An office manager makes an extra £500-a-month selling second-hand items she nabs at car boots and charity shops - with her best find a £3 Furby that went for £120.



Kirsty Quinn, 35, first started the thrifty habit when she was at university but began taking it more seriously eight years ago after discovering other people on YouTube were doing the same thing.

Now she attends three car boot sales a week and spends up to 40 hours a month on the side hustle - listing items on reselling site eBay.



Previous sales include a Vivienne Westwood cabin crew coat for £174.99 she had previously bought for £57.49 on Vinted and a Starbucks Disney's Hollywood Studios mug for £100 she bought got just £13.49.

Kirsty uses her extra cash to put towards treats like holidays and has made £25k in total so far.



Kirsty, from Bicester, Oxfordshire, said: "It started when I was at university really."



"I had a part-time job at M&S and wanted to earn a little extra money for my car insurance and things like that."



"I started going round the charity shops then just looking for things to sell on eBay."



"I earn about £500 per month."



"The money I earn from work is money for bills and my money from reselling is for guilt free treats like holidays."



"We try and do at least one big holiday a year and then a couple of longer weekends and stuff. "

"I spend a minimum of half-an-hour a day packaging up and things."



"It's between five to 10 hours a week depending on if its busier."



"In the summer it can be attending up to three car boots a week – one on a Saturday and two on a Sunday."



Kirsty posts new items for sale every day on eBay and makes huge profits on vintage toys.



She said: "I paid £1 for this particular Care Bear and it sold for £50."



"Another good one was a vintage Furby I found in a charity shop for £3."



"Somebody bought it in Thailand and it ended up going for £120." "

At a recent car boot sale, Kirsty bought a Tamagotchi for just 50p - and sold it for £236.



An entire collection of 62 Goosebumps children's books were sold for £303 - after she paid between just 10p and £1 per book.



Kirsty has "no set budget" to spend on her second-hand finds, but advises other people do their research if they want to get started."



"eBay makes it easy to research what sells," she said."



"I might be sat on the sofa wondering what an item sells for and if you look at the sold prices it tells you."



"Follow other resellers on socials - everyone puts tips on what they sell and gives you an idea of what you can sell." "

She says her most popular items include retro toys and discontinued beauty products like perfume and makeup.

Hitting the clearance section of health stores like Boots and Superdrug, Kirsty finds cosmetics like discontinued body sprays sell for huge margins – like a peach flavoured exclusive limited edition Vaseline that sold for £17.

She said: "I used it [the extra money] to help pay off my student loans and my house deposit – it helps massively towards that. "

"I wouldn't do it full-time, I know people that do and I find it too stressful. "

"For me as it is now it's more a hobby and I get enjoyment from it – I don't have to do it". "

Top tips -



- Do your research – search Ebay's sold prices to get an idea of how much items go for

- Look for finds at your local car boot sales

- Check the reduced section in healthcare stores like Superdrug and Boots for cut priced cosmetics

- Try and engage in reselling community