DiscoverPre-Loved Podcast with Emily StochlS9 Ep36 COSTURA: Stef Garcia, Y2K vintage dealer - on Whatnot livestreams, building community connections, and wholesale buyouts of Y2K deadstock designer vintage.
S9 Ep36 COSTURA: Stef Garcia, Y2K vintage dealer - on Whatnot livestreams, building community connections, and wholesale buyouts of Y2K deadstock designer vintage.

S9 Ep36 COSTURA: Stef Garcia, Y2K vintage dealer - on Whatnot livestreams, building community connections, and wholesale buyouts of Y2K deadstock designer vintage.

Update: 2025-11-17
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On today's show, we're chatting with Stef, the founder of Costura, a Y2K vintage fashion business that does serious volume on Whatnot. Stef started reselling full-time after losing her job during the pandemic, and for the last three and a half years, she's been hosting live auctions on the livestream platform, Whatnot – sometimes she even goes live daily. 

In this episode, she shares how she's built a loyal community of cool people who love early 2000s fashion, plus her best tips for livestream sales.

Earlier this year, Stef teamed up with a few business partners to make her biggest buyout yet, and then spent three and half months in Los Angeles, continuously going live until she sold the lots – it's a wild story and she's always on the move between Miami and LA hunting down one-of-a-kind Y2K treasures. I'll let her share the scoop on how she does it.

This is a really fun one – let's dive right in!

DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:

  • [4:57 ] How Stef started selling vintage after getting laid off from her job in television production.
  • [6:27 ] Her first time visiting a rag house.
  • [11:32 ] Things really clicked when Stef got on Whatnot
  • [15:09 ] Building an audience of Whatnot regulars: resellers, collectors, and everyday shoppers
  • [17:15 ] Stef's biggest buyout yet: 1,000 pieces of Y2K deadstock
  • [21:41 ] How to have a successful vintage live show
  • [33:34 ] Living and selling vintage between Miami and Los Angeles
  • [37:13 ] How Stef approaches social media, showing up on TikTok and Instagram
  • [41:19 ] The vintage in her personal collection that she will never sell
  • [46:05 ] Her holy grail find is a Jean Paul Gaultier piece from the bins

EPISODE MENTIONS: 

LET'S CONNECT: 

SPECIAL THANKS: 

A special thanks goes out to my Patron Insiders – your support makes Pre-Loved Podcast possible!

  • Patty Weber
  • Kathy Brand
  • Lisa of Queenie & Pearl
  • KT 
  • Lydia Welp
  • Michael A.
  • Megan Morris
  • Jennifer
  • Alana Rivero
  • Jerrica Yasumura

 

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S9 Ep36 COSTURA: Stef Garcia, Y2K vintage dealer - on Whatnot livestreams, building community connections, and wholesale buyouts of Y2K deadstock designer vintage.

S9 Ep36 COSTURA: Stef Garcia, Y2K vintage dealer - on Whatnot livestreams, building community connections, and wholesale buyouts of Y2K deadstock designer vintage.

Emily Stochl