Any body go to thrift stores?

[cyberdan]

I have only been to a couple of thrift stores. They seemed like an overgrown junky yardsale. I ran across this link yesterday. there are 31 within a 8 mile radius.

http://www.thethriftshopper.com/index.htm

any body find any good hits at these or does the management pull all the good stuf for themselves?

[aa battery]

yes i bought a oil painting of a seascape done by William Hoffman for $20. Ebay in the past had two of them one $900 and the other $1500. Keep your eyes open

[acevillav]

Oh yeah just sold a piece of vasaline glass for $51.00 paid $1.99 at the local VOA thrift. Stuff is out there. I have also bought and sold tons of pyrex from thrift stores. That is a slam dunk so keep ane eye out. good luck amigo.

acevillav

[nhbenz]

Primarily only two options in my area; Goodwill and Salvation Army. Goodwill stores send the donations to central processing areas where they seem to do a reasonable job of picking out the good stuff, which they then list for auction on their website. The Salvation Army store does their own assessment, which has paid off several times for me... but not hugely, like aa battery's painting. I've picked up 1950's Letterman (sports) jackets and cheerleader sweaters for a few bucks each and sold them for $40-$125.
My best finds lately have been from my local dumps "swap shop" where folks leave stuff they don't want for others to take (for free).

[cyberdan]

I have also bought and sold tons of pyrex from thrift stores. That is a slam dunk so keep ane eye out.

pyrex?
you mean the glass cooking things?
I think I see them all the time at yard sales.

What is a good rule of thumb to pay?
Where do you sell? ebay?
What do you get?

[Kiko68]

I'm with Cyberdan, more info please! I've only sold on eBay a few times and Old Advertising signs usually well too. You know, Pepsi, Coke, Hires, Shell, anything. I've slso sold PYRO models, they don't bring in crazy amounts but if you sell each one for $10-$15, they add up QUICK. This is a great topic, hope more people put in their thrift/garage sale finds!

HH, Kiko

[nhbenz]

On Pyrex: Yes, found commonly for very little money. There's plenty that doesn't fetch much, but the sets of "nesting" mixing bowls do well. The pastel solid-colored ones are good, polka dots even better. The condition of the paint is imperative.

[Pepper2004]

I peek in thrift stores and find goodies every now and then. You have to keep a sharp eye out to find them some times. You just never know what you might find.

[starwarsblazer]

Yes, thrift stores do yield some good finds now and then. I see a lot of other people checking out the glassware and more significant items for resale while I am there, but I still manage to find some sterling silver on occasion, old books and knicknacks that are resellable. It's a gamble but it does pay off. I usually don't go out of my way to find a thrift store, but if I am passing by I will usually stop in to check it out. You just never know what you will find. One store I stopped in to had an old table from the 1800's. It has two sides that fold up and asked how much it was since it wasn't labeled. The lady said for $2 I could take it. I couldn't believe what I heard. I snatched it up and took it home. With a little refurnishing and some linseed oil it is beautiful with no damage at all. I kept it as an 'island' in my kitchen because its tall but still small enough to maneuver around it.

Greg

[Bumpstick]

The good stuff seams to be picked over. IE Silver and Gold.
I have had some luck with old hand tools on the cheap.

[Historyhound]

ALL THE TIME!!!! Found lots of great deals over the years. Just bought this old oil painting yesterday at the Salvation Army thrift store for $4.99. Anybody know what the building is or seen the artist's signature before? Appears to date between 1860's to 1880's. May have a bit of restoration, having it black-lighted tomorrow. Glass seems to be original to the frame, contains a couple of air bubbles. Still a great deal for 5 bucks!

[cyberdan]

Anybody know what the building is or seen the artist's signature before?

That looks like a California Mission. We have lots of them out here. They are all a day's walk from each other. I think they start in San Diego and go up to San Fran. Could be worth a lot.

[kbinski]

Yes its indeed a california mission. La Purisima I believe?

[pganjon]

Hello! I love to look at thrift stores, but I have a pet peeve with everyone of them! When they put the price stickers on there glass and silver pieces, they always cover up the hallmarks or makers mark. This results in people trying to tear them off, not to be deceiving, but to read the mark before making there decision to buy. I have brought this matter up with the staff, and they blame the guys in the back doing the sorting. But also they walk away like they could care less! I think they would sell alot more if they would change this practice! Thank you!

[cyberdan]

Hello! I love to look at thrift stores, but I have a pet peeve with everyone of them! When they put the price stickers on there glass and silver pieces, they always cover up the hallmarks or makers mark.

I actually decided to go into a thrift store a few days ago and my big pet peeve was affirmed again.
I saw a bracelet that looked silver and asked to see it. They pulled it out of a jumble of junk jewelry and no tag on it. It was marked 925 so I asked how much, no one knew so a cashier just called out $10. I know she just made it up. It was thin so I knew it only had about $3 in silver value. I told them that was double what it was worth but they would not budge.

I do not know why they call them thrift stores because everything that looked interesting to me I have seen or bought much, much cheaper a yard sales.

[Happy Harry]

I go to Yard sales, Thrift Stores and Estate sales. I collect Glass and have 36-18 Gallon Storage containers full as well as my glass room. Most is from thrift stores. 4 Stems I got for 30.00 for four sold for 269.00 each. Sweet!!.
Estate sale I go to on the second day late. Just to see if there is any thing that I would be interested in. If there is I go back on the last day as normally they discount by 30% on opening up. 50% later in the day. Have some beautiful furniture and glass as well as first edition books. I do look at everything. By the way I also do metal detecting. HHHH

[gilgar]

I go to thrift stores all the time and occasionally find some really nice stuff (I'm into old toys, esp. redlines). I found a game boy color yesterday with a game in it for $2.99 I have also over the last couple of years found 6 pairs of brand new Doc Martens, all different, for $20 or less which is much cheaper than the $100+ they cost at stores or doc martens online. My coolest find was some dealer promo model cars for $1 each, the best was a minty '65 GTO convertible that I have seen selling in the $400 range on ebay--the others were worth $50 to $100 each

I like thrift stores better than garage sales because they are always in the same place, take credit cards and there is rarely a crowd of people. I also like them because not only can you find the occasional treasure, but also everyday items you might need brand new for next to nothing. The local Goodwill stores get lots of new items from Target stores that have been returned or clearanced in addition to used stuff.

[cyberdan]

the best was a minty '65 GTO convertible that I have seen selling in the $400 range on ebay

Wow what would a real one go for? When I was a teenager that is what I had, only 2 door hardtop.
Red with tri-power!!!!!!!

[rebeljohn]

The wife and I go to the thrift stores every Sunday after church. Nice way to spend Sunday afternoon. We but mostly clothes, in fact, I can't remember the last time we bought clothes in a regular store............

[allen]

i buy some of my work clothes from thrift stores
and usually find some books i like to read also...