Resale harnesses internet to boost sales, open brick and mortar in TD
Kaahreena Ochoco at her store Per Diem Thrifts in the basement of Studio Fit, 402 E. 2nd St., The Dalles.
By Tom Peterson
Ever since she was a child, Kaahreena Ochoco has been going to thrift stores.
She remembers shopping after church in San Diego at a thrift that benefited a hospital.
It’s where she got her first bike.
The thrill of finding the deal has not faded for Kaarheena who has sold more than $100,000 of merchandise and consignment through her online presence.
And this Friday is special.
Not only is it First Friday downtown where merchants provide special offers while staying open until 8 p.m. Kaarheena will also celebrate her four-month anniversary at her shop Per Diem Thrift, downstairs of Studio Fit at 402 E. 2nd Street.
Similar to the other 30 businesses participating in First Friday, Kaarheena said she will be open to benefit local schools. She said she will be giving a portion of her profits from the night to Courtney Middleton, her daughter Ryann’s Kindergarten teacher, to help pay for school supplies.
Kaarheena said her passion for resale was prompted while a teenager.
She was a junior in high school and needed money to hang out with friends.
“My parents would not let me get a real job,” she said. “They wanted me focused on school.”
So, Kaarheena went to her closet and decided to sell the things she no longer wore.
When the closet ran dry, she said she skated over to thrift stores to meet with friends and shop for items that could be resold for a profit.
The shopping also served a dual purpose - providing Kaahreena and her friends an opportunity to find their own styles, trade clothes, and a chance to earn some fun money.
“After High school, my friends got over it,” she said. “But, I didn’t.”
At one point she held three part-time jobs and still she kept searching out clothing for resale.
“I did not stop, no matter how full my plate got,” she said.
When she became pregnant in 2016 with her now five-year-old Ryann, she took several months off from work and focused on the resale business.
She found out that she could earn more cash at resale as the business, utilizing online sales, grew rapidly. It was a plausible career choice.
Kaarheena contracted with Poshmark, an online sales and marketing system that takes care of shipping and customer service while presenting items to shoppers 24/7 nationally and internationally.
“Kaahreenais passionate about using her platform (nearly 40k IG followers!) to educate others on how to make extra money reselling,” said Bri Boone with Poshmark. Kaarheena is also willing to share tips on how to use the platform and will be a speaker at PoshFest on Sept. 29-30 in Houston. It is Poshmark’s annual two-day event that brings together people from across the world, to connect, learn + access tools to grow their resale businesses.
In 2019, Kaarheena and fiancee Charlie “King” Gonzalez moved to The Dalles to take on Cafe Le Belle De Vie, and be closer to his grandparents Frank and Pati Vittoria.
Kaarheena said she ran Per Diem from her home for two years. At the same time, she began instructing at Studio Fit, where she teaches Yoga Trapeze classes.
After she convened several Holiday pop-up stores last year, Hannah Mapes with Studio offered Kaarheena several hundred square feet of space. It seemed a good fit.
And she opened the brick-and-mortar, offering consignments.
Ochoco said The Dalles has made her dream possible through the support of family and newfound friends and customers.
“I could not have opened this in San Diego,” she said, noting the start-up costs of a brick and mortar in the city are prohibitive.
“I’ve met a lot of amazing people here; they're so friendly; some are life-long friends.”
