Picker Knowledge?!?!

twiasp · Jan 2, 2014

Hey guys, I metal detect and coin roll hunt, and due to old military habits find myself early to almost everywhere. To use this time doing something instead of sitting in my car or a chair, I have been spending the 15-30 minutes picking local thrift shops. Much like with metal detecting you can greatly increase your chances of finding things by learning the lay of the land and what to pick up on (old fence lines, laundry lines, cellar or outhouse depressions, etc...), and was wondering if any of you could share some info from your experiences.

Since I am new I have mainly looked at silver/gold, whether that be jewelry, picture frames, belt buckles, shoe buckles, purse buckles, flatware or other kitchen wares. I would like to think i'm doing fairly well at spotting silver, gold not so much or just not much to find lol. What I am very lost on though are the gems in the jewelry, I have been told that some older antique jewelry can hold valuable stones and be made of metals that aren't valuable. Is there any shortlist of how to identify precious stones like diamonds (other than buying a tester), sapphires, ruby, emerald, opal, and i'm sure some others I don't know the value of really.

I also browse the shelves for glasswares and pottery but never had anything pop out at me that yells... PICK ME!!

Thanks for the read and any information to help me hone in is much appreciated =)

Lost&Found · Jan 2, 2014

One suggestion I can make is browse High end Antique stores. Look and touch the items. Ask questions. What I found out is dealers live to talk. Maybe I'm lucky that I live in NYC and am able to view a wide variety of items. Objects at thrift stores, yard sales, estate sales etc. jump out at me. It's like I've seen it somewhere before.

MUD(S.W.A.T) · Jan 2, 2014

Learn as much as about every kind of collectible, antique and valuable as you can !! Carry a damn magnet, I bought 4 steel sterling plated knives.. I swore they were sterling cause they had a heavy tarnish... :icon_scratch:

I acid tested them and they passed... :hello2:

Then I put a magnet to them and it stuck right away... Dammit, :BangHead:

I should have had a magnet with me at the time... In the spring, I'm bringing a powerful magnet !! Hope this helps !!

Keep @ it and HH !! :laughing7:

twiasp · Jan 2, 2014

Here are a few of the picks I found in the last 2 days. Slim pickings but think I did well for 15 dollars in total. No clue if much value in the stuff besides scrap though.

No stamp at all but seems silver from color, feel. Folk Art or handmade by somebody.

Silver Chain and Cross, with what I assume is a CZ in middle.

14K NABCO stamped earrings.

Tiffany and Co. Earrings (Silver heart with what appears to be a gold devils tail around it)

diggummup · Jan 2, 2014

The Tiffany earrings are a home run- Tiffany Co Heart Arrow 18K Sterling Silver Double Earrings Dangle 16g Weight | eBay

twiasp · Jan 2, 2014

Nice, mine don't have the dangle thing though just post earrings =( but still much more than i would expect out of scrap value, now to just learn Ebay sometime lol.

wow though i did find this link, thanks for the tip dig.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOVELY-Tiff...95003?pt=US_Fine_Earrings&hash=item51b6be97db

djvx · Jan 2, 2014

Twiasp, there are thrift store experts out there, I don't consider myself one....yet...but y0utube has several folks giving excellent advice. Just use the correct search words and you'll see a few! Some items & tips I can share would be bring a Magnet, magnifying glass. Learn Silver markings. Silver shouldn't "ring" when you ding it. New or in the box items can be of value. Concentrate on Jewelry and other small easy to ship items. Carry your smartphone and go0gle items before buying. I recently bought a pair of Serengeti Sunglasses for a buck! Good Luck
-Djvx

Nickleanddime · Jan 2, 2014

Try to get into the bigger cities youll have alot more options and lower prices most times. Try and stay out of chain stores. Salvation army, habitat for humanity, and volunteers of america can be great places to look at. GW is horrible anymore, not to say good deals cant be found just harder. When you get more knowledge look for old store fronts full of stuff. Dont approach them as a resell person just a collector. When searching values on ebay go to sold items, that way youll get a good spread on prices. When at garage sales be careful about looking at a item then searching it. One someone might snatch it. 2. You go to pay and the price goes up 10 fold or they dont sell. It can be insulting to some people if they think your trying to get a deal off them, it makes them feel stupid inside. Talk to people then offer a price, youll more likely get a deal. A meber said recently the best piece of negotiating advice i ever heard when wanting items. Pick up a few items that you dont want, that way as the haggling goes you can put back the stuff you dont want and get the item you want at a deal. Dont ignore the item, pick it up look like your considering putting it down then go to something else.Youll get the hang of it. A read the GS forum it holds ton of info and values.

Tallone · Jan 3, 2014

If you have an "eye" for things that are old or of high quality, you should do OK - especially if you don't pay much for them. "Old" doesn't have to mean "antique". I have purchased many things made in the 1960s or a later that sold very well. I have picked up a lot of things at garage sales and estate sales and auctions for $5 or less that were easily sold for $20 or more (sometimes MUCH more). A good example is a board game from 1961 (Yacht Race - I posted about it here a few weeks back). I bought it for $5. It sold $125. I bought it because it was kind of old, in very good condition, and I knew there are people that collect board games. Speaking of condition... this is something to pay careful attention to. Chips, cracks, broken or missing pieces, etc. can ruin the value of an otherwise good item so look closely before you buy.

deserdog · Jan 3, 2014

I have been selling on Ebay since 1999, and I always find I need to know more. There are so many things you can make money on, you just can't know it all! For instance, I saw these small plastic faux bamboo cups at a thrift store, there was 8 of them. The cups had an emblem on them. I thought, that looks like an airline emblem(it was the Continenetal emblem). They wanted a dollar apiece. I did't buy them and forgot about them. The thrift store is one I go to every other day or so. Well, I finally bought one, and looked them up about 3 weeks later. Turns out they werecups from a first class bar on Continental's South Paficic route. And sell fore between $15.00 and $18.00. Went back the next day to get the rest, and they were gone!!

Youi just never know until you look it up.

Beans · Jan 3, 2014

I am no expert either as any one could tell by my garage full of stuff. I pick up stuff that I find of interest. This week I picked up some whiskey glasses that were still in original shipping box with the postage stamp reading 1967. No worth anything but only invested a small amount just in case. Tried to upload pictures but did not work.

Vtg 1967 Cutty Sark Whiskey Glasses Set of 4 | eBay

Vtg 1967 White Horse Whiskey Glasses Set of 4 | eBay

diggummup · Jan 3, 2014

twiasp said:
Nice, mine don't have the dangle thing though just post earrings =( but still much more than i would expect out of scrap value, now to just learn Ebay sometime lol.

wow though i did find this link, thanks for the tip dig.
Lovely Tiffany Co Silver 18K Gold Arrow Heart Pierced Earrings | eBay

Just remember that people can put any kind of price they want on an item for sale. That doesn't mean someone will actually pay that for the item. The link I posted for the earrings that sold for $120.00, well someone has the identical ones listed for $720.00-
Authentic Tiffany Co 18K Sterling Silver Arrow Heart Earrings w Pouch Dangle | eBay They've declined 2 offers on them including one back in August. Personally, I wouldn't want to hold on to something that long, unless I actually had too much money in them myself.

As for thrift stores, there are people that pick them religiously. They are friendly with the staff. They know when the trucks come in. They know when the carts from the back of the store are brought out to the sales floor. So timing can be crucial when it comes to picking them. How do I know this? I personally know 2 people who only pick thrifts, one of them is my brother in law, the other one is an old man that I buy stuff off of sometimes.

Another tip is with thrift stores sometimes vintage clothing, that may be the treasure you end up finding because that is what they have the most of usually. I don't do clothing really, but I will not shy away from anything I can flip for a large profit.

One of the good things about thrift stores is, you can sit there on your smart phone and look up items you aren't sure of, all day long if you want with no pressure. I know for me personally, when i'm out at garage sales I don't feel right searching for values on items that i'm unsure of in front of the person holding the sale. I think it is uncouth and lacks respect. Many people do it, I see it all the time it's just not my style. Estate sales are a different animal though, no qualms there.

inspectorgadget · Jan 3, 2014

I think the "precious" stones that can be found in old non precious metal jewelry are usually not stones at all. I find more of it has carved bone, shell or ivory all of which can have descent value depending on many things & then there is bakelite & catalin (French bakelite) which can also be valuable depending on many things especially the color. Some old amber bakelite beaded necklaces sell for $2K+ & bakelite is basically just an old form of hard plastic.

randazzo1 · Jan 3, 2014

Stones are a difficult subject. You need to really study the subject area as if you were taking a course. I completed multiple GIA courses and am still a novice when it comes to accurate identification and valuatoion. Get a refractometer, a Polariscope, a spectrometer and the best gemological microscope you can afford(total cost can be under $500 for everything if you buy used). Avoid electronic testers for anything but diamonds. Examine everything available to you. After a few months you will become very familiar with the important gems. Then you can spot them with some confidence in the field. In general, lower grade stones are the easiest to spot - especially rubies, sapphires and emeralds. The inclusions are so apparent that you rarely need even a 10x loupe. As stone quality improves, identification becomes far more difficult. For example, a common stone like Amethyst, in its top grade, is extremely difficult to distinguish from synthetics. The accepted method requires submersion analysis under a Polariscope to look for Brazil twinning. This is allegedly an easy task for a gemologist, but I find it quite difficult.

As I mentioned above, do not use electronic gem testers - they are extremely misleading. A high quality electric diamond tester, on the other hand, is a good investment.

diggummup · Jan 3, 2014

inspectorgadget said:
I think the "precious" stones that can be found in old non precious metal jewelry are usually not stones at all. I find more of it has carved bone, shell or ivory all of which can have descent value depending on many things & then there is bakelite & catalin (French bakelite) which can also be valuable depending on many things especially the color. Some old amber bakelite beaded necklaces sell for $2K+ & bakelite is basically just an old form of hard plastic.

Sorry to hijack twiasp.

By Amber Bakelite do you mean this-

I thought it was actual amber but it failed the tests. I have never seen bakelite that was semi transparent before which is why I originally thought it was amber. It has passed all the bakelite tests so far except the simichrome which I am waiting for in the mail because I couldn't find any locally. The clasp is 14k also. I still have not found another to compare it to. I know bakelite in the form of kitchen utensils, dice and certain other objects, but not jewelry. What do you think?

FloridaHunter · Jan 3, 2014

diggummup said:
Sorry to hijack twiasp.

By Amber Bakelite do you mean this-

View attachment 924168 View attachment 924169 View attachment 924172 View attachment 924174

I thought it was actual amber but it failed the tests. I have never seen bakelite that was semi transparent before which is why I originally thought it was amber. It has passed all the bakelite tests so far except the simichrome which I am waiting for in the mail because I couldn't find any locally. The clasp is 14k also. I still have not found another to compare it to. I know bakelite in the form of kitchen utensils, dice and certain other objects, but not jewelry. What do you think?

Break out your 409 and a qtip. If it turns yellow, it is bakelite.

twiasp · Jan 4, 2014

No problem at all, not hijacked. I honestly had the same question rattling in my head and is GREAT stuff to learn. How do i identify bakelite compared to just crappy ole plastic stuff? I don't want to destroy the quality of something, i guess seeing a 14k clasp would be a great tip on maybe the beads are something valuable also. This is a great thing in this thread and happy to learn about it, I am sure there are a lot of pickers going for silver/gold, probably not as many that know bakelite and such here.

On another note though, i have been talking to a lady that is the jewelry lady at a local thriftshop. She has bins of jewelry still left to go through and she said it is so tasking on time and her counters are already full she would have no problem selling me a bin or 2 just so she doesn't need to go through it all and detangle, label, match up, etc.... I told her that sounds great and i would even return to her the stuff i don't want, free of most tangles and matched up if she likes as a donation. She seemed very receptive, lets hope it pans out )

Beachkid23 · Jan 4, 2014

FloridaHunter said:
Break out your 409 and a qtip. If it turns yellow, it is bakelite.

Does that leave a Permanent mark on it?

inspectorgadget · Jan 4, 2014

diggummup said:
Sorry to hijack twiasp.

By Amber Bakelite do you mean this-

View attachment 924168 View attachment 924169 View attachment 924172 View attachment 924174

I thought it was actual amber but it failed the tests. I have never seen bakelite that was semi transparent before which is why I originally thought it was amber. It has passed all the bakelite tests so far except the simichrome which I am waiting for in the mail because I couldn't find any locally. The clasp is 14k also. I still have not found another to compare it to. I know bakelite in the form of kitchen utensils, dice and certain other objects, but not jewelry. What do you think?

Yes Dig that looks like bakelite to me! Kind of a cross between butterscotch & amber Bakelite! Are there any seams from a mold? Bakelite never has mold lines! That would indeed be considered "amber" bakelite tho the real valuable stuff is quite a bit more red (cherry amber) or tan (butterscotch), yours is more of a cross but any "colored yet transparent" bakelite is considered amber regardless of it's actual color. The beads on that necklace would fall into what I see & hear people call the "chunky" bead category. The color of your beads are kind of unique like a cross between butterscotch & Cherry.

Very somewhat similar color but a short choker & shows that its transparent.. They call it cherry but it's really not or at least not by my standards, it's more of a true amber which is an iced tea color.

Trifari Vintage Chunky Cherry Amber Bakelite Beads Choker Necklace Statement | eBay