Thrift Shop Pickups

[GOWIFB]

Just thought I would report back on the vintage game I found at Goodwill. I ended up making a hefty profit off of it. But what I think is really cool is the buyer said that they have been waiting for this to pop up on ebay for 4 years and now there is only one game they are searching for to complete their collection. I just feel it is so cool to be able to find something that rare just sitting on a shelf at Goodwill and being able to help someone fulfill their collection (I may have actually left some money on the table but I am ok with it). Plus I know the feeling as I had to wait about 4-5 years for the last card I needed for my 2007 Sweet Spot Classic patch set to show up. It was so great not just to finish the set but moreso that I didnt have to search ebay multiple times a day waiting for the thing to pop up.

[Wade Mulroy]

Originally Posted by shanks25

I echo what others have said about using phones at thrift stores and garage sales. As I'm slowly learning more and more, I find I need to use my phone less and less. I thought I'd jot down a few lessons I've learned and general observations so far. Please keep in mind this is just a hobby for me. Just some fun for me and the wife to make some extra money.

1) As for where to buy, I greatly prefer garage sales / estate sales over anything else, especially thrift stores. It seems thrift stores are getting wise to resellers and it is reflected in prices. Everything seems so high priced! Case in point...went to a thrift store yesterday. Found a cast iron skillet with a price tag of $30.49. Outrageous! Especially since it was a junk pan. It seems thrift stores are aware that vintage cast iron is worth some money but they have no idea which ones. With that being said, I have found that there are two general types of garage sale / estate sales. Ones where people are trying to make money (laughable prices) and ones where people are trying to get rid of stuff. Number 2 is obviously preferable.

2) I still don't understand electronics and video games. I understand that there is serious money but it seems like so much work in research, testing, and packaging at the end of the day. To each their own....I guess I'll leave that stuff for all of you.

3) When I started, I thought certain items were obvious sellers. I was wrong. Some things I've learned not to buy. 1) Posters! I still have a bunch in my store and nobody wants them. Even some very cool subjects....Batman, Joe Montana, movies.....I can't give them away. 2) Most clothes. Unless it is a super obvious seller, I'm going to pass. I've purchased some (what I thought were) high end, name brand clothes in great shape, only to have them sit forever. I just ended roughly 25 clothes listings and took all that crap to Goodwill. 3) Books. Granted, some books do well. I've sold some nice vintage books and some great signed books as well. When I first started, I picked up anything signed. My bad. I still have 20+ signed books that have been listed for dirt cheap (after continuously lowering the price) for close to a year. When it comes to signed books, if I've never heard of the author, I'm going to let it pass. 4) I've also found that a lot of sports stuff doesn't do well. I guess I thought it would because that's my forte'.
I've had a bunch of brand new Mike Trout new hats for sale forever without even a sniff at $5 each.

4) On the flip side, here some things I've learned that do well. 1) Ink cartridges of course. I'm just getting started listing the giant find I came across for $20. After listing just a few and a ton of empty cartridges, I've already made $200. 2) Vintage toys / action figures. Especially if you can get them for cheap. I've picked up a ton lately for $1 / each and done real well. 3) Polaroid cameras are money. Who would have thought? 4) Same with shooting / hunting / reloading supplies. I've done very well with holsters, especially name brands (Glock etc.) 5) Militaty item (esp. vintage) have done very well for me too. Jackets, hats, helmets, etc.

5) More than anything else, vintage cast iron is king! If you're willing to put forth a little research and some effort in cleaning, it is incredibly lucrative.

Thanks for the tips; this is great stuff for a noob like me!

Originally Posted by GOWIFB

Just thought I would report back on the vintage game I found at Goodwill. I ended up making a hefty profit off of it. But what I think is really cool is the buyer said that they have been waiting for this to pop up on ebay for 4 years and now there is only one game they are searching for to complete their collection. I just feel it is so cool to be able to find something that rare just sitting on a shelf at Goodwill and being able to help someone fulfill their collection (I may have actually left some money on the table but I am ok with it). Plus I know the feeling as I had to wait about 4-5 years for the last card I needed for my 2007 Sweet Spot Classic patch set to show up. It was so great not just to finish the set but moreso that I didnt have to search ebay multiple times a day waiting for the thing to pop up.

That's awesome, the definition of a win-win

[r0yals2012]

I still use my phone at yard sales. I act like I am texting. My mom and I have code words if we think one of us needs to look something up. We say “Do you think Mae wants this?” And then we say hold on I’ll text her. Why we chose Mae is I have a little cousin named Mae. But some stuff I know a lot about like electronics and video games so I don’t need to use a phone to look up those eBay. It’s mainly the antique/vintage stuff I have to look up. But those reseller YouTubers have taught me a lot. Garage sales are always my favorite to source


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[callou2131]

I mostly use my phone for clothing brands I dont recognize and electronics model numbers. I didnt know to pick up Vilebrequin shirts, loudmouth shirts, and certain jeans like Raf Simone. It has helped a lot for things like that

[callou2131]

Picked up these today...the Vilebrequin Silk still has the tags. Not bad for $9 Total.

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[Crisscross4767]

Originally Posted by Hess687

For those that sell video games....does anyone hold back consoles just to check to see if the game is still working? I snagged a Nintendo 3DS at a garage sale and am thinking about holding it to test future 3DS games to ensure they work.

I try to keep 1 of every console because I am a hoarder, I me collector. So far I've got

Atari 2600
PS1
PS2
PSP
Xbox 360
Xbox One
Nintendo 64
Nintendo Gameboy Advances SP
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo Gamecube
Nintendo DS

[shanks25]

Could use some help. Local thrift store has had these two jerseys forever. They’re $7 each. It appears to be an US Navy basketball league in Japan. Obviously game used. Does anyone see any money to be made???






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[Pittboy]

Be on the lookout for anything Walt Disney World Splash Mountain related. With Disney announcing they are changing the theme of the ride away from Song of the South(Brer Rabbit) people are snatching up things left and right on ebay. Beanie Babies are going for $300 for sets of four. Got a Brer Fox listed that was going for $3 in April. Now at $44 with 9 watchers.

[ajscards101]

Originally Posted by shanks25

Could use some help. Local thrift store has had these two jerseys forever. They’re $7 each. It appears to be an US Navy basketball league in Japan. Obviously game used. Does anyone see any money to be made???






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https://www.ebay.com/itm/VTG-90S-ATS...4AAOSwWkddRj8T

This Ebay listing says its a Philippine pro am basketball league

[shanks25]

Thanks a lot!

It’s kinda crazy that the jersey in the completed listing you posted is the same as the two jerseys I posted. Whoever “Liligan” is....


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[gatordeve86]

I didn't get it from a thrift store but on facebook marketplace I picked up a lot of WWF Hasbro figures.. 48 figures and a ring for $400... Went through half the figures so far and averaged the price for each one and so far I'm on pace to make about $1k profit off of the lot

[shanks25]

Hit a garage sale this morning. Bought complete dvd series of the show Lost (6 seasons) all new in unopened box sets. Paid $5.

Already sold for $90.


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[Hess687]

Stupid me not being patient. Went to a garage sale and overheard a lady ask if they were willing to come down on their Xbox 360 they had priced at $75 with at least 4 wireless controllers, 30 games, the wifi connector and kinect. They said no so I went over and started looking at it and as soon as I started looking at it, the lady bought it. Should've just waited and showed no interest.

Lesson learned. Still a good day out and about though, spent over $100 at numerous garage sales.

[shanks25]

Picked up about 500 old expired credit cards today for $5. They’ve gotta be worth something right???


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[daxwills]

Originally Posted by shanks25

Picked up about 500 old expired credit cards today for $5. They’ve gotta be worth something right???

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Um, is that legal to have?

[shanks25]

There’s a ton for sale on eBay.


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[daxwills]

Originally Posted by shanks25

There’s a ton for sale on eBay.


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Holy crap there are. Still seems sketchy as hell. Like an old blockbuster card sure as a novelty. Old gas station cards from famous expired brands. But just an old atm card? Can’t imagine collecting them.

[Hess687]

Good looking out though on the cards. I stay at hotels 3 weeks out of the month for work and always ask for 2 hotel keys, so once we start traveling again when everything is lifted, I'm just going to pocket those and sell them in large lots. It's free and takes little effort so even if I can pocket $10, it literally took nothing from me to do so that my work already doesn't require.

[jedi500]

Originally Posted by daxwills

Holy crap there are. Still seems sketchy as hell. Like an old blockbuster card sure as a novelty. Old gas station cards from famous expired brands. But just an old atm card? Can’t imagine collecting them.

Look how much an Amex Centurion Black Card sells for...

[Crisscross4767]

I think they turned out pretty good.

[shanks25]

Those look nice!!!


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[Wade Mulroy]

Had a couple cool pick-ups this weekend while visiting my parents in Southern Illinois. Browsed around a local thrift shop Friday morning and got the following:

1993-94 John Stockton Finest Refractor
1996-97 John Stockton Bowman’s Best Cuts Refractor
1997-98 Karl Malone Bowman’s Best Preview Refractor

Each were purchased for $1 each and are all mint.

Found some random Canon BCI-21 sealed ink printer color & black cartridges for 25 cents a piece.

Finally, the coolest find was an old paperback book from 1942, titled “Mit Uns Im Osten” or translated “With Us In the East.”

It’s an all German Nazi produced book that chronicles the war and battles primarily in Russia during that time period. It’s about 100 pages long and has lots of very interesting photos nearly every page. It’s all in German, so I can’t read it, unfortunately. In the back, there is a huge folded map that charts each battle in Russia and descriptions in various cities. Have no idea the value, but I’m insanely interested in WWII memorabilia and I couldn’t help but pick this up.








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[shanks25]

Who would’ve that there’d be Jazz fans in Illinois???

I picked up an all German WWII book about tank battles not too long ago for 50 cents. Was signed by the author. It sold for $20 in record time


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[Wade Mulroy]

Originally Posted by shanks25

Who would’ve that there’d be Jazz fans in Illinois???

I picked up an all German WWII book about tank battles not too long ago for 50 cents. Was signed by the author. It sold for $20 in record time


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I grew up in McLeansboro, IL, which is the hometown of Jerry Sloan. It's a little farming community, that only has 3000 people, so he's certainly the biggest celebrity that has roots there. Even during his coaching days with the Jazz, he would spend a lot of time in McLeansboro during the offseason, as his wife, Bobbye, was his high school sweetheart and also from there.

As a result, McLeansboro was probably the only Illinois town that rooted for the Jazz over the Bulls during the 97 and 98 Finals runs. Being a kid during that time, it was only natural to have a connection to Karl Malone and John Stockton, so it's fairly common to see cards from those guys pop up in flea markets and thrift stores around the area. However, I was surprised to find refractor versions of those cards... Most are generally just base cards that are beat to death, haha.

[shanks25]

That’s a really cool story. I lived in a small town in eastern Nevada for 14 years that had a huge influence from Utah (SLC was the closest big city) so I’m very familiar with the Jazz teams of that era and Sloan as well. Thanks for sharing!


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