Mom Quits Toxic Job to be Reseller on Poshmark. She works 12-hour days

• Candice Murray worked three jobs to support her children.
• Now, she is a Poshmark rep.
• Although she says she loves the job, she works 12 hours a day and finds it difficult to make a living. 

Candice Murray claims that her 2016 decision to leave a toxic and emotionally and mentally abusive work environment has made a significant impact on her life.

New Yorker and 48-year-old New Yorker works full-time selling bags, shoes, clothes, and shoes through Poshmark’s reseller platform.

It hasn’t been all roses.

She says she loves what she does, and that her decision to quit her previous employer has “forever changed her life.” The Poshmark lifestyle isn’t easy. According to documents seen by Insider, she earned $23,000 last year and is expected to earn the same amount in 2022.

She claims that shopping, packaging, shipping, sanitizing and photographing can make it seem like a 24-7 job. She is the sole employee and works 12 hours a day, shipping all her items except Sunday.

Murray claims that the additional income has been a huge benefit to her family.

“This money is not for me to play. It’s helped me to put my two kids through college,” she explains. My husband is greatly helped by this. It’s nice that I can take a vacation once in a while, but it really helps pay my bills.

Murray is just one of many millions of Americans who have found other ways to make money outside of their traditional jobs. The MIT Sloan School of Management found that approximately one in 10 Americans thinks their workplace culture is toxic. It is possible to find different ways for workers who feel like this to escape from that culture. In 2021, US workers filed more than 5 million business applications, the highest number since 2005.

A 2021 Upwork study estimated that 59 million Americans — or 36% of the US workforce — had performed freelance work over the prior 12 months. Others are switching to apprenticeship or trade schools instead of going to college.

Others, like Murray have taken advantage of Poshmark’s online reseller program to launch their own businesses. 

She is a sucker for the thrill of the hunt to locate inventory

Murray states that she quit her previous job on four occasions, but returned to it because she needed the money. To support her children, Murray became a single mother in 2006 and started working two additional jobs as a bank teller, and “sprayer” at Macy’s perfume companies.

In 2016, however, she had remarried and was now only working the one resale gig. After creating her Poshmark profile in 2014, she sold very few items. Then, one day, she decided that this was what she could do. “I believe that I can accomplish this by myself.”

She made the decision to quit her job to pursue Poshmark fully-time. This was a decision she described as “scary” since having two incomes was so important to her family.

“I told him, ‘We’re going be in a terrible financial position for a few years.’ He replied, ‘Go for that.’ She said, “You have to get out of this environment.”

She says that once she made the decision to commit, there was no turning back.

Because she spends very little inventory, she estimates that her profit margin of 60%. Poshmark’s 20% commissions on purchases over $15 take a significant chunk. This profit ranged between $9,000 and $28,000 from 2017 to 2021. 

Murray was an experienced resale seller, but she said it took her time and effort to determine which items were most popular, what the cheapest places to purchase them, as well as how to create a customer base.  She says she gets her inventory from “everywhere” — including friends’ closets, thrift stores, and online — and has become an “expert” at finding things at great prices.

“The thrill of hunting, the finding, is so thrilling. It’s amazing,” she said. 

After discovering a Chanel “Coco Libre” sequin top in a Salvation Army bin, she said that she almost had a heart attack. Murray was a regular customer and the employee at The Salvation Army told Murray that she could “keep” it. She claims that she sold the shirt for close $3,000.

Poshmark: 3 Tips for Beginners

Murray offers some tips for potential resellers. 

“Quality over Quantity” is the first.

She claims that Poshmark stores sell 200 items per day. However, she estimates she sells 150 items per week to ensure clients aren’t overwhelmed by too many options.

Murray adds that there’s no “buyer for all” but she is selective about the items she places in her store. She believes consistency is key and wants her customers to be aware of what to expect.

You have to make that choice. Are you looking to build a brand, or are you content to sell garage-sale items? She says. Both are fine. But, it could also affect the final amount of money you make.

She says her items are “always below retail price” but she typically trusts her gut on what to sell them for — rather than doing a ton of online price comparisons — because “some things sell for less than they should.”

Murray states that although one doesn’t necessarily need to quit work to make Poshmark a success, it is important to “go fulltime mentally.”

She says that she is responsible for all aspects of Poshmark, including answering questions from clients at any hour of the day. This is a great way to grow her customer base.

She said, “You are never going to make money unless it’s 100% of your efforts.” 

Murray said that it was an “incredible” journey and she doesn’t plan to stop there. 

She says, “Doing what you love is the best thing that could have happened to you.” “I’ll do it forever.”