investment thrifting

[genuineimitation]

how do you know if you passed something up you shouldn't have?? i just passed up a vintage set of dishes that i thought was ugly, but now that i've done some checking, i realize i could have resold them on ebay for 2 or 3 times the thrift store price. was i wrong to pass them up? i can't decide if i should be looking for just myself, or considering my thrifting as a way to MAKE some money, rather than spending it..

[Good Buddy]

We used to do some "Investment Thrifting" but we just collected too much stuff that wasn't really us. I personally hope that the person to purchase it will love it and want it for themselves...
Just my 2 cents......

[hollidais]

I have not tried to resell anything yet.  I just buy what I love at a price that I love.  I consider it an extra bonus if turns out to be valuable.

[foutchie]

ebay can sometimes fool you - what sells high today goes low tomorrow, because one or more of the interested parties have already won some.   Plus glassware is hard to pack and ship - I've never done it, too afraid of breakage and having to refund......but that's me!

[oceangurl]

Hollidais pretty much summed it up for me also, I buy what I like and incorporate it into my theme, if it happens to be worth something that is an extra bonus, I do know certain items and their value so I try to get those things for myself, have thought about reselling on Ebay but I dont have the time right now, so I just buy for myself!

[valleythriftshopper]

When I see collectible items that I don't personally want, I don't hesitate to buy them to make a little extra money for the things I do want.  I grew up around antiques, worked at an antique shop for a short time & really enjoy dealing in vintage & collectible items.  If it is something you like why not?  It is no different than getting an extra part-time job, but better because you can work from home. 

Ebay has some drawbacks because some of the people you deal with are not pleasant.  Starting in May Ebay will not allow sellers to leave negative feedback for buyers, but buyers can leave negative feedback for sellers, so I would imagine the number of non-paying bidders will increase.  I would look into all the online selling options in addition to Ebay.

Detailed descriptions & good pictures will help you get good prices for your items.  If you are really thinking about reselling I would recommend yard sales.  I sell alot more in the summer as yard sale goods are cheaper & more plentiful.  Also if you know anyone who has sold on Ebay ask them to help you get started, that is how I started.  Spend some time just looking at other peoples auctions (& look through their feedback) to get some do's & don'ts.  Good Luck, hope to hear about a great sale in the future!

[superiorgirl]

I just can't help myself when it comes to this. If I see something that I know is grossly underpriced,  I snag it. Every couple of years I have a huge garage sale and clear out all of the treasures I've accumulated and that don't fit into my collections. It's a lot of work, but people know that when I have a sale it will be a dandy, so I always do very well with it. If you have the space to store things, and to hold a sale, it's a fun way to make some extra spending money.

[hollidais]

I may try the annual or semi annual yard sale.  It would be a nice way to clean house and be able to make a little extra to feed my habit.

[genuineimitation]

one of the reasons i finally talked myself out of the dish set was because it was SO complete - it was obviously someone's pride and joy, and had been lovingly cared for for many years. i would have felt bad splitting it up to make a profit over it. it felt like it would have been bad karma to do that... someone deserves to get it who a)likes the pattern and /or b) needs a set of dishes

[superiorgirl]

What did the dishes look like? Colors? How much were they asking for them? Service of 8, 12?

[Tammy]

I did the selling on Ebay thing and made money but got so burned out on it that I quit.  Now I have a pile of stuff in the Ebay selling pile but can't get into it.  Several items would bring money, like the Griswold chicken skillet with lid that I picked up for $10.  Plus Ebay has raised their seller prices and changed some of their rules.  I need to get rid of all that stuff but can't quite bring myself to take it back to GW. 

[Big Daddy Audio]

Been there, done that.

I tried to guess what the market would fetch for a certain item, and sometimes it was great, and sometimes not.

The rule of thumb was that if I was going to buy something for resale, I had to be sure I could use it, because there was always a chance that it wouldn't sell on eBay.  I got skunked a few times, and I was lucky it was on low-ticket items.

I'm pretty much over eBay at this point as well; I don't think I'm the only one, either.

See you next time
bye for now

[genuineimitation]

the cosmos has just taught me why i passed up that set of dishes i wrote about to start this thread: i just went into a thrift store i'm not near very often. there was a set of dishes in there that i really had my eye on about a month ago (last time i was in) but the price was too high. it was a very complete set - all kinds of pieces except the pepper shaker. i plucked up my courage and asked if they ever put the dishes on sale. they called the manager. she took one look at all the pieces (so many - they took up a lot of shelf space) and said 'make me an offer.' i offered her $1.00 per piece. I WALKED OUT WITH MY AWESOME DISHES!!!! don't know where i'll put them all, but they are beautiful. they are shungyo stoneware. i don't know if it's collectible, but they are just gorgeous to me! they will look great with everything i have. and now i can finally set a table for 8 people.

[foutchie]

Hurray for you!   Next time you'll speak up sooner I bet (I know that's usually how it goes with me) - glad they took your offer and you got your wish!

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

Excellent-- wonderful story! You'll have to show us photos of your nicely set table.