Told you guys to check out your local thrift stores!

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by doughboykilla

Storage Wars that show is so f a k e! bombs and stuff in the lockers lmao gay reality tv bs. There are probly storage locker auctions but they wont be nothing like what u see on reality tv.

How wrong you are. I have went to many storage unit auctions over the years and yes, many with junk but many with some great stuff.

A few months ago I bought a unit full of boxed items with some older furniture items. In one of the boxes was a powder box, in the powder was 3 wedding rings and a diamond. All gold.

I took them to a local coin/jewelry/pawn shop to see what he would offer me for the gold and he offered me 2500.00 for the rings and 350.00 for the diamond ring.

I paid 250.00 for the unit. Not a bad profit.

Again it comes down to your knowledge and skill level of buying these types of items. If you are not skilled in antiques, collectibles, furniture then you do not need to be doing yard sales, flea markets, storage units, auctions.

If you only have the skills to sell new items then you need to stick to that arena.

Sure the show is a show but in real life money can be made at storage units.

The last unit I bought I paid 300.00 for it and I got out of it a like new roto tiller, a John Deere push mower, an oak curve front showcase, a box full of brand new unused tarps in all sizes, a box of new bungee cords, 2 family sized tents like new, a dorm sized refrigerator and tons of smalls.

I had to rent a U Haul to get it all out and to my storage unit.

I got 400.00 out of the mower on craigslist, 250.00 for the tiller, 600.00 for the curved oak showcase, 50.00 for the frig and sold the tarps for 20-40 each on ebay.

I have yet to lose money on a unit, I am sure I will someday but again the skills tell you if you do not see profit in the items you can see then stop at a point where you know you can break even and the rest is profit on whatever you find.

In fact I know a couple of auction going guys who buy 100s of unit a month and went from driving a van to a box truck to get the items out of the units.

They mainly deal in furniture and appliances but I have watched them grow from buying box lots of junk to this.

DBK- you need to stick to the new stuff and stop buying anything that is not new because you seem to have bad luck doing so. Anyone who would buy any electronic item and not test it and put out decent money for it is in the wrong business.

I am learning the ropes on the new stuff and when I do I will have the best of both worlds because there wont be anything out there that I cannot turn a buck on.



The flea market you went to? Betting most of the new items were vero but the seller probably did not tell you that.

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by Ebayorbust

I've really enjoyed this thread so far. It's been like an episode of Storage Wars. Yyuuuuupppp!!!!!

Out of interest, are these storage locker auctions quite frequent in the US?

Yes, a lot of units in and around most major metro cities.

The units I have rented for my own stuff that I wont bring home has auctions at the end of every month and it usually runs 20-30 units every month.

He has I believe 800 units at that location and tells me he has a 95% or more filled rate all the time.

YUUUUUPPPP

People do not like him but he is in business to make money and I do not like his personality but I like his style. He takes no crap from anyone.

As my Grandpa who taught me the antique business as a young kid told me,
"Knowledge is wealth and money shuts people up" Dave shuts people up with his money and knowledge. Then shows up with multiple trucks etc to show he is the big boy and the rest are just small timers.

[yotano211]

I am loving fleamarkets or swap meets. I have only been to the swap meets 3 weeks in a role but I am learning. I stick to the things I know for now, computer components.

For some time I was doing business close out auctions in Vegas since there is tons of those here and I made some profit from it. It's mostly the bigger and more experience guys who know the ropes. I learned some things and lost money on things that I overbid but overall I made out OK.

Next up for me, I want to travel to another city, maybe in California and see the swap meets there. The only outdoor swap meet here is not very big.

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by yotano211

I am loving fleamarkets or swap meets. I have only been to the swap meets 3 weeks in a role but I am learning. I stick to the things I know for now, computer components.

For some time I was doing business close out auctions in Vegas since there is tons of those here and I made some profit from it. It's mostly the bigger and more experience guys who know the ropes. I learned some things and lost money on things that I overbid but overall I made out OK.

Next up for me, I want to travel to another city, maybe in California and see the swap meets there. The only outdoor swap meet here is not very big.

You will enjoy them.

I know it is far from you but the Rose Bowl has a huge flea market every year.

And one of the largest flea markets in the US is in Texas. I believe a town called Canton?

[jbluntz]

Originally Posted by Sandy D

How wrong you are. I have went to many storage unit auctions over the years and yes, many with junk but many with some great stuff.

A few months ago I bought a unit full of boxed items with some older furniture items. In one of the boxes was a powder box, in the powder was 3 wedding rings and a diamond. All gold.

I took them to a local coin/jewelry/pawn shop to see what he would offer me for the gold and he offered me 2500.00 for the rings and 350.00 for the diamond ring.

I paid 250.00 for the unit. Not a bad profit.

Damn, that's sounds pretty decent, I might have to start looking into to that.

[Irule22]

Originally Posted by doughboykilla

Lol naw im not wrong that show is f a k e as hell. Im really sure all that drama relly happens at them storge auctions.

and that fleamarket i didnt ask if it was f a k e i could just tell it was pretty obvious with the price and the dvd-rs that the movies where on. Now i see why u make so much money at these places when its foo foo there's much money to be made

You're thinking of "Storage Hunters". "Storage WARS" is legit. Yeah, the "witty banter" between segments is all scripted, or at least mostly.

You have to remember, they film for about 4 months over 200+ auctions to turn into 24 22 minute episodes. They show the good stuff because who wants to see someone "break even"?! They either want big wins or big losses.

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by doughboykilla

Now i see why u make so much money at these places when its foo foo there's much money to be made

Do me a favor as you seem to be the ONLY one in this thread who is either jealous of others success or simply struggling with making money.

This threads intend was to help others by posting your experiences. Since we all live in different areas and countries you wont be stepping on anyones toes if you share some of your knowledge.

Many have tons this and I have learned from their postings and I hope others did as well.

You seem to be extremely confused about things. First you attack anyone who sells at a flea market as a con man, then when I asked you why would you buy an electronic item without checking it you then turned to attacking anything else that moves. Now the show is a ⊗⊗⊗⊗ and those people do not exist.

First of all those people do exist and I know several who do extremely well with storage units. So you of course are wrong again on this issue.

Now you twist it again that I make so much money going to these places because there is money selling foo foo items.

You lack of skills or knowledge drives me crazy. Since when is a used lawnmower a foo foo. Since when is a WWII binocular a foo foo. Since when is a vintage Seth Thomas clock a foo foo.

If you cannot understand the purpose of the thread and understanding that the money I make buying these things is based on years of learning, skill and knowledge and not selling foo foo items then you need to find another thread to troll along on.

Based on my experience with you and its not a good one, I would not buy a roll of toilet paper from you because I can guarantee it will not be what you said it was.

Sorry it has to come to this and you are trying your hardest to get this thread closed by by golly it is about time people understand something.

DBK is touting that people who sell at flea markets are all con mans and rip off artist but then he is the same man who stole 600 dollars from me selling me accounts that went down even before I signed into them. Hours after you created them I got emails telling me they account was gone. Now who is the rip off here? Oh by the way, I still have those records and emails saved. When I sent them back to you what did you do? You turned around and re sold them to another member here which is wrong. You are not currently selling accounts correct?

You cannot point fingers at others when you are doing the same thing yourself.


Maybe you will learn something from the vast knowledge of our friends here on the board. Many have shared their info with us and for me I truly appreciate it, but you, well, jealous comes to mind but lack of knowledge is what is driving it.


Now lets get back on topic and see if we can all learn from each other.

[Sandy D]

Here is one of my finds for the day. Hit a community yard sale this morning and found this.

Paid 5.00 and will get it listed probably tomorrow as it will sell for 100+.

1950-60s ski slope in fantastic condition.

Vintage toys always sell well if they are in good working condition, no rust etc.

I have seen the slope over the years but never the actual skier.

[Salvo]

Good information! I just decided to expand from my safe electronics flipping corner and started going to thrift stores and garage sales after reading those two threads last week, and the profit % is ridiculous!!
Always hit up church rummage sales! A lot of times, these old ladies and gentleman just want the stuff to go to a good home and don't care what you pay! Just a few days ago I picked up a Technics record player, a Polk Audio Center channel, and matching front speakers, for $5 all together. Technics = $200, center = $180, front pair = $140.

Not to mention lots of small things (leather wallet, book from 1810, and some 1970's flashcards) for like .10 each, should all sell for $10/e easily.

Had I more vehicle room, I would of also snagged the 10 Sony VCR's for $1/each (easy $25-$30 sale).

I'll try to add my finds as I learn more too!

[GreenBean]

@Salvo

Good for you.

Change of weather sees people decide to 'tidy up' and throw out 'rubbish.

If a seller is looking that rubbish is THEIR good luck.

On Friday, I scored a English manufactured G-Clamp and a box of brass air fittings.
Deal cost me 20 bucks. Box contained 30 or so fittings. I will move them as a seperate item at $8 minimum....

Always look out.

[Sandy D]

Thrift stores, yard sales, garage sales, antique auctions, estate sales, community yard sales, even antique malls you can find items to sell.

I even buy items from craigslist to resell.

Anyone heard of retail arbitrage? I do that as well.

Remember to use the app Yard Sale Treasures for local yard sales.

Also, look up local thrift stores, many larger towns have more then just Goodwill and Salvation Army stores.

I found a pair of Mid Modern Century lamps at an area Goodwill for 19.99.

Atomic looking lamps that should sell for no less then 100.00 for the pair.

Last weekend community sale I also found a 1980's Atari console with games in the original box, never played with.

Keep your eyes open for anything you can flip. Do not stick to your niche items any longer. Take a look at everything.

[Sandy D]

Stopped at the local Goodwill on the way to pick up my kids from school.

A Los Angeles Lakers complete warm up set top and bottom size 4XL NIKE like brand new for 19.99.

Should bring 60-80 or more easily.

1970's Pioneer woodgrain clock radio for 4.99 should sell for 40-45.

2 vintage 1960s PEZ dispensers.

Several more things that I will post about as soon as I can.

[Sandy D]

Forgot one thing that I think is cool as heck.

I found a stack of motorcycle repair manuals for Harley, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha etc.

14 books total.

1.99 each.

Someone had to own a repair shop and donated this stack.

[vxmotorsport]

This thread has given me true inspiration to take a complete new approach to gaining stock.

Something I would never have thought of... I know of many "thrift" like shops in the UK, not called thrift shops however. But I am certainly going to be checking them out this week, not only to build new accounts but it seems there is some real nice money to be made with this method.

Thanks Sandy D

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by vxmotorsport

This thread has given me true inspiration to take a complete new approach to gaining stock.

Something I would never have thought of... I know of many "thrift" like shops in the UK, not called thrift shops however. But I am certainly going to be checking them out this week, not only to build new accounts but it seems there is some real nice money to be made with this method.

Thanks Sandy D

I have been doing this since I was a little girl. My Grandparents dragged me to all those auctions, yard sales, flea markets and forced me to learn.

Not only do I enjoy it today but I always have a pit in my stomach to get to a yard sale, antique auction or flea market even after doing it for many years.

The thrill of the hunt is amazing itself.

Money is laying everywhere to be had no matter where you are.

Like I posted a while back here, I have never taken a single vacation other then flying out of the USA or to Hawaii etc that was not 100% paid for by picking items from antique malls, auctions, thrift stores along the way to and from the vacation spot.

[Sandy D]

Todays pickup of the day was a queen size hand made quilt. Vintage 1940-50s with a beautiful pattern. No issues at all other then one corner has minor threads coming loose.

Purchase for 29.99

Should bring 200-300


** I do not pay tax as I am on file and or carry by re sale vendors license with me all of the time.

[rsot]

Pez dispensers are uber popular to this day

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by rsot

Pez dispensers are uber popular to this day

Some are and some are not. Collectors want specific ones to add to their collections.

[Sandy D]

Buy of the day for me at the local thrift store.

A case of Starbucks vintage coffee mugs.

Vintage Starbucks mugs from particular cities bring very good money.

I am going to piece them out and sell one at a time.

If you find any of these mugs that are vintage, not new and in good condition grab them.

Also, a Kiss 1970s belt buckle and several other cool items.

[Sandy D]

I purchase a website a few months back and actually started an ebook on 101 items you should pick up at yard sales, antique and estate auctions, church rummage sales, flea markets, antique malls, garage sales.

I am hoping to work on it this summer.

101 items to not pass on when you are out picking for profits.

The other benefit then making good money is most of these items can be listed on a new ebay account and not get nailed with a listing mc999.

Big auction tonight, already left bids this morning. Auctioneer will call me late tonight to let me know what items I won.

[lightmaria]

How do you know whats valuable and what's not =/

I could go to a thrift shop/garage sale and see something and have no idea its true worth. It could be a penny or 100 bucks I would have no idea.

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by lightmaria

How do you know whats valuable and what's not =/

I could go to a thrift shop/garage sale and see something and have no idea its true worth. It could be a penny or 100 bucks I would have no idea.

I have been picking yard sales, flea market, antique auctions since I was a little kid. My Grandparents took me to these every weekend and all summer long when I was little, a teen and even early adult.

They knew something about everything and stuck it in my head for many years.

I have bought and sold antique, collectibles or anything that can be flipped for a profit for many years.

I can go into any thrift store, antique mall, flea market, community yard sale and find something every time. Might be small or it might be big but I always find something I can flip for a profit.

It takes time and willingness to learn.

First look for items you are familiar with and research. Then move into other areas.


Just do not limit yourself to thrift stores. I do yard and garage sales, especially community sales where you can hit a ton of homes in a short period of time.

I attend 2 or 3 antique auctions per week.

I have two huge thrift stores on the way to my kids school and stop almost every day.

I also buy off ebay and resell. I buy off craiglist and re sell.


Best thing is not only am I doing what I love to do but the money is amazing. I love the thrill of the hunt for someone or something no one else knows what it is, who made it, what year it was made etc.

Send me a pm about your niche area of knowledge and I will see if I can send you the right direction.