Ali Dieguez graduated from San Diego State University in May 2022 with a degree in kinesiology. During her time in college, she launched her successful resale business on several apps.
She has been featured in Business Insider and Nextadvisor by TIME magazine.
Dieguez initially downloaded Poshmark in high school to occasionally buy clothes, but didn’t sell anything until her second year at SDSU when she got her own car, which allowed her to go thrift shopping more often.
One day, she found a size 6 pair of Lululemon leggings. They were not her size, but at that moment she realized that she could resell them. She was familiar with the app as a buyer, so the selling process was easy for her.
Dieguez took classes at SDSU and Grossmont College while she worked three part-time jobs and trained in Muy Thai, so she was already busy.
“Going back to when I was working, that was just like a lot schedule-wise,” Dieguez said. “So with this, I was able to create my own schedule. The turning point was also that I saw I was making more money doing this than when I was working those three jobs.”
In fall 2019, she studied abroad in Bangkok. Dieguez didn’t have a job when she returned, so in January 2020, she tried reselling again. Then, in March 2020 the coronavirus pandemic happened.
“Looking back, that was the perfect timing for me to find reselling because if I would’ve gotten a conventional job, I probably would’ve been let go because of COVID,” Dieguez said.
SDSU exercise and nutritional sciences lecturer Marcia Jones had the pleasure of having Dieguez as a student. She noted that the most memorable students show initiative to get to know professors and have a strong work ethic, which Dieguez demonstrated during her time in Jones’ class.
“She has a business, she pushes herself physically and that matters that she’s well-rounded,” Jones said.
Dieguez found her niche in selling activewear since fitness is a huge part of her life. As a Muay Thai athlete, she knew all of the best brands beyond the most popular ones.
She spent the weekends thrifting and photographing the items. In between classes and training, she would find time throughout the week to post the listings.
After six months of selling activewear, she saw the potential in reselling and started an account for non-activewear.
Since then, she’s expanded to other resale apps, such as eBay, Mercari, and Depop.
After graduating, Dieguez started a massage therapy program at Pacific College. She now works as a personal trainer, but her main source of income is from reselling clothes.
“I think I’ll definitely keep reselling for as long as it’s profitable and realistic,” Dieguez said. “Sustainability is almost trendy now.”
