I’ve written a bit about The Art of Thrifting, purchasing clothes, appliances, knick-knacks and gift items at secondhand outlets, garage sales and through auction outlets. I’ve also written about Alternative Economies and how systems like barter and straight trade can keep your family going without the exchange of cash or credit.
This post combines both of these approaches to make a talent at thrifting into an actual income. Over at Apron Thrift Girl blog there is a wonderful post describing one adventure in estate sale thrifting entitled Seeing What Has Always Been There that I recommend to readers so as to get a feel for how to make money by picking out bargains and re-selling them at a hefty profit.
Thrift Girl talks about finding some sterling silver pieces, and about a friend who found an entire set of sterling flatware for $40 that resold for $900. This is one of those spectacular deals everyone hopes to stumble into, but that’s not going to happen all the time. More modest profit potentials still build up and should not be overlooked. Estate sales are sometimes just boxed ‘stuff’ in the old home, but are more often handled by small local auction houses. Which in my area advertise in the local paper and with posters on the storefront alerting buyers of the usual Saturday auction, and this can be a really fun way to pick up bargains in antiques, jewelry, artwork, porcelains, clocks and unusual items.
I once found a beautiful 1.5 carat diamond solitaire at an estate jewelry outlet for a mere $300. I had it re-set with a six-prong setting in white gold by a reputable jeweler for another $400 and wore it occasionally for a couple of years. It was too big to wear every day, but was a flawless super-sparkler that never failed to elicit oohs and aahs. I sold it – to the jeweler who had lovingly crafted the new setting for such a beautiful, century-old stone – for its insurance appraisal of $2,000. And he was delighted to get it at that price!
China (plus unusual odd pieces like tea cups and saucers, cream and sugar sets, serving bowls and gravy boats) is also a great investment if you can find whole or nearly whole sets. a complete set for 6 will sell quickly even if it was originally meant to be a set for 12 (but is missing some pieces). People these days don’t tend to have large families, do much formal dining, and even formal dinner parties aren’t so big anymore. My mother had several sets of china for 24, which she always complained were responsible for limiting the size of her dinner parties. I always took that with a grain of salt, given that the mahogany table could only seat 24 +2 with all its leaves. Where was she planning to seat extra guests?
Many china dealers specialize in particular brands and styles, and have websites you can peruse to identify pieces and buy or sell any odd pieces you have. These in turn are bought by people who inherited Great-Grandma’s bone china and the set is short a few plates, saucers or accessories. Return for odd pieces of popular styles is quite good. Crystal is also a good investment, as are any kitchen odds and ends in milkglass or depression glass. Old family Bibles sometimes go for a surprising amount of money to collectors, and the occasional old cardboard box chock full of baseball cards can be a regular treasure (an original Mickey Mantle rookie card in pristine shape can go for more than $30,000). Even textiles – bedspreads, tablecloths, linen napkins, handmade quilts and tatted lace can re-sell for a good profit if you know something about the items, their age, and if they’re in good shape.
Thing is, when you begin thrifting for items you want to re-sell at a profit, you’ve got to pay attention to items you might never think of buying for yourself. And having some idea of what various items are actually worth will keep you from ending up with a barn full of stuff you can’t sell at a profit. Many local auction houses will advertise at least a week ahead of time for all major items in an estate sale, allowing you to do your homework before the auction and before the bidding starts. Some will even let you lodge a pre-auction bid that will start the process on the big day (or just let you pre-purchase that item).
Once you’ve trained yourself to notice items that will readily sell to collectors (even if you don’t like them personally), you’ll need some reliable outlets for your own sales. eBay has proven to be a popular method that doesn’t cost much and has millions of customers. Research what’s available and be careful of the amount of time, effort and money you may have to put into the market in order to start seeing some profit. This can easily become more than a full time job if you’re not careful.
Happy thrifting, and big returns on the re-sale!
Links:
How to Find Great Live Auctions for Resale Items
Resale 101 Auction Secrets Revealed
NBER: Auctions with Resale when Private Values are Uncertain