Camilla and Khang met while they were on a local committee and bonded over their love for dancing, cooking, and the FIRE movement. They got married in 2021 and as their relationship evolved, so did their eBay business.
Check out their store, https://www.ebay.com/str/TheFIResellers.
7 Questions with Camilla and Khang of TheFIResellers
- How did you start selling on eBay?
Khang: We’re pursuing the goal of financial independence and early retirement, aka the FIRE movement. It’s about living a life that you value and enjoy, without worrying too much about money. We started reselling on eBay to help us achieve that, and most of the income from our business goes to funding our retirement.
Camilla: We began our eBay business about three years ago. I was at a thrift store shopping for myself, and came across high-value items that weren’t my size. So I purchased them to sell on eBay. While we mostly resell women's clothes and shoes, we also list men's clothing, quilts, antiques, and anything we feel would be a good fit for our store.
- What does a typical day look like for you?
Camilla: When we originally started, we both worked full-time. Now that we have a baby, I’ve left my job and sell on eBay as my main source of income. Most days, I wake up around 6:00 am and take care of my daughter. When she’s down for her first nap, I either take product images or go to the thrift store while Khang's mom watches her. When she goes down for her second nap, I put up listings on eBay.
Khang: On my way home from work, I’m often dropping off packages from the previous day. Once we put our daughter to bed, we pack orders together.
Camilla: It's nice to be able to stay home with my daughter and also achieve these financial goals that we have for our future.
- What’s your process for sourcing or producing merchandise?
Camilla: Most of our items come from thrift outlet centers. They have these big bulk bins and that’s the last stop before the items go to the landfill. We physically dig through the bins to pull out what’s valuable.
Khang: We really like going to these outlets because searching through the bins is fun and the low prices make it even better. We can determine how to price items to maximize those margins. That way we’re not only saving these items from landfills but also keeping our costs low.
- What does community mean to you and your business?
Camilla: Selling can sometimes be a lonely business, but having friends who are in the same boat has been amazing. We've met other eBay sellers through social media who’ve now become good friends. One of them gave us a trunk full of diapers when we had our baby and that made us feel so loved! We make sure our business also gives back to our local community. We use eBay for Charity so 10% of all our sales go to a charity called St. Vincent DePaul of Houston.
Khang: We also started our YouTube channel in January 2021 as a passion project. There’s a gap between the financial independence community and the reselling community. We hope to bridge that by sharing our knowledge and experience. We’re trying to encourage people to think differently about their eBay business—while making sure that they're also planning for their future. It's been fun recording videos and sharing our journey.
- What’s your secret selling superpower?
Camilla: It isn’t really a secret or a superpower, but it's showing up consistently—even when it's difficult or I might not feel like it. This has really helped us grow in the last few years to where we are right now.
- What’s your favorite quote—motivational or otherwise? Why?
Khang: One thing we always say to each other: “It's not the first time you've made a mistake, and it's not going to be the last.” Sometimes mistakes hurt financially but together, we learn from them and try not to beat ourselves up about them.
- Where do you see your business in 1 year? 5 years? 10 years?
Khang: I see us getting better at selling the items we source for higher profits. In five years, I hope I can quit my job and sell on eBay full-time with Camilla. And in 10 years, we want to retire to focus on our family. But we’ll continue reselling, creating YouTube videos, and providing value to all the people that affect our lives through eBay.
Check back for more seller stories and tips throughout the year on our Announcements board, the eBay for Business Podcast, and our eBay for Business Facebook and YouTube.
This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.
