The Truth About Reselling

She hit 1.5 million in gross Poshmark sales (on average $450k annually) and she did it debt-free, without a color-coded bin system, and with the government holding her passport hostage. Ruth Ramsey (Ruthless Reselling) joins Sam and Amanda to pull back the curtain on what a real luxury reselling business actually looks like — and surprise, it doesn't involve tissue paper bows or a laminated inventory spreadsheet.

Ruth came up in corporate fashion buying at Neiman Marcus and JCPenney before leaving it all behind to build a full-time reselling business on Poshmark and Whatnot. Last year alone she cleared $400K in sales while maintaining 50-60% profit margins — and she's here to talk about how she actually does it.

In this episode:

• Ruth's pivot from Neiman's buying office to full-time reseller (and why she thinks Neiman's Saks merger was a disaster)
• How she sources luxury pieces for pennies on the dollar and flips Zimmermann for 3-4x her cost
• Why she refuses to do measurements, tissue paper, or complicated inventory systems — and why her business thrives anyway
• The real talk on The RealReal, ThredUp, and Whatnot as exit strategies for slow-movers
• Why she's stayed on one platform (mostly) and what almost changed that when Poshmark suspended her account
• The "don't get into debt" advice she wishes more new resellers heard
• How three very different sellers — pallets, vintage luxury, and brand-focused Poshmark — can all run wildly successful businesses their own weird way

Plus: a mystery buyer who mailed Ruth a printed dictionary definition of "liar," eBay's secret price-dropping toggle, and why Sam has 1,000+ unlisted pieces sitting in storage.

Whether you're just starting out or figuring out how to scale without losing your mind, this episode is the permission slip you didn't know you needed.

• Follow Ruth: @ruthlessbyruth
• Shop Ruth's Closet: @ruthierams

Sam and Amanda are here to share what they know — and the first thing they'll tell you is not to take their word as gospel. Afterall, reselling is a lot like parenting. Everyone has their own flavor that works for them and their family. In this episode, they dig into the ThredUp resale market report and have a candid conversation about one of reselling's biggest pitfalls: blindly following advice.

They break down which brands are actually selling (including some that "experts" tell you to skip), why checking comps matters, and why someone else's experience with a brand says more about their business than the market. They also tease some incredible upcoming guests — including a seller who's moved $1.5M on Poshmark and another who hit $300K on Whatnot in under a year. Take what resonates, leave what doesn't — and enjoy the ride.

https://www.thredup.com/cleanout/earnings

🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday.

In the very first episode of The Truth About Reselling, hosts Amanda Anderson (⁠@amanda.commonthreads⁠) and Sam Strom (⁠@samanthastorms⁠) get candid about how reselling actually works in real life — motherhood, burnout, ADHD brains, algorithms, money fears, and all.

This podcast series is for people looking for a flexible, lucrative career — one that can adapt to real life instead of demanding burnout, perfection, or hustle-culture nonsense.

In this episode, Amanda and Sam share how two very different paths led them into reselling — and why it stuck when traditional jobs didn’t. Amanda breaks down her journey from a failed COVID-era boutique to a six-figure reselling business across Whatnot, traditional platforms, and social media, all while raising four kids. Sam opens up about stepping away from corporate tech and VC-backed startups, navigating motherhood burnout, and finding a more sustainable way to earn.

They talk candidly about:

• Why reselling attracts ADHD and non-linear thinkers
• Posting daily vs. selling smarter (and what algorithms actually reward)
• Pallets, thrifting, bins, arbitrage, and high-end sourcing — without gatekeeping
• The emotional weight of financial dependence and career pivots
• What really happens when a reselling video goes viral
• Why there is no single “right” way to resell — and why that’s powerful

Whether you’re exploring a career pivot, building a side hustle, or scaling what you already have, this episode sets the tone for the series: honest, practical, and refreshingly human.

Get to know ⁠Amanda ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.commonthreads

⁠Shop Amanda's Closets⁠

Get to know ⁠Sam⁠

https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

⁠Shop Sam's Closets⁠

💸 Ever wonder what’s really going on behind those “$7,000 week” reseller TikToks?

Welcome to The Truth About Reselling, where two resellers—Amanda Anderson and Sam Strom —pull back the curtain on the messy, brilliant, occasionally chaotic world of secondhand hustle.

In this kickoff episode, they get real about:
🧺 The myth of the “easy money” side hustle
🛍️ Why resellers aren’t the villains the internet makes them out to be
📦 Pallet drama, bad inventory, and the reality of returns
📊 What success actually looks like when you’re juggling kids, chaos, and cost of goods
🤝 And why there’s no one right way to build a resale business

It’s equal parts business, therapy, and friendship—made for anyone who’s ever refreshed their Poshmark stats at 1 a.m.