A $5 church-yard sale lamp turned a young mom’s weekend thrifting trip into a full-time business.
Jocelyn Elizabeth, creator of YouTube channel “Crazy Lamp Lady” and founder of resale marketplace NikNax, told CNBC she began flipping thrifted finds in 2011 after her father spotted the lamp’s resale potential.
NikNax has brought in more than $5.2 million in 2025 revenue as of Oct. 31, according to documents reviewed by CNBC.
Elizabeth moved from selling on eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) and building an audience on YouTube to NikNax, where more than 5,000 sellers now list resale items.
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A $5 Find Sparked A Bigger Bet
Elizabeth did not plan to build a business. The shift began in 2011 when her father brought home a $5 lamp from a church-yard sale and found a cleaned-up version listed for $70 on eBay, she told CNBC.
The next weekend, she went thrifting with her baby son in a stroller while earning about $14 an hour at a part-time marketing job.
She traveled across the U.S., visiting antique shops and shows to learn which items carried resale value, then launched a YouTube channel in 2016 after feeling unfulfilled in her job.
“I remember having to pull over my car and just be like, ‘What in the world is happening?'” she told CNBC, recalling the first time she earned $600 in ad revenue in a single day.
Her online income kept increasing, and by late 2018, it was consistently higher than her part-time pay. She left her marketing job that December.
“It was definitely risky, and it was scary,” she said.
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Turning Content Into A Scalable Business
About six months later, her home was full of antiques and she had five employees handling listings, packing, and shipping, she told CNBC.
When the COVID-19 pandemic reduced advertising revenue, she sold more through eBay and added three employees but grew dissatisfied with rising seller fees.
She launched NikNax on marketplace platform District after a company representative discovered her YouTube channel. The platform went live in October 2023.
NikNax now hosts more than 5,000 sellers. Elizabeth earns a 5% commission on each sale made on the platform, and her thrift store accounts for about 5% of total sales.
“These days, I spend anywhere from 50 to 100 hours a week working,” she said.
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Scaling Up Means New Pressure And Bigger Stakes
Running the platform introduced responsibilities beyond selling items. Elizabeth enforces rules, removes users who make rude comments and handles disputes over missing orders and refunds, CNBC reported.
Livestream selling has become a major sales driver, though she was not initially comfortable in front of a live camera.
“NikNax has become such a big part of my daily life that even when I’m not actively selling, I’m usually watching other shows, chatting, or listing items,” she said.
Elizabeth also rents two business spaces for storage and operations, costing about $2,000 to $3,000 per month, including utilities.
She has used …
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