$ Thrifting - treasure hunting in the modern world

[D_Tractor]

Thrift stores (especially Goodwill) are almost as shit as storage unit auctions. Think out of the box and find other sources. You are almost better off buying lottery tickets than buying the dregs that their well trained assberger tards who work for $2 an hour determined aren't good enough to sell on Goodwill's own eBay account.

 

[jumbomilkers]

I won’t powerlevel here but considering how little confidence my fellow Kiwis have in the profitability of thrift store flipping these days I feel a responsibility to let you all know that now is the time to start digging at the Goodwill Outlet. The retail stores don’t have the staff to put as much stuff out on the floor, meaning less turnover in the retail locations, meaning more overflow sent to the outlets. Look for the closest ones to you with over a 3.5 on Google and start there. Each location has a different culture and different strengths/weaknesses when it comes to variety of goods, so don’t give up if the first place you go is a stinky shithole full of pushy Haitians. Or do give up, I don’t care, more for me.

 

[Mr. Pestilence]

When I was between jobs I picked up a side hustle of flipping vintage stereo gear and made crazy bank. McIntosh, Altec, Denon, and Klipsch are all brands to turn easy profits. Some rules of thumb Ive learned over the years is to avoid Sony and Pioneer units unless you are familiar with the model; avoid car stereo shit like the plague; vintage toy keyboards and weird midi instruments can command stupid prices. If you’re flipping speakers, make sure that the drivers are correct and matched and that there are no tears/disintegration going on with the cones. On tube or really old gear don’t bother testing it unless you have a variac, if its been sitting for years or it has leaky caps theres a high probability of releasing the magic smoke if you plug it straight in the wall.

 

[XYZpdq]

not really relevant probably but my mom used to run a preschool, and the ancient TI-994/A computer is amazingly great for little kids
it had a speech synthesizer so they didn't have to read, it was mostly cart based, and was built at least half nintendo-grade
they're more a curiosity beyond that application, but if you run a preschool they were baller af
so basically any time one popped up at a thrift store we'd haggle them down to like, ten bucks for the machine
somewhere in my dad's garage there's probably a dozen of them

 

[Uncle Sid]

I once came across a bin with like 40 My Little Pony dolls in it. They wanted $20 so I figured I could get that back on eBay. Flipped it for $300 without even having to break it into lots.

 

[dilettante]

Once I found some leather boots - one was a Guidi and another was a Margiela Tabi. Both were like 3 sizes too big for me so I sold them.

I wish I could have kept the Guidi's since they were pretty cool, but the Margiela boots looked retarded as hell, apparently they're pretty popular, maybe amongst NPCs. Here's what they looked like if you were interested:

Spoiler: Guidi

Spoiler: Margiela

 

[Mr. Skeltal]

I got a dresser for $15 yesterday. Old furniture typically needs some restoration work (i.e. new paint/varnish, filler in chipped/missing areas, new hardware, etc.) but you end up with a piece of furniture that is leagues above the cheapest offering from whatever big box store you frequent. They quite literally don't make 'em like they used to.

Mind you that this only applies to hard goods. I would never recommend you buy anything upholstered from thrift stores unless it's a very clean store and you have the ability to clean and sterilize the item to a like-new condition.

Additionally you can find some good appliance deals at some thrift stores. A local chain where I live sells brand new factory defect (dent or scratch typically) appliances for a fraction of their market price. It's not a bad thing to look for if you're renovating on a budget.

 

[TheRedChair]

I mean the guy he was replying to WAS bragging about flipping thrift store shit on Ebay and that is a genuine fucking plague right now.It's not even just thrift store shit it's literally everything and it's caused by a mix of career scalpers and people who think it's business savvy to buy shit for a dollar with the sole plan of trying to sell it for 300 dollars online. 20 isn't as intense as 300 but the scalper feedback loop of driving up prices via buying off each other is a very real thing. I've watched like 60 different useless cheap funny things I was interested in getting the last few months skyrocket to the hundreds in price range within the span of a week it's a god damn nightmare.
EDIT: The shit about Used games rubs me the wrong way too a little. Buying from Used game stores that sell games for decent prices to flip on ebay is a genuinely fucking gaming SIN I cannot let slide whenever I see it occur. Online prices for used games is in a fucked up place right now for a lot of titles though some thankfully are still cheap but the sellers weirdly rip open the cartridges to show the insides are clean or some shit which skeeves me the fuck out.

I gotta check my local thrift store sometime, not goodwill though, goodwill hasnt had shit in my area since they've done that fucking "online prices" shit and the auction site thing. There's a BIG thrift store that's like just a standalone building across the street from a convenience store like a town or so over from me. Haven't been there in a few years I just realized.

Exactly. The major problem I have with certain types of people is their almost obsession of "making the fast buck" without realizing that it completely raises the cost over everything within the market they are participating in.

As far a being thrifty? You are looking at the guy who is that. Who Saved his money by working hard, being thrifty and invested that savings into income and investment properties, as well into mutuals and index funds. Everything has to start somewhere and for me it was to save money buying used as much as I could.

I got a dresser for $15 yesterday. Old furniture typically needs some restoration work (i.e. new paint/varnish, filler in chipped/missing areas, new hardware, etc.) but you end up with a piece of furniture that is leagues above the cheapest offering from whatever big box store you frequent. They quite literally don't make 'em like they used to.

Mind you that this only applies to hard goods. I would never recommend you buy anything upholstered from thrift stores unless it's a very clean store and you have the ability to clean and sterilize the item to a like-new condition.

Additionally you can find some good appliance deals at some thrift stores. A local chain where I live sells brand new factory defect (dent or scratch typically) appliances for a fraction of their market price. It's not a bad thing to look for if you're renovating on a budget.

Oh I agree with you there. Especially the factory defect store. I picked up some really good deals over the years. And Tools... I look seriously for tools at garage sales and thrift stores. I also look for books on construction/home repairs/auto as well. I've got some damn good deals in cooking utensils, which I have used a great deal.

There is absolutely nothing wrong being thrifty. If you know what you are looking for you can save some money.

 

[Moguro Fukuzou]

The big local thrift shop near me has people lining up up to an hour before the store actually opens so that the first ones there can literally run to their sections. Heard horror stories from the staff of people picking fights in line, having meltdowns if staff are even a minute late helping them at showcase (where the jewellery and more expensive/breakable items are), throwing things at staff, and trying to haggle better prices at checkout (which holds up the line) so they can flip for more profit.

I mainly use the shop to buy cheap books/movies and add to my wardrobe since it's a lot cheaper than buying new plus you can find pretty unique stuff. Personally know nothing about brands so I'll just buy what I think looks nice or fits well, though I did end up picking up a pair of Clarks in good shape for less than 15 bucks (only realized it was a good deal after I was told so by my mom).

 

[Bibendum]

Both for personal use and flipping, estate sales and auctions are where it's at. I've scored unbelievable deals (like seriously out-of-this-world) on beautiful furs from estate auctions. I'm against fur farming but also don't like the fake shit, and I think it's incredibly wasteful to toss out animal-derived items when they can provide years and years of wear with proper care. If you score a good second-hand fur piece, just make sure to bring it to a furrier for cleaning, any required service, and cold storage. The estate sale/auction route is also great for jewelry, antiques, collectibles, vehicles, or whatever else floats your boat. I once watched a Chinese family snatch up probably $100k+ worth of silk Persian rugs for considerably less.

 

[melty]

Both for personal use and flipping, estate sales and auctions are where it's at. I've scored unbelievable deals (like seriously out-of-this-world) on beautiful furs from estate auctions. I'm against fur farming but also don't like the fake shit, and I think it's incredibly wasteful to toss out animal-derived items when they can provide years and years of wear with proper care. If you score a good second-hand fur piece, just make sure to bring it to a furrier for cleaning, any required service, and cold storage. The estate sale/auction route is also great for jewelry, antiques, collectibles, vehicles, or whatever else floats your boat. I once watched a Chinese family snatch up probably $100k+ worth of silk Persian rugs for considerably less.

I love garage sales and estate sales but it kills me how early they are. The last thing I want to do Saturday morning is wake up at 7am to fight some boomers over Pyrex. I love pyrex but it ain't worth it.

 

[Kosher Dill]

I once watched a Chinese family snatch up probably $100k+ worth of silk Persian rugs for considerably less.

There isn't much of a market for rugs these days, because on top of being deeply unfashionable, fewer and fewer people even have a place you could lay out a big rug in. Not really compatible with the pods-and-bugs life.

 

[Actinidia]

There isn't much of a market for rugs these days, because on top of being deeply unfashionable, fewer and fewer people even have a place you could lay out a big rug in. Not really compatible with the pods-and-bugs life.

Depends on the rug... I heard about someone's entire antique (by which I mean many were pre-Islamic and older) rug collection being stolen out of their house a few days after their death, not very long ago. Absolutely astonishing collection, he'd built his entire house around housing it. I met him for unrelated (but thrifting related) reasons. Easily breaks the top ten weirdest days of my life.

One of the things I've enjoyed most about thrifting is the unique people you meet and the stories. I admit that I also like that my house doesn't look like a carbon copy of everybody else's. Nearly everything I own has been chosen because it's sturdy and ordinary people who actually use the stuff can maintain it.

 

[Crinoids]

There's a few potential reasons for this response.
A: You live in scalper hell more than any of us and nobody donates shit
B: you have SHITTY FUCKING THRIFT STORES
C: You looked at literally just the front of the building and then left because the window had a bunch of clothes.

In my case it's extreme A, and a whole lot of B.
To get a better rate of good deals you have to drive out of this area.
I feel like every other housewife is flipping random junk on ebay, every lawyer's third child is trying to be a "Reseller" alt lifestyle influencer with little success. Most of what goes for a thrift store here, is an overpriced performative kitschy experience. Fleamarket is typically full of dropshipping stuff.

Best deals here I've had time to go to are yard sales, but for every cool yard sale there's at least 5 trying to sell you stuff like cookbooks of zero noteworthyness for 75 ents a piece, Twilight DVDs, rooster statuary, a stinky couch, Logitech speakers from 2004 with electrical tape around the connections, and a scuffed mdf corner table with a swollen back corner from water exposure for $50

 

[eternal dog mongler]

My thing is old vinyls. People just drop them off at thrift stores after someone dies and nobody knows the value of them. Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man Like I Loved You for a dollar? Yeah I'll take it.

Fleamarket is typically full of dropshipping stuff.

I think the big flea market here just grabs shit out of landfills. Seriously, it's like Mad Max in there. No I don't really want a broken oscilloscope from the 1970s.

 

[69ing Ur Mom]

I think the big flea market here just grabs shit out of landfills. Seriously, it's like Mad Max in there. No I don't really want a broken oscilloscope from the 1970s.

They likely get the shit out of storage units, which isn't much different than the dump. It's incredible the trash people pay money to store, only to lose it.

Look for flea market sellers that either just dump boxes on the ground or are going through shit as they pull it out of their van/truck. You want to be able to look through stuff that has come straight from a storage unit.

Avoid the sellers that are more organized. They've likely gone through everything before coming to the flea market. That means they have the time and means to check prices online. They'll be less likely to have good items to flip.

I would also suggest everyone lookup basic silver markings. You should be able to tell the difference between sterling silver and silver plated.

 

[Cowboy Kim]

Avoid the sellers that are more organized. They've likely gone through everything before coming to the flea market. That means they have the time and means to check prices online. They'll be less likely to have good items to flip.

The flea market I frequent had a seller who was way higher then he had any right to be, also a super organized seller.
The real shit-kicker is that he would buy things for cheap at the same flea market in the morning, then sell it for 2x or more the price in the afternoon!

 

[69ing Ur Mom]

The flea market I frequent had a seller who was way higher then he had any right to be, also a super organized seller.
The real shit-kicker is that he would buy things for cheap at the same flea market in the morning, then sell it for 2x or more the price in the afternoon!

A slick trick is to pay for a spot at a flea market that you don't use. Instead, you use the setup time to go buy from vendors before the public gets in. You also won't have to take long trips to your vehicle.

Another good practice is to have "business cards." Something the size of post card mailers or larger. You'll want to have a telephone number just for that purpose.

FAST CASH FOR:
1. Vinyl Records
2. Toys for Adults
3. Lego
CALL 867-5309

Keep things as simple as possible as you'll be dealing with functionally illiterate felons with substance abuse problems. When you find a seller that comes across shit you like, give them the card. Tell them you'll give them money the same day they call if they have stuff you like. This will motivate them when they need to get money for their next fix.

Spoiler

They'll probably start shoplifting Lego sets.

 

[Never Scored]

Not a thrifter for profit, but I do enjoy a trip to the thrift store.

I have like $100 worth of clothes, all from the thrift store along with cotton t-shirts, underwear and socks that I buy new. If you refuse to wear thrift store clothes because they may be dirty, but you're not worried about the sanitation situation in the third world shithole your new clothes are made in, or the fact that clothes you buy new could have been tried on or returned by random sweat hogs, you're a fucking grade A consoomer, who's been brainwashed into thinking anything used is subpar by people who want you to remain in debt for the rest of your life and overpay for literal pieces of cloth.

 

[Akashic Retard]

I used to love going to thrift stores and getting ridiculous things to wear back when I was in my late teens and cared a lot more about my clothing. It was great for ironically funny t-shirts. My favorite: a t shirt that said "I'm a Democrat because I care about people." It was italicized on the shirt, as if they wanted it to seem smug.