Featured Anyone made some decent scores from thrift stores?

I rarely do garage sales and never thrifts. Two good things that came out of garage saling were a Lladro cupid for $7.00 (Fleabay: $150) and some signed John Grisham first editions from someone who used to be a neighbor of his. Otherwise, garage sales around here are virtually 100% certain to be junk.

The all-time best was the estate of a dentist who was moving across country. For some reason he hooked up with an amateur-ish garage sale outfit instead of a high-end estate business to help him sell his stuff, and he really should have done the latter. We found a Mark Hopkins signed and numbered bronze for 80% off new, three linsey-woolsey blankets from before the Civil War for $50 total, art glass, English teapots from the 1840s for $20.00, etc. The dentist later called us after he had moved and tried to buy the Hopkins back. Nossir!!

 

That'll teach him not to stick long needles in folks soft gums..!!!
The prick !!

 

OH!

 

Scores do turn up at yard sales, but you have to keep your eyes peeled.

 

Thrift shops have been my "Bread & Butter" for the last 20+ years...Living within a mile of 4 different ones,keeps me busy...All of these stores have donations daily & are always bringing out new items...I try to put a 4 or 5:1 dollar ratio on what I purchase...I have to say,I have been fairly successful & not had a problem paying my bills!!....Had a lot of good scores & some loses!!! "Knowledge Is King"...Knowing what to buy is the key!!...Having a Smartphone help too!!!!

 

The thrift shops around here used to be the best. We have a large community of older folks in the area so there is vintage or older stuff to be had when donated.

But then the people running the thrift shops changed hands and so the prices went up beyond belief and the stock did not turn over due to prices... nothing was moving yet they still stick to this dumb policy.
A run of the mill clear vase that FTD would send a person with their flowers suddenly was $15... and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Plus they look on ebay to see what the prices are, not the sold prices but the
listing prices and slap that price on an item no matter the condition.

One thrift shop, if they smiled their faces would crack. They are sour as can be.

It is now pretty rare to find anything at the thrift shops here. Very disappointing.

I find most of my stuff at estate sales and sometimes at garage and yard sales.
So I have to be up at the crack of dawn to get in before all the good stuff is gone.

I haven't found anything outstanding of late at all, but I keep on truckin.

 

Was in a local thrift store recently and saw some stuff with price stickers from a local antique mall (likely a dealer clearing out some of their stale merchandise). In every instance I saw, the thrift store price was a few dollars higher than what the antique mall price was. I thought this was amusing since if the item can't sell at an antique mall at an inflated price it is definitely not going to sell to a thrift hunter looking for a bargain.

For clarification this stuff wasn't true antiques but mass produced vintage items that are moderately collectable.

 

I've seen that before here, in the GoodWill. They've been known to mark dollar store merch with its stickers still on up to $2. It's a mystery why they'd think anyone would pay twice the going rate.

 

Mine doing this too.

 

The pricing has gotten much higher, but there is quite enough dumb out there for it to still sell.
I saw an empty cat litter pail with no lid marked $7.99. It was gone the next day
They sell for $13.00 full of litter with lid.
I throw one away every week.

 

Many people are not brighter than the object they are buying or operating.

 

Maybe i hit the local thrifts more then others here. I would go to the same store two or three days in the same week.
But that's how i find some of the awesome things.
my current venture is the William Hart painting, Purchased at goodwill.
The last was this Edson Orotone photograph, Also from goodwill. purchased for $6.00 and sold three days later for $550.00

 

Nice!
I go to one constantly, another often.