We were lucky to catch up with Emily Barrett recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Emily thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

The biggest weakness in my business is social media. As much as I love “bagstyle photography” and creating bag authentication videos on YouTube, it’s hard to find time to do content creation consistently. So anytime a customer finds me on Instagram, I’m genuinely shocked.

One day, to my surprise, I received a message request from the actress and singer Bella Thorne. She asked if I wanted to send her bags to feature in her Instagram story. I was intrigued, flattered, and at first, thought it was a scam. Still, I played along. Bella replied with a monotone, possibly tipsy voice memo, informing me that I was about $15,000 short to make it onto her story. Fifteen. Thousand. Dollars. For a story that disappears in 24 hours. Bummer. It was cool to feel relevant for a day though.

But that wasn’t my only brush with fame. An NBA player once asked me to track down a designer bag that I’m 99% sure has never existed outside of his imagination. But I tried my hardest to find it for him!

Thankfully, not all influencer run-ins are anticlimactic. My best experience was with a European based travel blogger whose posts look like she lives in a mystical countryside castles. She purchased a rare purple Prada Cahier with gold moon and star studs—a bag so whimsical it could double as a prop in Harry Potter. She was a dream to work with: kind, polite, and she even unboxed it on her stories. When I saw my bag on her feed, I was starstruck. For once, my little business actually made it into the fairytale!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi, my name is Emily and I own My Closet Rocks—a name I regret every time I hand out a business card, but at least it’s unique enough to land on the first page of Google. I’ve been in the designer handbag resale industry for over 10 years. Before that, I worked in marketing and website design. I decided to abandon steady paychecks for the glamorous world of photographing bags on my living room floor. I think I got into the industry at the right time, just as the second hand market was gaining sizable traction.

The nicest handbag I owned at the time was a $100 Juicy Couture handbag so the learning curve was steep. I put as much of my own money into the business as I could to be able purchase inventory outright to sell. I started with contemporary brands such as Marc Jacobs and Kate Spade, but quickly transitioned into higher-end luxury brands such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Risky? Absolutely. Thrilling? Also yes.

My mission is to run my business as sustainably and ethically as possible. In a world of scammers and counterfeits, trust is everything. Many of my customers that purchase from me also sell their bags to me. It’s a circular economy powered almost entirely by handbag addiction which I also suffer from.

I rely on third-party authenticators and my own knowledge to ensure every item is authentic. My weirdest flex is that I can smell when a bag is fake – many of them have a distinct chemical odor. That’s my business in a nutshell: part bag dealer, part detective, full time enabler of luxury handbag addictions!

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

Building capital for my business was probably one of the most challenging parts of scaling. When you purchase handbags that range from $500-$15,000, it feels like high-stakes gambling. I relied on the money that I earned from each bag sale, credit cards, and equity from my own paychecks back when I had a steady job working for a website company. The process was slow, but knowing it was my own money if I lost it made it less stressful than it being someone else’s money.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I sell on eBay, Poshmark, Vestiaire Collective, TikTok and my own Shopify store. Although I get the most money when I sell on Shopify, there are still risks of chargebacks, returns, or shipping mishaps. Platforms like Poshmark and eBay take a large chunk of earnings, but they do paid advertising, cover shipping, payments, and authentications.

I also do a lot of B2B selling, it gives me an easy way to liquidate an item. Shipping labels are insured and payments come quickly. The landscape is constantly changing though and I have to adapt – I love finding new places to sell on, but I have to make sure it’s worth my time. TikTok is the most recent addition. I have been live selling which has been surprisingly fun! I’m shocked how much live selling has blown up in the last couple years and like it or not, I needed to jump on the opportunity even if that means awkwardly waving handbags and talking to strangers at 10 at night. I think I have 10 real fans. But they have money, and that’s what matters.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://myclosetrocks.com
• Instagram: @myclosetrocks
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/myclosetrockswebsite
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/myclosetrocks

Image Credits

Patrick Moore @ottoshotgun