Learning to Identify Quality Items

[LeggsRobbins]

I have the dickens of a time spotting quality items when I'm thrifting or yard saleing. Is there a book or website I can read that will teach me more about this?

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

I think it's more of a self-education, I'm afraid.

Going for what you like first and foremost and finding out what it is and where it was made-- lots of research. Also knowing what sort of things, for instance are AT the dollar stores so you're not inadvertently purchasing dollar items at the thrifts. And really examining pieces for structural quality, nice detailing, thickness, etc.

[ChrisMiss]

I agree it's a matter of self-education to find what is quality.  As mentioned buy what you love.  You will use items that you love and ignore items that you don't like no matter how much quality is in the item.

Some things just require a little thought to find the better quality.  If you're buying towels then naturally you'd want to look for the thicker ones.  Bedding is by thread count.  Furniture look for "real" wood not cheap particle board.  Alexandra has written much on the forum on what makes a quality item of clothing, seams, linings, etc.  Look for her postings, read and then study the clothing you have and what you see at the thrift stores.

[ChrisMiss]

Much has been written lately on buying quality items.  I agree that we should look for quality but sometimes quality just does not matter.  My husband and I wear a lot of t-shirts around the house.  I can pick them up at the thrift stores for less than $3.00.  Since they are so inexpensive and we wear them for comfort and to work around the house I'm not too concerned about quality.  When they’re too stained they can be tossed in the rag box for further use.

I approach buying a lot of the shorts or long pants that we wear around the house with the same thought in mind.  I’m not spending a lot of money on the item; it’s going to be for home wear so I don’t care as much about the quality.  I know it’s not going to last because of what it’s being used for.

Now the clothing we have that has been bought with the intention of wearing in public is a different story.  I may want quality products if I intend it to be around for quite some time.  I’ll look for good seams, what the item is made of, how to care for it, the style, etc. 

Just because the item isn’t “quality” doesn’t mean it isn’t a good buy.  It’s all according to what you want to use it for and how long you intend to keep it. 

[Aia]

I saw some plates I thought were pretty in the thrift, turned them over, and they wanted 1.79 a piece.  The bottoms said Arabia Finland China, and Gibson china.    I didn't have a lot of time and thought that paying 1.79 was a bit high (having seen China really low in yard sales).  My SIL told me I was stupid, that $2 was a steal for China, this wasn't Target ware.  I went back today and The Gibson was still there, but the Arabian Finland was gone.  I am not suprised since when I looked at it on Ebay it was going for 58 to 76 per plate!!!!  

Do you always grab something you like, even if you don't know the price? 

[SecondhandSophisticate]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh!!

The Arabia Finland is highly collectible!  I've never seen a piece in person in my life, merely in pictures. And to think, you held a piece in your hand...

Having said that, the above reason is NOT why you wanted it in the first place. The reason you wanted it is because you LIKED it.

The Gibson stuff is all over the place. Most of the stuff I find is Gibson.  I guess a lot of people used Gibson. It must have served it's purpose.

This is how we learn...

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

If I really like it and the price looks good to me, I do tend to pick it up. I've been a lot happier with the end result of that method, instead of being sad and longing later.

That said, though, if you were thinking the price was steep to begin with, then maybe it just wasn't the right purchase. If you'd felt really strong about the plates, i'd imagine you'd have bought them anyway, not knowing. It's those sorts of chances we take, unfortunately.

Do you buy something that might be a teensy bit overpriced that you like, or miss out on something that was way underpriced for what it is?.. It's a rough call.

That's why you rarely go wrong buying what you really like. Even if the item is worth nothing more than the price you paid, if it's aesthetically pleasing to you-- if it's your "style"-- it's hard to feel you've made a mistake.

[ChrisMiss]

I agree, buy what you love and you can't go wrong, even if you feel it's overpriced.  Now if you are thinking of buying to resell on ebay there is a learning curve to that as with any new endeavor.  You've just started learning that Arabia Finland is a good buy. 

[alexandra]

But I don't think we should forget that Ebay has really put prices out of whack.  While it's a decent tool to ball-park value, it's not absolute and prices get inflated by sellers themselves.

We have to keep condition in mind too.  Yes, the item might have a collectible name on the label -- but if the condition is poor, it's not always worth grabbing. Then there is the issue of fake merchandise.  There has been plenty of fake Royal Doulton and other brands produced (sold off of the back of trucks on a street corner).

Perhaps that is why the safest policy is to buy what you love and can afford.  It's sorta like investing -- you don't want to invest any more money in stocks, etc. than you can afford to lose.

That being said, I still can't get over the set of eight Romer wine glasses I scored last month for eight bucks.  I would not have known they were anything special unless a pal of mine (of German descent) served me a Reisling in one.  There are so many ways to determine quality and one is also noticing what others collect and asking them what is special about it.  Hmmm... it's a good way to then gift shop for them too.

Thriftily,
Alexandra
www.livingwithoutmoney.blogspot.com

[Aia]

They were the Valencia pattern, and there wasn't just one, there was a set of 3. One was chipped and the other two were very nice.  I liked the blue color, but I was looking for a set of 4 plates though.  The Arabia Finland felt different then the Gibson.

Is Amhert worth anything?? They have a lot of those too.

[lizardsally]

I agree, there's no easy way to know what to look for.  I sometimes buy things for resale on eBay but since I can't possibly know about everything I just buy what I do know about, and sometimes if something is cheap, I take a chance!  (I figure if it doesn't work out I can always give it away on Freecycle!)  Sometimes I take notes if I'm not sure about something then look it up when I get home to see if I should have bought it.  Usually I find that it's not worth a trip back to the thrift store to pick it up!

[valleythriftshopper]

If you have the time & are really interested it can be worthwhile to go to your local library & look at reference guides.  Kovels is a good one, also books about major areas of collecting like depression glass etc, are good to look at.  There are so many guides & they tend to be expensive so I just check them out at the library.  If I see a good cheap one at a thrift store (mostly outdated) I pick it up even though the prices are out of date the info about patterns & makers is good. 

[ChrisMiss]

If you're interested in selling something on ebay the best place to research for the items "worth" is in closed auctions.  Look at the items that actually sold and what the items sold for, how many different bidders, etc.  Time of year is another consideration; if you're interested in what a winter item is worth then summer isn't the best time to look at sales.  I have some Christmas dishes that I will be listing at this time of year, they'll sell for more now than they would have in the summer, more people will be looking at the auctions.

Many of the reference guides have inflated prices too.  Any item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it no matter what the guides say it is worth.  Guides are good for some things but prices isn't really one of them.  Sometimes I go to an antique store to see items that I'm interested in finding out more about, like vaseline glass.  I see the pictures on ebay and in the guides but I went to the store to actually see the pieces in closer detail.  Now if I see a piece I have a better idea of whether it's a fake or real.

Some items will be sell for quite a bit for a short time and then peoples interest move on to something else.  The other day I bought a mug at the thrift store for less than 50 cents.  A few years ago these mugs sold on ebay for over $20 each.  Right now they aren't selling for much; I'm keeping it though because it is rare and hoping that someday it will sell again for quite a bit.  I'll just have to keep my eyes on the auctions.

[valleythriftshopper]

That's a good point.  If you are trying to resell thrift store purchases, recently completed auctions on Ebay will give you a current resell value.  The reference guides give retail values & Ebay is famous for bargains.  Some of the really hot collectibles do sell for near or sometimes over book values.  I find the guides helpful just to familiarize myself with items just in case I run into one.  I bought an outdated book on cookie jars for less than $2.00 at the Salvy & in it I saw a cookie jar that I had passed over at the same store months before, turns out it was worth a few bucks & was selling pretty well on Ebay too.  Of course there are so many areas of collecting it is impossible to become an expert on them all.  Any knowledge though may land you a treasure!

[thunderthrift]

Hi,

You don't always need an eye for quality, common sense may go along way towared achieving similar objectives.

Purchase items that are unlikely to be counterfeited:
Pyrex and similar glass cookware is a classic example.  I just think the manufacturing complexity makes it unlikely that counterfeits could be fabricated at a reasonable price.   

You may have an eye for quality, but use your other senses as well:
Your hands may find flaws that your eye might not detect such as hairline fractures, etc.  I always run my hands over ceramic products after I have fully eyeballed them.  Check the inside as well as the outside of any item.

If in doubt, don't buy it:
There are a lot of inferior products and knockoffs out there.