Featured Anyone made some decent scores from thrift stores?

I'm thinking of checking some out in my spare time, and would like to hear about any profits people may have made.
I imagine there could be some really good things lurking in some of them.

In fact, when I was 14 I bought a hunting horn from one, and later sold it for a profit. I did not buy it inetionally to sell though lol

 

There is a thread of FINDS and couple of others along this line.
There's one called Fabulous Finishes or similar but I can't find it.
Perhaps someone will help.
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https://www.antiquers.com/threads/finds-thread.137/page-482
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https://www.antiquers.com/threads/a...n-they-bargained-for.13993/page-2#post-197661

 

There are three kinds of thrift stores in this area

One consists of donations of unsold items at the end of estate and garage sales

Another type is storage locker buyers that have sold all the good items by another venue and put the trash in their store

Then there is the big chains. They can get some good stuff occasionally. However, they have people in the sorting that remove most of it either for themselves, for auction, or because they misunderstand law. Most of the better old stuff gets sent overseas.

 

About once or twice a year I find something very good at the thrifts. I am talking worth several hundred. Only a couple times in over 20 years of thrifting have I found something worth over a thousand. I go regularly and they are my bread and butter source for merchandise. I regularly find things I can make some money on but the big scores are few and far between.

 

In my patch in the UK there are few bargains now. We used to have a very good Charity Shop until a former Antique Dealer became manageress. Also the charities often have connections with local jewellery shops and Auction houses. That said I'll always have a look as tiny Hallmarks are often missed on modern silver photo frames, they assume they are plate. Also glassware isn't something they seem to take much interest in so Ive picked up some decent pieces. You get to know the better shops for good finds.

 

You get to know the better shops for good finds.

Couldn't agree more.

Depends on who is managing the place, too.

With internet sales, internet for research, it is a lot harder these days to find things at thrifts.

I think thrifts with a big turn over in merchandise are in general better bets.

If you see a lot of dealers milling about, probably not a bad sign.

You really need to know your stuff, though. To make any kind of consistent profit, you need to be able to identify things better than the person in the back. It is the non-obvious things many of us shop for.

 

Here is the other thread KOT
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/great-finishes-share-your-successes-discoveries-w-others.307/

wise words lucille

 

So where do most of you guys go to make the profit? Auction houses? Antique fairs?

 

I have, from my local thrift shop, purchased...

A number of sterling silver napkin-rings (about four in total, I think). Sold them all online.

Silver porringer (still got it. Up for sale).

9ct gold Victorian baby ring (often thought of selling it...buuuuut...I like it too much!)

Blue enamel opera glasses (not for sale, although many people have begged for it!).

 

Not sure if it is my geographical area but the thrift stores in close proximity to me aren't very bountiful for good finds. Almost completely junk and when they have something nice they price it like its solid gold. Saw a set of vintage of 4 Pyrex (nesting)mixing bowls but they wanted considerably more than the antique dealer down the street was asking for the exact same set.

I'm thinking all the good stuff from my area thrifts goes online (goodwill auction site) or gets cherry-picked by management/staff.

Auctions seem to be the best way to get quality items for reasonable prices. On site sales seem to be better than auction houses. Check listings carefully and try to go to estate auctions where the family hasn't picked out all of the good stuff and is just selling the remainder of the junk that nobody wanted.

 

I know a place or two in my area. I am only able to pick thru them on saturdays/Sundays and the worst part is on mondays they have this sale where high end clothing items with green tags usually 10$ go for 97 cents! I found some 100 year old Bavarian stuff at one and those fishing rods I posted in the other. Both within 15 minute drive from me

 

There is profit to be made of you ARE WILLING TO HAGGLE. I used as persuasion the fact I made a huge donation of clothing (most of it wasn't mine) and they gave me half price on some really old fishing rods, that were already priced to sell but hadn't for years

 

What he said.

I live in a suburb of a large city and thrift stores abound. I never go to garage/yard sales because, to me, there's a lot of wasted time/feul going from one yard full of worthless junk to another. I do visit estate/tag sales occasionally but items are often priced in such a way as to leave little room for profit. (www.estatesales.net is a great resource)
My personal requirement is that I must be able to sell an item for a minimum of $25 profit or it's not worth my time. With that rule, there are quite a lot of finds to be had at my local thrift stores. It's a "woo-hoo!" if I can make a profit of $100+ on an item and that happens maybe once, sometimes twice, per month. I sell exclusively on fleaBay and have done so for 15+ years.

My latest woo-hoo: two Hudson's Bay scarlet 4-point blankets in wonderful condition, purchased at a local Salvation Army for $12 each!

 

There can be good stuff at thrift stores. I used to regularly see it walking out as I was walking in.

 

Somehow I wasn't notified of the continuation of this thread so sorry.

 

There are only a few thrifts that I bother to look in because of all the same reasons everyone stated above. I find my best finds at yard sales and estate sales. I also do well at a warehouse that is owned by a company that does clean outs. They have two different floors, one for the "good" stuff and one for everything else. I've found some good things they've missed on the everything else floor. When the place is overflowing, they run a 50% off everything sale and I always do well on those sales.

A new thing that I'm seeing is "pop-up" vintage sales. There is one that is held once a month not far from here and I've picked up a few really nice items for a very nice profit.

My all time favorite place is this very messy antique, junk shop. Pickers line up on Monday to sell their weekend finds to the owner who pays them next to nothing. I don't really know why they sell there unless it's just for quick cash. Everything is priced dirt cheap and I've found some incredible things in there. The best find was a painting by an artist who has auction sales in the several thousand dollar range.

 

In this neck of the woods, there is a large 1st generation Russian presence and not to stereotype but it appears that the newly americanized folk really know their stuff. They were carting off nice artworks from the thrift shop. Left nothing for me!

 

I forgot to mention Craigslist.

 

Never bought anything from there.

 

Never bought on craigslist but my pregger sister has been buying baby stuff for girlfriends and resale on there for a few years/more recently for her own bebe for months... no baby in the history of babies will be more supplied than this little guy coming up... 4 large cribs. Mobile. Many carseats. Carrier. Thing you strap to your chest to carry, bags and bags of new baby clothes... shes a craigslist baby hoarder now. Does this make my antiquing more acceptable at large? (Not to my mom it doesnt)