Manalapan High School Student Starts Thrifting Business
MANALAPAN, NJ — When Manalapan High School student Luke Shaw went to a thrift store with his family last year, he didn’t expect to fall in love with the thrifting experience.
Shaw, 16, initially visited the store in January 2023 for his dad’s birthday. As someone with a passion for vintage clothes, Shaw quickly fell in love with thrifting and said the experience inspired him to start a business of his own.
“We went out to the store and I don’t know, I just fell in love with it,” Shaw said. “I’m a broke teen, so I wanted to find a way to make money, and I loved the idea of thrifting and re-selling.”
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From there, YNG Thrifts was born.
While Shaw initially started YNG Thrifts with a friend, he said he currently runs the business on his own. With stores set up across eBay, Instagram, and Depop, Shaw uses YNG Thrifts to sell gently used, thrifted, and vintage clothing to interested buyers.
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“A lot of my clothes come from thrift stores, Facebook Marketplace, Goodwill bins — places like that,” Shaw said. “The listing process comes with looking up each item and finding comparable prices online. From there it’s just posting and hopefully, someone will buy it.”
According to Shaw, people can buy products from him through online ordering, direct messages, or in-person appointments at his home, where Shaw keeps products stored.
Though YNG Thrifts sells plenty of vintage t-shirts, jackets, and sweatshirts, the store also offers unique products such as rings, wallets, and even blade putter covers.
Since establishing the business in 2023, Shaw said he’s been focused on expanding YNG Thrifts and his customer base — something that isn’t always easy to do while in high school.
“The hardest part [of running the business] is really the multitasking,” Shaw said. “Because while I’m doing this work, I’m also in my junior year of high school, which is the hardest year. So it’s just being able to post and source, while, at the same time, focusing on school.”
Though Shaw runs YNG Thrifts on his own, it doesn’t mean he’s without any help when it comes to business operations.
Luke’s mom, Jen Shaw, said that watching Luke run the business has been a bonding opportunity for them, and something she’s enjoyed helping him with.
Whether it’s providing business advice or driving him to different stores, Jen said she and her son have become closer than ever since starting the business months ago.
In June 2024, YNG Thrifts even made its debut at Manalapan Day, where Luke was able to talk with customers and community members face-to-face.
“For me, as a mom, it’s a teaching thing. You know?” Jen said. “Like responsibility, and organization, and becoming more business savvy — it’s about learning how to speak to people, which kids today don’t necessarily know how to do.”
“And I think Luke’s always been a little bit older and wiser beyond his years,” Jen continued. “But this has definitely shown him how to talk to people of all ages and different types.”
For Luke, running YNG Thrifts has been an opportunity to both learn and help others.
Though he primarily acquires products through shopping and online marketplaces, Shaw also buys items from friends and fellow students who want to get rid of clothes.
Last year, for example, Shaw was able to purchase products from graduating seniors who wanted to sell their clothes before going to college.
Throughout the past months, Shaw said running the store has provided him with both business experience and new relationships.
“One of the best parts [of running the business] is the experience of getting to know new people,” Luke said. “I’m always meeting people from different backgrounds and that type of stuff. It’s really all just a learning process.”
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To learn more about YNG Thrifts, you can visit their Instagram page.
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