is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

A valuable item is a valuable item, no matter where it came from.. If it's in a thrift store it probably is not.

However i deal mostly with comics, and i once found New Mutants #98 in a thrift store, they put the store sticker on the cover and all. It is a more or less recent high priced comic which of course nobody knew otherwise it would not have been manhandled in such a way.

Maybe there is a $ million dollar painting there somewhere but i doubt it. Better luck at garage sales. 🐵

Message 2 of 17
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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

What you are selling is a huge category. There are no shortage of the thrift store type items on Ebay. Probably will be a tough go, but if your things are unique, you have a shot.

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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

What do you think is an antique?

 

Can you define the terms vintage and retro?

 

If I offered you a Newfoundland 4 cent stamp from 1949 with the King's portrait on it, what would you pay for it? What would you expect to get for it?

 

Can you recognize silk by touch? Leather? Polyester? What does faux mean?

 

A brooch is described as Victorian Art Deco. When was it made?

 

What is a reasonable markup for any item?

 

You describe an item as shabby chic. Why does eBay pull it?

 

A couple of other points.

New sellers have their customers' cleared payments Held for 21 days by Paypal. When do you think you should mail the purchase?

 

Experienced sellers strongly advise new sellers to do some buying before venturing into selling. Not only does this give you an overview of the eBay experience, and probably some useful office supplies ( a digital scale, poly envelopes, etc.) but the feedback is a measure of trust.

 

Spend a lot of time learning about shipping. Poor choices can kill you.

 

Write your descriptions on a laptop or desktop. But check them on a mobile device and then revise until the mobile gives the information the buyer needs at a glance. Over 50% of transactions involve a mobile of some sort.

 

 

 

I buy most of my stock in thrifts or church rummage sales. I don't find garage sales a good source for my type of products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay


@femmefan1946 wrote:

What do you think is an antique?

 

Can you define the terms vintage and retro?

 

If I offered you a Newfoundland 4 cent stamp from 1949 with the King's portrait on it, what would you pay for it? What would you expect to get for it?

 

Can you recognize silk by touch? Leather? Polyester? What does faux mean?

 

A brooch is described as Victorian Art Deco. When was it made?

 

What is a reasonable markup for any item?

 

You describe an item as shabby chic. Why does eBay pull it?

 

A couple of other points.

New sellers have their customers' cleared payments Held for 21 days by Paypal. When do you think you should mail the purchase?

 

Experienced sellers strongly advise new sellers to do some buying before venturing into selling. Not only does this give you an overview of the eBay experience, and probably some useful office supplies ( a digital scale, poly envelopes, etc.) but the feedback is a measure of trust.

 

Spend a lot of time learning about shipping. Poor choices can kill you.

 

Write your descriptions on a laptop or desktop. But check them on a mobile device and then revise until the mobile gives the information the buyer needs at a glance. Over 50% of transactions involve a mobile of some sort.

 

 

 

I buy most of my stock in thrifts or church rummage sales. I don't find garage sales a good source for my type of products.

 

 

 


Hehehe, well said.

 

I see newbies show up on the thrift sceene every day almost. All bright eyed and excited after seeing their first episode of American Pickers. They're going to get rich, rich I say, off of other peoples' thrown away items, lolol...

 

It usually takes less than a month of buying everything they can get their hands on when the new trollies come out until they realize that they have absolutely no idea what they are doing and all of their seed money is gone and nothing has sold.

 

To the OP, honestly, now is not the time or economy to be starting in the industry. Thrift prices are at all time highs, even for worthless junk, and unless you have the knowledge that someone like myself has after 25 years in the scene, you are going to lose your shirt in short order. You'll be one of those people that I see daily who picks up every item to look at the base to see if it was made in England or whatever because everyone knows if it was made in England then it must be worth a fortune, lololol.

 

Again to the OP, honestly, and with no malice meant whatsoever, find something else to do to earn money as this idea will most likely not end well if you are at the point where you need to ask if buying and selling thrift can be profitable.

 

Cheers,

 

thD

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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay


@treasure.hunter.d wrote:

@femmefan1946 wrote:

What do you think is an antique?

 

Can you define the terms vintage and retro?

 

If I offered you a Newfoundland 4 cent stamp from 1949 with the King's portrait on it, what would you pay for it? What would you expect to get for it?

 

Can you recognize silk by touch? Leather? Polyester? What does faux mean?

 

A brooch is described as Victorian Art Deco. When was it made?

 

What is a reasonable markup for any item?

 

You describe an item as shabby chic. Why does eBay pull it?

 

A couple of other points.

New sellers have their customers' cleared payments Held for 21 days by Paypal. When do you think you should mail the purchase?

 

Experienced sellers strongly advise new sellers to do some buying before venturing into selling. Not only does this give you an overview of the eBay experience, and probably some useful office supplies ( a digital scale, poly envelopes, etc.) but the feedback is a measure of trust.

 

Spend a lot of time learning about shipping. Poor choices can kill you.

 

Write your descriptions on a laptop or desktop. But check them on a mobile device and then revise until the mobile gives the information the buyer needs at a glance. Over 50% of transactions involve a mobile of some sort.

 

 

 

I buy most of my stock in thrifts or church rummage sales. I don't find garage sales a good source for my type of products.

 

 

 


Hehehe, well said.

 

I see newbies show up on the thrift sceene every day almost. All bright eyed and excited after seeing their first episode of American Pickers. They're going to get rich, rich I say, off of other peoples' thrown away items, lolol...

 

It usually takes less than a month of buying everything they can get their hands on when the new trollies come out until they realize that they have absolutely no idea what they are doing and all of their seed money is gone and nothing has sold.

 

To the OP, honestly, now is not the time or economy to be starting in the industry. Thrift prices are at all time highs, even for worthless junk, and unless you have the knowledge that someone like myself has after 25 years in the scene, you are going to lose your shirt in short order. You'll be one of those people that I see daily who picks up every item to look at the base to see if it was made in England or whatever because everyone knows if it was made in England then it must be worth a fortune, lololol.

 

Again to the OP, honestly, and with no malice meant whatsoever, find something else to do to earn money as this idea will most likely not end well if you are at the point where you need to ask if buying and selling thrift can be profitable.

 

Cheers,

 

thD


Been running into a him-her pair of them the last couple of weeks. Buying up all they could get at the local, left-overs, junk no-one wants, end of season, love it or leave it auction. Ran into them again at the local thrift store, hands trembling, examining tea cups.

 

At the auction, broken and then repaired crocks for going for full TV retail. A couple of pro buyer-sellers were there. They were rolling their eyes.

 

The best strategy? One cannot "buy" to sell as someone has already made the profit. I, ahem, acquire. I pay $5 CDN on my retail $100 US. I stick with what I know. I stray, the odd time, with something cheap and remarkable enough, but, that is rare.

 

I have had a full season in this area now. I get how things work. There is not much here. Actually, very little. This is a  area that bought cheap **bleep** and did not maintain it. I can spend 8 hours at a local auction to spend $100 to make $200, or, I can drive down to Winnipeg, stay at a hotel, hit the wrecking yards and make $500 an HOUR.

 

If I really wanted to, I could do and out and back in one day, gas, food, parts, I would spend $200 and get $3000. That would be a long day, 8 hours driving plus 4-5 hours working.

 

The morale of the story? "Know what you sell and sell what you know" Pierre.

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Message 6 of 17
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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

Truth be told, I buy very little from thrift any longer. It used to be a viable and substantial source of inventory but no longer. I have some local auction houses that once a month or once every couple of months have auctions with a lot of box lots where I can get the good items I used to buy at thrift for pennies. I just wouldn't buy them otherwise as between the soft market and the ever increasing shipping costs, there is just no money to be made.

 

I have 2 major thrift shops within a 5 minute walk of my home and having lived in this neighborhood on and off for over 20 years there is a small community of pickers that all know eachother and more often than not I will stop into  one of the stores because I see someone I know and want to chat a little to break up my day. Occasionally the store will cough up a gem that has managed to sneak past the staff who are busilly scouring Ebay on their smartphones (talk about eye rolling the first time I saw that) looking for prices on every little widget  or sadly, managed to not get scooped up by one of the many staff who are robbing the places blind. How low do you have to be to steal from your employer first of all and second when that employer is Salvation Army or Goodwill?

 

Anyway, what once was an excellent source of inventory, close at hand, is now not viable as a main source at all. All it means is that I have to work harder to get my inventory and that is fine as I am no stranger to hard work but the stupidity of all of the reasons behind why thrift is no longer a viable source really irks me if I stop to think about it for too long.

 

Cheers,

 

thD

Message 7 of 17
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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

mr.elmwood mentioned one thing in passing, that he has emphasised on other threads.

 

The loonie has dropped by about a third over the past couple of years, but that is one thing the thrift stores have not caught on to.

I am still buying books for $1CDN for sale at $10 USD (I'm a cheap piker).

But that means I'm buying at $0.75USD instead of at par as I was in 2013.

 

The extra money has allowed me to move to Free Shipping for a lot of my stuff, and that in turn has meant more sales.

 

But I;m not selling anything bulky or breakable.

Message 8 of 17
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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay


@femmefan1946 wrote:

mr.elmwood mentioned one thing in passing, that he has emphasised on other threads.

 

The loonie has dropped by about a third over the past couple of years, but that is one thing the thrift stores have not caught on to.

I am still buying books for $1CDN for sale at $10 USD (I'm a cheap piker).

But that means I'm buying at $0.75USD instead of at par as I was in 2013.

 

The extra money has allowed me to move to Free Shipping for a lot of my stuff, and that in turn has meant more sales.

 

But I;m not selling anything bulky or breakable.


Exactly.

 

Totally exactly.

 

3 1/2 years ago, a $20 US sale, shipping included in that amount, netted me $10.30 Canadian after FVF and shipping. Today, a $20 US sale nets me $16 Canadian after FVF and shipping.

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Message 9 of 17
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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay


@mrogloc1995_9 wrote:

is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay


I'm afraid I have to say that your question alone tells me that you should not be trying to sell thrift store finds on eBay, for all of the reasons pointed out by others above.  

 

There are virtually no "antiques" to be found in thrift stores, and any that may occasionally slip past the eagle eyes of the ever-vigilant staff (who, as 'treasure-hunter' pointed out, have become expert at checking eBay for pricing), will rarely slip past the keen notice of the professional or semi-professional pickers.  

 

The fact is that thrift picking is now such an industry that thrift stores like Sally Ann or SVdeP already account for professional pickers' or re-seller's profits in their own margins for anything they determine might be re-saleable on the online market.  They know they can sell an item for $15 that a re-seller might be able to get $25 for on eBay.  Ten years ago, the thrift store price might have been $0.50 or $1.00.  

 

Unless you have a solid background in re-selling vintage items, and you have a good understanding of the items, their value, and your market, you'd be better looking for a different niche. 

 

As has been mentioned above, selling anything these days on eBay has become more challenging.  You don't want to jump into the deep end of an already crowded pool unless you're an experienced swimmer.  

 

Not to end on a downbeat note, do you have a hobby, personal interest or specific field that you know a lot about and that you could turn into a small eBay business?  You'd be surprised how many eBay sellers started by selling something they understood well as a hobby.  Often those who collect know best who is out there to buy! 

 

Message 10 of 17
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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

Though it is true that Thrift stores are ever more vigilant about pricing their antiques and collectibles, there is still opportunity out there,

 

Keep in mind, that your average value village has thousands and thousands of items.  The turnover rate is high.  New inventory goes out very frequently.

 

The big problem is NOT that thrift stores are "picking" their own products.  There is far too much moving through there for them to be thorough and cost effective.

 

But do you see that smartphone you hold in your hand? 2 years ago, internet data piping through it was expensive.  But today it is cheap and tomorrow it will be even cheaper.  Someday it will be practically free I'd imagine. 

 

It became the great equalizer.  You don't need to be an expert.  You see something out of the ordinary and you can see Ebay's completed listings to determine interest.  

 

If you are serious about reselling from Thrift stores, the key is knowledge! Knowledge, knowledge and even more knowledge!  For example, I sell vintage horror VHS tapes.  Now you might find a copy of "the nightmare on elm street" on VHS and check it on Ebay and assume it's worthless.  But the older print by MEDIA video holds some value.  Some of the rare cover arts are different.  

 

Of course knowledge takes effort.  You need to put in long days and nights.   You need to spend time researching and learning + time to list items and you need your good items to not only pay your bills but pay for your learning curve.

 

 For the effort, it may just be easier to try to get a job at Tim Horton's.

Message 11 of 17
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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

I started  in the 1980's by looking for furniture  at country auctions... filled up a house... 

 

I started my learning about collectables...  gradually migrated to garage  sales  and sold  just about anything possible  in local auction sales... country auctions... and then on eBay.

 

Things have changed over the years... and thrift stores have learned  the value of things.... but not everyone knew everything about everything

 

I used to be able to buy Chalet glass  and Blue mountain pottery for about $5   and sell for $60.  Then I pushed the prices on eBay  to $100. $150  and more for Chalet glass..

 

and the thrift stores  pushed prices to $50 and $60 for the good stuff...Today  the better quality items  sell high very high on eBay..

 

Then I migrated to books, and more books....  Tuesday is shopping day... with a senior discount  everywhere.....  and super prices..... Add in church sales  and charity sales  ... and inventory is there for the picking...

 

Even with everything   I do have to focus  on items other than in my major category....  and that works well... if you know what to buy.

 

 

My most important thing... is knowing what not to buy....I do have my series of Wait and see books ... than I dump into a local charity sale....if they do not look promising....  But then I do have my winners...

 

The people at thrift stores  get to know me... and  Many times  I do get deals  when I buy....  and there is no price... on the book.... It does help to be a happy senior... or maybe  just a senior.... 

 

I have been doing thrift store Tuesday for many years...... discounts of 10 % , 20 % and more recently 30 % at Value Village...

 

I find the winners.

 

 

  and if they ask what do I do with the books.

 

I say ... I make doorstops........  and I finally figured out that books stop the door to your brain from closing.

 

Success on eBay means knowing what not to buy....  Successful Newbies...  such as those at a local auction  start slow  and then find their niche.....  I watch them develop into Power buyers... and power sellers.....

 

Knowledge is the key to success...  but then for me  it is decades of knowledge

 

 

 

 

Message 12 of 17
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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

I did hear of the following story.

 

Many do their search for inventory at a local auction.... one sale each week.

 

A newbie shows up  and outbids the regulars... and does well...

 

Then came the day when the  buyer with experience noticed that this newbie was outbidding him.

 

So... the experienced buyer bid up the newbie......  Newbie bought a lot    but Newbie never came back.

 

Newbie was riding the coat-tails of the experienced buyer

 

----------------------------------------------------

Many times  a regular buyer who outbids many in the audience  may feel they are being bid up on what they buy.....  and that is when they progress to proxy bids....  The auctioneer bids up to a preset number....  and they almost buy more for lower cost....

Message 13 of 17
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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

I used to check the thrift stores out occasionally.

 

I kept hearing stories about how collectors found OOAK treasures tucked away amongst the junk.  Those stories are intoxicating.

Never happened to me.  Not even close.

 

I just found a bunch of used stuff.

 

There is big different between a used item and great vintage or antique piece.

 

It takes a time to become an "expert" in any field, but anyone who has a passion for "whatever" can achieve that level of expertise.

Finding a treasure in a thrift store is probably not worth the hours spent searching for it.

 

However, if one is so inclined and enjoys the work it's also possible to make a living at it if your standards aren't too high and if you are willing to put in the hours. 

 

Here's an example:  The local Sally Anne's in my city has the greatest stash of used leather coats I've ever seen.  I mean these are really nice high end coats with little or no wear.

Just an example, but there are opportunities out there if you look for them.

 

 

Message 14 of 17
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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay


@cumos55 wrote:

I did hear of the following story.

 

Many do their search for inventory at a local auction.... one sale each week.

 

A newbie shows up  and outbids the regulars... and does well...

 

Then came the day when the  buyer with experience noticed that this newbie was outbidding him.

 

So... the experienced buyer bid up the newbie......  Newbie bought a lot    but Newbie never came back.

 

Newbie was riding the coat-tails of the experienced buyer

 

----------------------------------------------------

Many times  a regular buyer who outbids many in the audience  may feel they are being bid up on what they buy.....  and that is when they progress to proxy bids....  The auctioneer bids up to a preset number....  and they almost buy more for lower cost....


One of the local Thrift stores here still runs a monthly auction that they put the nicer (not always actually valuable) items in. I have attended that auction every month for literally years. I was always pretty successful at getting the better items for very reasonable prices. A few months ago along comes this guy who starts bidding on everything that was even remotely of value and I mean "everything" He was overpaying for items to the point where there was 0% chance of selling them at a profit. I also noticed that he was taking a lot of photos of the items while at the auction, something I found odd but whatever. Anyway, after 3  or 4 months of this I stopped going to the auctionsas there was just no point.

 

Last month I decided to pop into the auction to see what the state of affairs was and noticed that the guy who had been buying everything up was strangely absent. I asked one of the staff about it and was told that he had been cut off of buying which again made no sense to me as what business cuts off a customer who is buying especially when they are overpaying for things. Turns out he was "buying" all of these items and then leaving with a promise to return the next day to pay/pick-up the stuff. One day turned into several and then weeks would go buy before he would return to pay and remove the goods.

 

What was happening is that he would "buy" the items at auction, photograph them, and then leave, try to sell them before ever even paying for them and return with cash in hand to pay for the items after he had "pre-sold" them. Well cash turned to credit card (imminent sign of trouble in this case), days to weeks before payment/pick-up, and finally the store manager told him if he couldn't at least pay for the items on the spot that he was not allowed to bid.

 

The lengths this guy was willing to go to, and at the expense of a charitable organization, are amazing. perhaps I shouldn't be amazed at this point but this one really blew me away.

 

Anyway, my p0oint is that although this guy had come up with a viable (short term anyway) plan to acquire inventory,and  without paying for it in advance, he was too lazy to bother to learn enough about the market to realize that he was overpaying for items. In the end, that laziness is what burned him as if he had ben able to run his game on items that he paid a reasonable amount for he likely would have been able to continue to buy/sell/return and pay/pick-up promptly enough that he wouldn't have been cut off.

 

Most of the noobs I see these days are of the same ilk. Too lazy to actually want to learn anything and looking for a fast buck. That video that Ebay has been running on the front page for ages now, the one where the guy loses his job and turns to Ebay to earn money to support his family, doesn't help. The noobs see this and think that it's actually as easy as the video makes it out to be, when nothing could be further from the truth.

 

Cheers,

 

thD

Message 15 of 17
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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

When I am at a thrift store... I do not look for one specific thing.... 

 

I find it by just looking.....  the first round.

 

Then it is specifics.

 

Always looking always finding... and sometimes in unusual ways.

 

Walk along several book cases at a thrift store.... stop  and there to my left is the book I want.....  To me it is the look of something special.

 

Buy it... List it..  and it sells within two to three weeks.....I have sold several copies of that one over the years....

 

I see an interesting book... pick it up... look at it  and put it back on the shelf...  and .. the book I want is right beside the book I looked at.

 

 

When I scan books at a thrift store...  I look for character.... If you knew what I sell... you will understand what I "see".  That is my first "look"  Then I read titles.... 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------

 

I have learned from my garage sale days...  estate sale days... that if I see something interesting... I pick it  and continue a scan of everything else at the sale.

 

Many times  someone picks something up... looks at it, puts it down.....and turns around... then they look back... and it is gone.. gone.. gone.

 

-------------------------------------------------------

I found my most valuable book ever sold ... so far...at a garage sale... looked one way... look a second way... and it was half hidden under a box of books.....Took it home... looked it up.....  and OK  it has value.

 

Published in 2006... limited numbered edition of 2000....  being sold on the internet by the author/publisher for $1000 US.

 

Listed my copy for $750 US.  sold at the end of February 2009....  with an exchange rate of $1.25 Canadian to $1.00 US.

 

Sold to a buyer in Hong Kong... net profit of $850 Canadian.

 

--------------------------------------------------

 

I meet all kinds of people... most interesting is a collector of first editions.....  and he does very well with his Mobile Device  as a source of information.

 

And knowing him was my way of finding a most valuable first edition.......that is Alcoholics Anonymous...found at an auction sale in a box of other books...purchased the box for $12.  already made a profit with the sale of the only other book of value in that box

 

.Even in a not so very good condition it will sell for as high as $5000 US... Still sorting out the logistics of that sale... shipping  and associated insurance....UPS shipping.... and in today's world... sold at $4000 US it is $5,300  Canadian...

 

 

 

 

Message 16 of 17
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is selling antiques you find in thrift stores valuable on ebay

Some books are worth buying at $10, and maybe as high as $20 ... my average price for all inventory is quite low....much, much lower than $10

 

Because... If I buy a 1000 books in a year... my average price goes up 2 cents  with that $20 purchase.

 

I do this  because one has to know what one is doing... and not a haphazard occurrence....

 

....

Many times I take a run with a book ... outside my niche.... that just may have value......  and if you know what you are doing... the value is there... more times than not.

 

One has to know what the buying market is throughout a city.

 

One must be constantly looking for value...

 

The critical factor is knowing what NOT to buy...

Message 17 of 17
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