My Top 5 thrift store finds with the highest resale return
One of the facets of my business is a small etsy shop, where I share some of the cool items I acquired, but do not necessarily have space for in my home. I thought it would be fun to share the Top 5 thrift store finds with the highest resale return. These items did not sell for a lot of money, there are no Picasso drawings or any other jackpot items. But they are things that I dug up with minimal investment and turned them around with incredible returns.
I always had an eye for vintage and antique things. More accurately, I just love finding interesting pieces and then researching their history. I like thrifting, especially because it ultimately led me to upholstery and coming up with the name for my business and blog. For me, it was never really about money (although it is very welcome). It is more about the hunt and finding treasures that many overlooked.
This is no way a guide of the items to look for, just some examples of where I was a sizeable return. So, here are my top 5 items with the highest return and their stories of what made them so special.
NOTE: some of the photos are copywritten images I found online, because my images were not great quality, but the items are identical to the ones sold.
1. Brass Hedgehog
This was one of my cutest finds, although my sister claims she spotted it first. And maybe she did. 🙂 I bought an adorable brass hedgehog at an estate sale for that very reason. I wanted to keep it, because it was just so miniature and … well… cute! Right? It was only about 2 inches and appropriately the sticker price was $2.
After some research, I found out it was a very special hedgehog – IGEL from Vienna’s Walter Bosse’s Brass Miniatures Collection. I couldn’t find too many examples of them for sale, but from what I could find $55 was a good starting point. To my surprise, it sold within ONE DAY!
2. Zig-zag bottle opener
This one just looked interesting as I had never seen a corkscrew with an accordion mechanism. And I figured if I thought it was a fun find someone else would, too. This particular item was sitting at a bottom of a stocking cart at a local Goodwill and was 99 cents.
The 1920’s Zig-Zag wine bottle opener from France sold for $59! Math sure is fun!
3. HolmeGaard Glass Vase
This Danish glass bud vase was another thrift store find. At $2.99, I was shocked it was still on the shelves when I found it. I was drawn to it immediately, and at mere 6 inches in height, it stood out so starkly among other lackluster ceramics and glass.
At first, my plan again was to keep the vase for myself. I just loved the crisp white color and the irregular wavy details in grays and pinks. But, I already have so many of the same size that, I decided to list it. With shipping included this HolmeGaard vase from the Atlantis series sold for a $78.
4. Royal Copenhagen Tabby
For some reason, I often overlook garage sales, but I always find fun stuff. Recently, I stumbled on a parking lot garage sale benefiting a cat rescue. And, there were A LOT of cat items for sale. I ended up with over twenty items for $25. Average cost per item was about $1.22. Not too shabby.
Among many kitty-related items was this 7-inch ceramic Royal Copenhagen Tabby. I knew this maker is pretty valuable, but I was shocked to find that this particular cat was selling online for a couple of hundred dollars. And luckily, this baby was in pristine shape. I offered free shipping and the total sale was $195.
5. Corona 4 typewriter
Ahhh,.. Typewriters! One of my bigger loves. They are just pure magic, and the older, the better! I am not even quite sure how I acquired this one, as it was one of the first items I bought for resale. One day, I will have a wall of typewriters like Tom Hanks, but for now I only have one personal typewriter and I did not keep this one.
This 1920’s Corona 4 typewriter was about $30, and sold quickly for $255. No surprise there, because this typewriter was solid and beautiful. On top of it all, it worked perfectly!
I like to imagine how the items I resell fit in their new owners’ lives. When it comes to this writing machine, I like to imagine that it’s still being used to record some amazing stories and produce literature as interesting as this master piece of vintage technology.
Again, these are just some of the examples of where I found success and list just the Top 5 thrift finds that brought me the highest resale return and not a manual of what to focus in your own thrifting adventures. This is merely a list of some fun examples and reminder to ALWAYS follow your heart when treasure hunting.
