Junior Ian Krockel posted a Juicy Couture shirt that read “Dump Him”on Depop, a popular re-selling app, in 2021.
The person who bought it was the co-founder of Juicy Couture — Gela Nash-Taylor.
Krockel is just one of many students at BU who balance gig economy jobs, or side hustles, with their studies in pursuit of passion, financial gain and career goals.
Krockel has run a Depop account called Long Live Couture since 2018. As a long-time fan of early 2000s culture, he specializes in selling rare celebrity-worn pieces and other items from the time period.
He sources his pieces from eBay, Mercari and Poshmark and estimates spending around 28 hours a week browsing second-hand sites. In the past six years, he has sold just under 500 items.
“I always value quality over quantity, and it’s been a very nice way for me to make a little side income,” he said.
Krockel, an advertising major, said he spends as much time running his Depop account as he does on his classwork.
“My heart skips a beat when I find something I really love, and I know that if I don’t love it someone else will,” he said. “My passion for Depop helped me find my passion for advertising.”
Like Krockel, other students have found ways to apply what they learn inside of the classroom to the world of online selling.
Just this summer, sophomore Celia Drury began her website, Loved by Celia, a brand that sells denim clothes with her original printmaking designs.
Drury said she aims to expand her business in order to have job security after graduating. She said she hopes to sell her clothes at future art markets for Fabrio Magazine, a student-run artist collective, and Found Boston, a vintage clothing market in Cambridge.
“Even just someone wearing my clothes and sitting down on a bench, it’s interacting with the world around it,” Drury said. “Everyone can see it … It’s leaving its mark on the world.”
Since returning to BU after summer break, Drury has been making less of a profit because she has been spending more time on her schoolwork.
“It’s been a little challenging trying to balance it with classes,” Drury said. “The hardest part for me is being on Instagram or promoting my work, reaching out to people … That’s very time-consuming.”
As of late, Drury has not been shipping her items; instead, she hand-delivers them to her clientele to avoid shipping costs.
Elsa Caron, a sophomore, began selling her clothes on Depop for extra money her sophomore year of high school. Over time, she built up a following.
Caron said she thinks of her Depop account as more of a hobby than anything else because of her passion for sustainability. As a business major, she said she finds that some of her classes have helped her better understand selling.
Like Drury, since the school year started, Caron has had difficulty managing her account due to dedicating more time to classes.
“You can’t just take a picture of something and it’ll immediately sell. You definitely have to have nice pictures,” Caron said. “You have to go buy the packing, print out the labels, and it feels like you put it off a lot.”
However, Caron said her course load is lighter this semester, so she hopes to have more time to sell.
“I would love to do it again because it’s a nice way to make extra money,” Caron said. “I think it’s fun. I just don’t take it super seriously … I don’t let it stress me out.”
Although he finds his dorm room lacks the space needed for his stock and he experiences fatigue from handling messages with buyers and sellers, Krockel said he believes that every moment spent towards his Depop account is worth it.
“I sell especially to people trying to live out their childhood dreams,” Krockel said. “Just like I am.”
