Matt King, Why So Thrifty, returns and updates us on his selling, sourcing, social media, seller events, Poshmark growth, and more. Matt still has acting and comedic aspirations, but that’s all on hold so he can focus on selling, content, and growing his selling business.
The Seller Community Podcast from List Perfectly is the e-commerce resource for the seller community across all platforms and a hub for information on growing your business. Find out more at thesellercommunitypodcast.com, leave a message or ask a question at anchor.fm/sellercommunitypodcast, or email us at podcast@listperfectly.com.
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Transcript
Danna: Welcome to the Seller Community Podcast, Matt King.
Matt: Hey everyone. Thanks for having me.
Danna: I know the team at List Perfectly was very excited. We were interviewing you today, so you’re such a celebrity in our reseller community.
Matt: That is so flattering. I can’t think of myself like that, thank you.
Doug: It is true. Very well known. But, Matt, let’s start and welcome. Great to have you back. Nice to see you again. But let’s start out with, tell us your brand name and how you came up with that name.
Matt: Uh, my brand name is Why So Thrifty on Instagram. I’m Why So Thrifty Store because, uh, my other one got hacked.
So my brand name is Why So Thrifty on Instagram. It is Why So Thrifty Store and Why So Thrifty on all of my other socials. How I came up with that name? Um, I think honestly, it was one of the days where I was just trying to think of a brand name when I was starting my business and I was watching Batman and the Joker said, why so serious?
And I was like, why so thrifty? That’s literally the weirdest, most simple story about how I came up with it. But my tagline, I wanted to make a little tagline for all of my labels every time I made a sale. So it would be, why so thrifty? Because you wanna look good. So that was how I came up with it.
Danna: So what do you think about consignment selling?
Matt: Consignment selling is actually something that I’ve really been taking advantage of and adding to my business model recently.
I think it’s really good once you get the hang of it when you get your systems and processes down. Um, the only struggle and like, uh, task that’s harder is to find clients that you can work with, that works well with you. And I think that consignment selling is really only worth it for the seller if you’re finding higher-end brands and items than you would by yourself.
Cause if you’re not, then you might as well just be selling your own items. You know what I mean? Yes. Um, but I think it’s definitely a valuable tool, especially for people who don’t have the capital to pay up right away for their items and their inventory. I think that’s what mainly people get into it for.
But I think it’s also really good, like I do, to do my own thing, thrift my own items, but then also add consignment into it to add another source of income.
Doug: Love it. So a little bird reminded us that you are a twin or amongst twins. So do you have any twinning adventures you can share with us?
Matt: So I’ll start that off with a crazy fact.
I have a twin sister. We also actually have a tattoo together. It says one-half. Okay. So I love that. Um, but the crazier thing about me being a twin is that I have a younger brother and sister who are twins born on our birthday eight years apart. Wow. So my mom went into labor during my birthday dinner with twins and both, in both cases.
The girls are a minute older, born by the same doctors, same nurses, and same hospital. It was crazy. We were on the Today Show with Katie Couric. So it was like a crazy journey. Wow. Wow. But to answer the question, yes, we have like twin things we do together. I actually just had a collaboration with, uh, a thrift store that I went to, and I did a whole collaboration in and like filmed me in the store and my sister did it with me.
So it was like thrifting twins together. Uh, so we always like to have fun together and do things like that. Um, we can also read each other’s minds. It’s true.
Doug: Nice. Love it cause that was any twin language, a special twin language. But you can read each other’s minds. So there you go.
Matt: Yeah, I think it’s like I can look at her and know exactly what she’s thinking.
Danna: I know. I have twin girls and they, oh, no. Even though they were at college, and they were not near each other, they both went to the eye doctor and bought the same pair of glasses. I thought that was so funny.
Matt: No, it’s true. The stereotype is true about twins for sure.
Doug: Wow. Does she sell?
Matt: Actually no, my twin sister doesn’t sell or resell or anything, but she actually models a lot of my listings for me, um, which is amazingly helpful. And we thrift together.
So I actually got into selling when I was probably, I think I joined eBay maybe in 2008.
I’m not gonna do the math right now, but it’s a lot of years for me. I’m only 27 years old, so that’s a big chunk of my life. I’ve been selling stuff. Uh, my dad growing up was an eBay seller and he did it and supported our whole family on it, bought my mom, her car, like all this cool stuff. And that inspired me so much just from selling things around the house and stuff.
So when I was probably, how old was I in 2008? I, I dunno, but I was younger. I sold my brother’s toy that I stole out of his room, and he didn’t know I took it. 40 plus dollars and ever since then I’ve been hooked on it. I started selling a bunch of random things, but I definitely have always had an interest in fashion and clothing, and accessories.
And I get that from my mom for sure. Cuz she was a fashion designer, um, her career prior to being a full-time mom. Um, so I kind of took both from my mom and dad and made it my business. So I saw used clothing, shoes, and accessories, and I’m obsessed with them.
Danna: So I have enjoyed viewing your YouTube channel. I also noticed the headline reads, full-time reseller, actor, and comedian. So please tell us more about your acting and are you doing any standup comedy?
Matt: Yeah, so I actually, before I was reselling, I was a full-time actor. I moved out to LA as a child actor with my family.
Cause my whole family was in the entertainment industry. Most still is. But yeah, so I’m an actor, a standup comedian. I’ve been doing standup comedy for maybe like almost 14 years now. And I started as a program and now like I’ve had, I’ve headlined all the comedy clubs in LA like the improv, uh, the Icehouse in Pasadena, all the cool ones, and then some in Vegas, like Harrah’s Casino.
Um, so that was a really cool experience for me as a young kid doing standup comedy. I will say, since the C word, the pandemic, I don’t know, I’m not gonna say it on YouTube cause there’s a rule. Um, but. I kind of stopped, uh, doing so much acting and comedy and stuff cause, you know, the whole world stopped.
Um, so I threw myself full-time into reselling and I found my own in that. And I’m really enjoying just doing that right now. At some point, I wanna get back into comedy and acting, but making YouTube videos about reselling is basically my comedy and acting kick right now, so that works.
Doug: So we met at a networking event, um, a couple of years back at, uh, BOSS Reseller. So, what’s your opinion of attending events and why do you, and why do you attend events?
Matt: Honestly, I was hesitant at first going to an event because I wasn’t sure what to expect or anything.
Or if I was actually gonna meet people or meet friends, or connect with people, you know, the whole thing when you get in your head, going into a situation alone. Yeah. Cause that was my first event going to, as a young adult alone, like throwing myself into a group of strangers. I knew some from like Instagram and social media, but, um, I will truly say that that is the best time I’ve had at any event I’ve ever been to the BOSS Reseller Remix. I think that was two years ago, right? In Vegas. Yeah. And meeting everybody that I met online. I met you. I met Teresa Cox, all these people that I was talking to over social media and finally meeting in person. It truly felt like I was actual friends with them in person and like real-life friends.
Which was so interesting and cool to me, and we bonded over something that we both had in common. I was able to talk about something I love, which is reselling for hours at a time, and the person I was talking to didn’t get bored. Um, so, and I think that there’s a whole thing where you can open up so many opportunities and meet people.
Um, at these events. Sadly, I couldn’t go to the last one because I got my ticket and then I had a scheduling issue, so I had to cancel. But this next one I’m planning on going to, and any events like this in the future, I definitely recommend that people go to. And just, even if you’re nervous and you’re not a social person or an extrovert, throw yourself into it.
Throw yourself out there. Just be with an open mind and you truly will meet the best friends of your life. And relate to so many people that do the same thing as you. Cause sorry, this is a long answer, but, um, I just have so much interest in it. But, um, especially being a reseller, working from home on your own, it’s hard to like to get lonely or not actually have coworkers and when you go to these events. So I definitely recommend it.
Danna: I also noticed that you have over 75,000 followers on Poshmark. How did that happen? Please share any advice on growing on the platform.
Matt: Yeah, so I think I got my knowledge of like building a social media platform regardless of what it was, whether it was e-commerce or um, my regular Instagram.
Like when I moved, like I said, I moved out here for acting and did all that thing. And I think I grew while I was doing music, cause I was doing music too, and singing the whole triple threat thing. Uh, but I think at my highest, which I have right now on my personal Instagram, which isn’t my reselling one, I think I have 13,000 followers on there.
Um, so the knowledge I feel that I gained by just doing my personal brand was able to help me. Like, uh, jumpstart my reselling stuff. So I was able to grow at a faster rate because I learned so much on social media before doing that. Um, but the question answering to Poshmark, yes, I think there’s a lot of things that Poshmark doesn’t tell other users that help, um, that you do in the community and stuff.
I definitely think that it’s a social reselling platform, and I’m sure everyone has heard that. I think of eBay, Poshmark, and all the platforms. Me, this is more like an Instagram of a thing where you also sell stuff. Uh, so just really the tip that I would have for growing a following there is, first of all, listing every day.
People hate hearing that, but it’s true. Yeah. Um. And while you’re listening every day, just spend some time on the app. Cuz I’ve noticed the more time you spend on the app, whether your phone is literally just open to the app, scrolling things, the more that the algorithm, which also, I hate that word, controversial, um, but it’s true.
Uh, the more that the algorithm jumpstarts you to the front and showcases your closet. And there’s a feature I noticed years ago where I would go when I was following a bunch of random people to grow my stuff when it first started. There’s features on Poshmark like you can see who went to the same college as you on Poshmark and follow all of them that have that in common.
You can see who’s in the same city. You can see all new users. So there’s a tab where Poshmark has that says, new users. So when somebody signs up, whether they’re a reseller or a buyer, it’ll say, let, for example, it gives you 20 accounts that they follow to follow that are upfront, like these are accounts that are recommended.
So I truly think that the more you are active on the app, the goal is for me to get into that recommended category, so all the new users see my profile. So I think that when you’re active on that, you get perks like that. So, wow. I talk so much. I don’t even know if that was a good answer, but…
Danna: It was a very good answer. Very good answer. I mean, I think that, um, our community definitely has a lot of interest in Poshmark and that is valuable information, so I appreciate it.
Matt: Of course. And like I said, if anybody watching this has more questions, my DMs on Instagram are always open. I love sharing my knowledge. That’s why I started my YouTube channel.
Um, yeah, so if anybody ever has questions, come to my listing.
Doug: Yeah, there you go. Nice, nice. So that, thanks. Yeah, thanks for that, uh, Poshmark Insight. Can you share some insight into your listing processes with us? Any tips there?
Matt: Yeah, so I feel like I’ve had like all other resellers, like a million different processes trying to find the one that works for you because truly I believe that not like I will tell my followers too like I do it like this, but it might not work for you.
You always have to like, sure, give that information to them too. But when you do find a reseller that is teaching on YouTube like I have found a couple that is the same process as me. When you do find that person that is open to teaching and sharing their knowledge and their process works for you, it’s like gold.
My processes. I actually have a YouTube video about a few YouTube videos, um, about my processes and stuff. They’re a little outdated because they’re a few years old, but if everybody that is watching subscribes to my YouTube channel, I will be doing in the next few months, a whole series like three series, three video series about my process.
But, um, I will truly say List Perfectly has turned into the biggest part of my process. I use List Perfectly every day as soon as I get back from the thrift store before I even take pictures. Well, regardless of where I get the inventory, if it is a thrift store or not, the first thing I do.
Literally, make a blank listing list perfectly with no picture and just put the title, the item, the size, and how much I got the item for. In the notes on the bottom, love that section. There’s a note section on List Perfectly if you don’t know. Yeah, that’s only visible to you and not the buyer. Um, I put where I got it when I got it, so I know how many days it was listed on my platform, and I don’t have a spreadsheet anymore.
It’s in place of my spreadsheet. My life is so much easier not entering everything into an Excel spreadsheet cause I can literally go into List Perfectly analytics and bookkeeping software, which it basically is. Um, and just see my whole business and how I run it, which is amazing. Like I don’t even know for how many years I had a spreadsheet and hated my life.
And cuz I’m not a bookkeeping person, List Perfectly, truly is not only a cross-listing service, it literally is keeping track of your entire business.
Doug: Awesome.
Danna: I love it. And, I must say, Matt, when I was looking at your listings, your photos are amazing across all the platforms.
So what kind of photo tips can you share?
Matt: Thank you so much. Um, that’s such a nice compliment because as you know, as people know as resellers, it’s like that’s one of the hardest things and the most daunting task, taking photos. Um, and the main task that was hard for me at first was getting items true to color.
Because unless you have like a $5,000 studio setup, you’re never gonna get an item true to color, regardless of what you do, and no matter how good it looks. So I have a whole process that again, is on my YouTube channel I have in video so people can go watch that. I’m gonna make more, as I said, my new update.
But what I’ll do is, um, I try to cut out as many steps as I can, but what I’ll do is I’ll take the photos. I use an app called VSCO, which is similar to Lightroom, but it’s free. Um, so I upload all of my photos. Let’s say I take 200 photos. I’ll put them all in there. Of all the items, I’ll go through and edit the first photo, the color of the first photo.
Let’s say there are 10 other photos. I click copy, and then there’s a feature where you can click all 10 photos and click paste, and you edit it. All of them. So they’re all edited in like two seconds. And then from there, I’ll upload to List Perfectly from my, from my phone, not my computer. Cause doing it from your phone is the fastest.
And then I do the rest on the computer. Um, and then ever since List Perfectly integrated with PhotoRoom, I was able to cancel my photo room subscription and just use it through List Perfectly, which is amazing too. Um, so I take the backgrounds out and then that’s how I kind of do my photos and I take everything in square mode also.
That’s very important for the ratio of all the websites you post on.
Doug: Sure. Oh, the great photo tips, and thanks for, yeah, thanks for all the tips across the board. You’ve given us a lot of valuable information and thanks for taking the time again to share your knowledge with us. Uh, anything to add?
Matt: Thank you for having me. I had so much fun. I love honestly talking about reselling and sometimes I can seem like a broken record, but I could talk for hours about it. So anytime you guys wanna chat, let me know.
Danna: Sure. So I’m just so happy to meet you and I look forward to following you across all your channels, which I will continue to do.
And the brand you’ve created is so impressive. I’m sure your family is very proud of you.
Matt: Thank you so much. Yes, no, definitely. I feel like at first, um, when you start reselling, your loved ones are like, can this be an actual career? Like that whole thing. My mom, siblings. Making the income I was making, maybe double.
I had a restaurant job before. So I am only looking forward to growing up from here and sharing my tips on my YouTube channel and all my socials. So, anybody that’s watching the last thing, I’ll say follow me. I’ll follow you guys back. It’s Why So Thrifty Store on Instagram and just Google that and all profiles.
Doug: All right, well keep up the good work, Matt King, Why So Thrifty? And we’re gonna look, we’re looking forward to your first listing party and hopefully a series. And then, uh, we’ll keep an eye on you and we will check back in the future and have you back on the show.
Matt: For sure. Thank you so much. Had a blast.
Doug: All right, thanks.