‘Never taken a day off in 20 years’: This man earns $6.5 million a year by selling used high-end clothes

It was 2008, and the first item he sold—a $35 cellphone from Craigslist that he resold for $75 on eBay—felt like uncovering a “glitch in the Matrix”, Senko told CNBC. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he worked as a CVS photography lab supervisor for five years to support himself financially.

He also earned a computer repair certificate and landed a better-paying job at Circuit City, only for the consumer electronics company to file for bankruptcy two weeks after he joined in late 2008.
Realising he could earn real money by selling used goods, Senko dived deep into the reselling world. He spent nearly 20 hours a day learning the business, such as studying brands, understanding market trends, forging relationships, and listing items daily. “Just going to the flea market, going to the thrift store, making relationships, studying my craft, learning, listing (items) every single day,” he said.

Today, Senko runs Technsports, a wholesale clothing company that sells up to 5,000 used garments a day to other professional resellers. In 2024, the business brought in more than $6.5 million in revenue, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Technsports’s profit margin is 50 per cent per item sold, according to Senko.

“I have not taken a day off in almost 20 years,” he claimed. “It is not lost on me how fortunate I am. But it also took a tremendous amount of work, a tremendous amount of commitment, and a tremendous amount of sacrifice to get from where I came from to now selling millions of dollars per year and living a very, very fortunate life.”

“It was a lightbulb moment,” Senko said. “I would double the money. I would get a phone for free, and then I would get my original $35 back.”

From phones to clothes

Initially, Senko focused on electronics, phones, video games, and anything cheap that sold fast. His profits grew rapidly, and by 2010, he was earning more than $100,000 a year. But he soon discovered that pre-owned clothing was an even better bet.

“Not everybody knows a particular Polo Ralph Lauren shirt could be worth more (than a gaming console),” he says. “Oftentimes, those (clothes) are discarded in a pile on the floor at the flea market.”

Senko began leaving home before dawn to run to South Florida thrift stores, consignment shops, flea markets, and garage sales. Over time, he built relationships with sellers to gain early access to inventory and eventually scaled his operation, listing about 250 items per day with the help of up to five contract employees, the report added.

By 2017, his eBay sales reached $500,000 annually; by 2023, they had soared to $2.5 million, the CNBC report said.

Instead of selling each piece individually, he started buying clothes in bulk and reselling them wholesale to other resellers. Some clients now purchase up to 1,000 items a week. “They process it, they fulfill it, and they sell it one at a time on eBay,” he explained. “The most valuable asset for my business became the inventory. I’m more profitable selling more items at a smaller margin.”