really into it during the true vintage Speaker 1 (6:22) era. So the thrifting, okay, and then honestly, like, transparency, like, so I grew up, like, in extreme poverty, and thrifting was, like, honestly the only choice I had to, like, buy anything. And also, I, like, grew up in a very, like, toxic household, and I feel like one way that me and my mom, like, bonded and kind of had our alone time, like, away from our household was we would literally go thrifting. all day long. And so I feel like, yeah, that's pretty much where it came from. And, and that's like me going back to like an earliest memory of like little Jackie with blonde hair, like the, the whitest little blonde hair running around, like trying to find the cutest little thing in the thrift store and being like, I Speaker 2 (7:10) want this. Speaker 2 (7:12) I mean, so it seems like reselling kind of came naturally to you. Like, how did you figure out that you wanted to try that? Speaker 1 (7:19) Bro, how did, okay, now I feel like I'm trauma dumping on the viewers. Okay, so, and no, this is, like, I'm laughing at it, so we're good. We're, like, good. We're Speaker 2 (7:28) good. Speaker 1 (7:29) So when, we're going to get into the fun parts, though, okay? We're going to get into the fun parts. Yes, Speaker 2 (7:34) of course. Speaker 1 (7:34) Yes, of course. So when I was 16, I actually was homeless. And like I said, I wasn't, I've been a vintage decor, like vintage decor, like tchotchke type stuff. That's always been for 17 years. Fashion has been on and off throughout the years. But when I was 16, I was homeless and I had this old doll collection and one of them was valuable. And so I was like. wait, like, hold on, like, I can actually sell stuff. And so I just started selling my possessions. And like, I would bring like my clothes to Plato's closet. And then I ended up opening up a vintage like decor booth at a little antique mall in town when I was 16. So that's pretty much where this it being like a side hustle started as a teenager. And Speaker 2 (8:28) then how did it evolve from there? Like you, you got the booth in the antique mall and then what happens Speaker 1 (8:35) next? I had the booth in the antique mall and I've, I've actually think I've had an, a booth in a antique mall, whether it's different ones or not, honestly, for, for the past 17 years, which is like me just realizing it all Speaker 2 (8:50) the time. Speaker 1 (8:50) Yeah. As I'm saying that. Um, but I ended up having the antique booth or whatever, and then I got a little, a little job at JCPenney as a visual specialist, and I was there for, I think, like, five years, and, um, and, like I said, because of, like, my education being stunted, like, it, like, there, I didn't see a lot of opportunities, like, just in general, in life, it was kind of, like, whatever. But I was always creative no matter what. So I was like, okay, I'm just going to flow. But then I got a job at this warehouse that was for the post office. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is like my dream job. Not dream job as in just like I got a job without an education that paid extremely well. And from a societal point, it was a good, or from a societal standard, it was a good job. In turn, I was extremely miserable. Like, I'm talking about, like, the S word. Like, ready to pull the plug. Like, it was like, I have to get out of here. I'm a creative. The work was so redundant. And the rates, like, I was just so miserable there. Okay? Like, so I basically asked myself, I'm like, what would I want to do if I wasn't getting paid for it if I had to do it the rest of my life? okay, I had like these realizations, and I'm like, well, I want to be a social worker, so, and going back to the last time I wrote an essay was in fifth grade, okay, so I was like, I need to quit this job at the post office, because I have, like, I'm dying here, okay, so I quit the post office, because I wanted to go back to like I wanted to actually like go to school and I went to a community college to get um a associates in social work that's the point where I turned into a full-time reseller and this was six years ago how Speaker 2 (10:50) did you like start to go full-time like what were you focusing on then were you doing it in like booths in stores or were you selling online or how do you make it so that you were able to go full-time well Speaker 1 (11:01) first there was an ego death Speaker 2 (11:03) yeah Speaker 1 (11:04) yeah That was the hardest part, okay? That was the hardest part was the ego death. I did have a very, very small safety cushion savings account that I had like a number in my mind that if I quit, I have to have this amount of money in my savings account because I know this is going to be hard. It's going to be hard. Really, really hard. Hardest thing ever. So I did that. And then I was in, I think, I want to say two stores. Oh, yeah, yeah. I was in two different store locations. And then, girl, I was selling any and everything wherever it would sell. I had an eBay account. I had a Depop account. Depop just came out when I quit. Dude, I had Y2K. I was selling Y2K. Whatever would sell. Whatever would sell. Whatever would sell. I was selling like Y2K juicy bags that are now like $350. I was selling for like $30. Harley t-shirts were selling for like $10. Okay, we're not going to talk about it. But and so yeah, I was just hustling. I was like, I just made this crazy decision and I have to make it work. And it was painful. It was painful. But then I was like, I have to make it work. Speaker 2 (12:27) Okay. But you, I feel like there has to be this transformation that happens because now when I look at your vintage business, like you have such a specific true vintage point of view, like you're selling much older stuff. So how did you