Share your finds- Flea market, yard sale, thrift store, auctions, estate sales

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by GTB

ffs,all the charity workers here take all the good stuff before they get put out

were just left with scraps

They did this at the large goodwill at my previous home and when many of us reported it they stopped.

But, then we found they were putting out the items only after texting a friend to come in and buy the items.

Next thing a new manager showed up and some new workers were in place.

They found to have been sorting the items from the bins and tossing good stuff into the huge dumpster and coming back after hours dumpster diving it.

[FizzyFish]

My mate used to work in a charity shop in the Uk, he was quite proud of the fact he could cream off the decent stuff for himself. To be honest even that stuff was tat though. He never got anything good, just a few decent clothes.

Depends what area you are in I reckon. ****ty inner cities have naff all. Nice middle class suburban areas where people have more money than sense is the place to go!

Even then though some charity shops get carried away with them selves. I have seen some selling Primark stuff for more than the original price!

Argos used to be a good source of stuff. Their things are usually pretty decent and of course abide by all UK laws and certification. It used to be easy to buy stuff from there and then list it on eB just mentioning all the fancy certification it has but not saying it was from Argos. Always turned a profit!

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by biggunn

I also found out that each store has a "Production Manager" who job it is to price things. You can tell when they look things up on ebay because it is priced maybe 15%-20% less... Many items are overlooked though.

I know of one who does this and you can tell when he is pricing items.

When he was not there I asked a worker who prices the items and she told me on Monday and Thursday Dale prices all the items. He is at another location the other 3 days. I asked, who prices on the days he is not here and she said Cindy does. I can surely tell the difference.

He priced a Star Wars figurine at 75.00. I used terapeak and noticed most of these sell for 30-35 range but one sold for 75.00 so he priced it at the highest level and not even the rarest figurine.

Same guy priced a Kit Kat Klock from the 1990s at 250.00. The original ones from the 1950s bring that price but not the newer ones.

I almost always time myself to hit that store on the days he is not there. And I do find a ton of stuff at that store.

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by Sneakee

Oh is that how it works in goodwill? At arc, I think there is one guy (district supervisor?) in the area that goes store to store to price things. I see him at the arc stores around here and he prices things so retardedly it's not even worth it.

But yeah, not only that but I've seen thrift stores have something they think is REALLY good and price it super high. Then they print out some random Ebay ad that shows that it's worth that much Even though most of the time and it's not even the same model or brand.

I've also noticed that goodwills in downtown areas or in the middle of nowhere have the worst prices for whatever reason.

On bigger ticket items I almost always ask for a discount. Usually get one if the right manager is there.

[yotano211]

Sandy, on any item you buy at thrift store you can talk to the manager and negotiate a discount. Over time and knowing the management they will give off bigger discount or more chances of discount.

When I was in college, I lived off used cloths, (expect shoes, socks, and underwear). At first I bought the clothes at full price of the store. Then one time I was able to ask a manager for a possible discount but it didn't work. Then next time he gave me one and more after that.

[biggunn]

Picked up a Super Nintendo yesterday. $5. These go for $40 to $200 depending on the games.

I also paid $10 for a Department 56 Ceramic Christmas Model. New in the box, this one goes for $200+. I won't get much more specific than that, but it looked to me like a lot of Department 56 Collectibles fetch a nice price.

[Sandy D]

My find for the week probably was another Bose Wave vintage radio, except for this one was new in the box. Never used. Guessing early 1990's or about.

19.99

Most sell for 175.00 but being new and with the original box and papers should be able to fetch 200-225 range.

Did get a lot of smalls this week, building fb on some new accounts so I cannot be specific but found some super good quick sellers for a few bucks in the bric brac section.

Did pick up a vintage cross bow, will have to do some research but this one is a name brand I am familiar with.

Do not laugh. I bought a box of 21 rolls of duct tape for 5.00 at a yard sale.
Dont know what the heck I can do with all this tape but thinking craigslist maybe?

[UnderBites08]

I have a goodwill 4 minutes from my house. I so far have bought a bag full of old nhl cards, some disney VHS's, and a silverware case made by International Silver Co. I have not listed any yet. I got those all for cheap but some stuff is plain dumbly over priced.

[biggunn]

Originally Posted by Sandy D

My find for the week probably was another Bose Wave vintage radio, except for this one was new in the box. Never used. Guessing early 1990's or about.

19.99

Most sell for 175.00 but being new and with the original box and papers should be able to fetch 200-225 range.

Did get a lot of smalls this week, building fb on some new accounts so I cannot be specific but found some super good quick sellers for a few bucks in the bric brac section.

Did pick up a vintage cross bow, will have to do some research but this one is a name brand I am familiar with.

Do not laugh. I bought a box of 21 rolls of duct tape for 5.00 at a yard sale.
Dont know what the heck I can do with all this tape but thinking craigslist maybe?

Bose wave radios are vintage?? I think I'm starting to get old..

[rsot]

I would like to buy that cross bow if it works =)

[Sneakee]

Originally Posted by Sandy D

Do not laugh. I bought a box of 21 rolls of duct tape for 5.00 at a yard sale.
Dont know what the heck I can do with all this tape but thinking craigslist maybe?

Too bad it wasn't packing tape

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by biggunn

Bose wave radios are vintage?? I think I'm starting to get old..

Guess we are because when I researched it the ones that were selling for high dollar were from I believe the 1990s and the sellers were calling them vintage.

In my world of antiques anything over 20 years is considered old now!!!




I recently sold an atari 7800 with a bunch of games for crazy money. I believe from the mid 1980's. Guess the 1980s and 1990s is the the new 1960-70's.

I always listen to other talking at auctions and people are saying that 1980s stuff is hot. So be on the look out for that old vintage 80s stuff.

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by Sneakee

Too bad it wasn't packing tape

Tell me about it.

[biggunn]

Originally Posted by Sandy D

Guess we are because when I researched it the ones that were selling for high dollar were from I believe the 1990s and the sellers were calling them vintage.

In my world of antiques anything over 20 years is considered old now!!!




I recently sold an atari 7800 with a bunch of games for crazy money. I believe from the mid 1980's. Guess the 1980s and 1990s is the the new 1960-70's.

I always listen to other talking at auctions and people are saying that 1980s stuff is hot. So be on the look out for that old vintage 80s stuff.

Lol... I always keep my ears open at sales. I like to ask a lot of questions to the sellers as well. Most people are happy to talk about things they know.. I've added many items to my list after hearing conversations or talking with sellers.

For example... I saw a Coors neon sign at a garage sale this weekend. Seller wanted $300. So I probed him a bit about its origins and why he priced it so high. It was vintage from the 80's. Of course I didn't buy it.. But in the future I will certainly be looking for Coors or other beer neon signs that are priced reasonably...

[Sandy D]

Some people think people are stupid.

300 for a Coors sign.

Way out of range on that one.

I wont hurt anyones feelings with low ball offers but I have been known to ask where did you come up with your price?

[Sneakee]

Originally Posted by Sandy D

Some people think people are stupid.

300 for a Coors sign.

Way out of range on that one.

I wont hurt anyones feelings with low ball offers but I have been known to ask where did you come up with your price?

I agree, that is wayyy too high.

Unless it was a very large sign.

Coors isn't the most collectible either. So that makes it a little silly as well.

Oh, that does remind me when I purchased a light-up beer sign at a garage sale. It wasn't neon but it was in perfect condition. The beer name is lost on me right now as this was a year ago but it was very green.

Anyways, nothing had prices at this garage sale so I went up to the guy and said "Hey how about I give you $10 for that beer sign".

He responded, "NO! Give me $5 and get it out of here!"

Lol, So I did and got $35 for it from selling it on Craigslist.

[rsot]

@Sneakee, that's quite a bizarro sale ha.

[biggunn]

I have made offers to old men and ladies at garage sales and gotten lower counter offers because of their bad hearing.. Or the old man/lady that counter offers your $5 offer with $5.50..

[Sneakee]

Originally Posted by biggunn

I have made offers to old men and ladies at garage sales and gotten lower counter offers because of their bad hearing.. Or the old man/lady that counter offers your $5 offer with $5.50..

That's cute. I don't mind if older people are into that. What annoys me is when I go to an estate sale that's run by a business and they keep trying to haggle.

One time I bought two 45's (vinyl records) and a bottle of half used glue. The 45's were scratched beyond belief and I only needed them to test a turntable.

So basically I was buying garbage.

I go up to the guy and try to give him a $1. He goes "Oh man you're killing me! We're selling this stuff for the old lady of this house. You have to give her more than that!"

It was so annoying. I finally said take the $1 or throw this in the landfill. So he finally took it. So much drama for junk. These people don't even know how to haggle. Spend your time haggle on a $50 item. Don't haggle over a $1!

[Sandy D]

I have been known to buy out an entire yard sale and buy out an entire table of stuff at a flea market.

I never miss a chance, if I can turn the items over and make some money I will take advantage of any situation.

Remember always to be fair and honest, I wont purposely rip anyone off.

I will however ask them if they will sell everything left on your table for one price. If they name a price and it is fair I go for it. If the price is way out of line I just be honest and tell them I cannot do that. I am buying to resell and their is not enough money left to make any.

[GTB]

nothing wrong with haggling sandy

always get the best deal you can,plus a bit of polite banter creates a rappor with the seller and he/she wants to do you a nice deal for you then anyways

[Sneakee]

Originally Posted by GTB

nothing wrong with haggling sandy

always get the best deal you can,plus a bit of polite banter creates a rappor with the seller and he/she wants to do you a nice deal for you then anyways

Exactly. I don't know why some people think it's so horrible to try and talk someone down from their inflated price. We live in a very odd society nowadays. There isn't much self-reliance or responsibility so people have a warped sense of what is "fair".

Some examples of contradictory reasoning are people that complain about costs of shipping AFTER a purchase on Ebay. Another example is someone putting up an item for auction and not getting what they thought they would get so they try to cancel the transaction.

And one of the best examples are Amazon buyers who think it's horrible that some items cost more than they would like to pay. So they buy it and then leave a poor star rating for the cost.

Yay for the modern world