Make More Money Selling Vintage & Antiques

Become an expert, buy with confidence, and make more money with these proven resources.

Hi there! If you’re a vintage and antique seller, or are thinking about becoming one, then you’ll find the information on this page extremely useful. I’ve been buying and selling antiques for almost 25 years and in the process have learned SO much about the business. I’m pleased to share everything I know about how to make more money selling vintage and antiques!

For the past seven years, I’ve written all about vintage and antiques here on my blog and have produced numerous digital products to teach and empower others to create successful vintage and antique businesses they love. You’ll find every single one of those resources listed right here.

My personal philosophy is based on the idea that in today’s vintage and antique market, it makes enormous sense to sell from more than one platform. As a result, not only do I sell via numerous platforms (an antique booth, Etsy, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace), but I teach how to sell successfully on each as well.

Are You Ready to Sell Vintage & Antiques?

What’s Your Vintage IQ? <— click here

Let’s begin by taking this insightful quiz I created to determine your level of love for vintage and antiques. It’s a great place to start because it will give you a sense of your passion for the field, though I’ll admit it is a bit tongue in cheek, LOL.

How to Get Started in the Business of Selling Antiques

While I intended this blog post for a vintage and antique newbie, as in someone who is relatively unfamiliar with the field, it’s not a bad place for anyone to start. I provide all sorts of suggestions on how to intentionally learn the basics of the business, instead of jumping in willy nilly.

4 Places to Build a Vintage & Antiques Business

(1) An Antique Booth

In How to Start Selling in an Antique Booth & Make Money, you’ll get the low-down on all things antique booth. Learn how I started my first antique booth, the questions you should ask before renting, what to expect as a booth seller, and how to make money doing it.

I’ve personally had a booth for over 20 years and have an abundance of insights to share. Read about How to Make Your Booth Stand Out Seasonally HERE.

(2) Facebook Marketplace

In How to Sell on Facebook Marketplace (FBMP), I take you step-by-step through the process of selling on the platform, including screenshots with red arrows pointing you where to “click.”

It also includes a FREE handout in my Member Library (gain access when you subscribe here). I’ve had huge success selling certain items on FBMP in 2020. Read my What’s Selling in May 2020 post to get the scoop.

(3) eBay

Take my 5-Day Ebay Vintage Seller Challenge and go from zero to fifty in five days as you learn all the steps you need to take to start selling on eBay, including selecting an item, weighing it, photographing it, listing it, and shipping it.

(4) Etsy

Selling on Etsy is remarkably straightforward. It has far less permutations, rules, and regulations, than eBay. The vibe is extremely positive and friendly–not words I’d generally use to describe eBay, though most of my experiences on eBay have been very, very good.

Discover 10 Reasons Why You Should Sell Vintage on Etsy and catch the related Selling Vintage on Etsy video, too.

NOTE: I have two mini-eBooks to help facilitate online sales:

4 Ways to Learn What Vintage & Antiques to Sell to Make More Money (MMM)

I offer multiple ways for learning what specific vintage and antiques to sell in your business. Discover the best items to buy and sell through:

(1) My Sales Reports

My monthly “What’s Selling” blog posts identify everything I sold in that month, via every platform. I also provide the original amount I paid for each item as well as what it sold for. I don’t think anything could be more helpful than seeing what’s actually selling out in the real world, do you?

(2) My eBooks

What to Sell on eBay looks at ten categories of items that sell consistently well on eBay, with 6-7 examples of each with photographs and discussion.
50 Vintage & Antique Bestsellers covers 50 vintage and antiques that sell well for me over and over again. At just 15 pages, you’ll get a photo of each item along with a short description–enough info to get you started and not overload you with information.
15 Vintage & Antique Christmas Collectibles That Sell contains photographs and descriptions of each of the 15 categories of Christmas collectibles that sell. Not overwhelming and contains a one-page printable list you can carry with you while out vintage shopping.
5 Simple Christmas Crafts That Sell gives you detailed instructions for creating five specific DIY craft projects that sell consistently for me year after year. Includes materials lists and suggested pricing for each with full color illustrations of steps.

(3) My Vintage Style DIY Projects

Depending upon where and how you sell, handcrafted items with a vintage look or using vintage materials may provide a good source of inventory. Check out all of my projects to see which might fit in with your vintage aesthetic. Many have corresponding tutorials in my Member Library (join here) that you can print out and have on hand.

(4) My Collecting Guides

Be sure to make use of the over 50 vintage collecting guides that I have available on my blog–for free! Many of them have corresponding “cheat sheets” in my Member Library (join here) that you can print out and have on hand.

6 Places to Buy Vintage & Antiques So You Can Make More Money

(1) Garage Sales

I honed my vintage and antique buying skills at garage sale and still have a deep love for them. As a result, I have a number of helpful resources:

Finding Vintage & Antiques at Garage Sales: This blog post is filled with all kinds of helpful info including how to get ready for garage saling, which types to attend, how to find them in your area, what to look for and more.
Route Planner and Checklist in my Member Library: Gain access to the route planner I created along with a checklist to ensure you’re completely prepared to have a successful day hitting the garage sales. (Subscribe here to gain access to the Member Library. Find it under “Vintage Business Help”).
Your Definitive Guide to Becoming a Garage Sale Superstar: This workbook is for anyone who feels they may lack the skills necessary to shop at garage sales like a superstar. It looks into mindset issues, fears, and numerous practical issues as well.
10 Vintage Items Often Overlooked & Undervalued at Garage Sales: More people have read this blog post than any other on my blog! Not only is the title pretty catchy, but it’s filled with some extremely useful info.
25 Vintage Items Often Overlooked & Undervalued at Garage Sales: I based this, my very first eBook, on the previous blog post by expanding it to twenty-five items. It includes the original ten items, but with improved photos and additional essential information.

(2) Estate Sales

Over the past few years, as prices at estate sales have gone down, they have become my new favorite place to shop for vintage and antiques. You can read all about why you should shop them and how they’ll benefit your business in the blog post. Get my free printable “How to Shop Estate Sales Like a Pro” in my Member Library (join here).

(3) Church Flea Markets

An annual, well-priced church flea market (or garage sale) is a treasure–don’t forget to put it on an annual calendar so you don’t miss it! I love them because they usually offer a huge amount of merchandise and quite often I will discover a hidden gem. In addition, you can find items for your own household at extremely low prices. I especially look for sales in small towns and rural areas where prices tend to be more reasonable.

(4) Garbage Picking

Nothing gets my heart pumping like a nice pile of vintage-looking trash by the side of the road. Read all about my curbside shopping adventures and get my tips for find awesome vintage and antiques. The post has a short video of one of my curbside shopping adventures.

(5) Thrift Stores

Sometimes beggars can’t be choosers and that’s never more true than during the vintage shopping “off season,” which for me is November to April. That’s when I tend to shop thrift stores more regularly, despite the fact that they aren’t my favorite source for vintage.

But like I said, beggars can’t be choosers. In my blog post about thrift stores I report on a thrift store visit–what I saw and what I bought.

(6) Vintage Markets

Annual vintage markets, like the Country Living Fair make for extremely fun shopping experiences. While it’s not always possible to buy for resale, usually you can pick up a few items and also get some great booth or home decorating ideas.

Get Started Selling Antiques on Four Different Platforms:

Get more info about my intensive course that teaches you how to sell on four different platforms: Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, eBay, and an antique booth. Pick one or pick them all!

Resources to Help Price Vintage & Antiques

9 FREE Resources to Help You Price Your Antiques

4 Ways to Learn More About Vintage & Antiques so You Can MMM

(1) My Collecting Guides

As I mentioned above, I’ve written over fifty vintage collecting guides filled with practical info, including history, identification, values, and more. Typically I add one such blog post each month.

(2) My List of Online Resources

Be sure to utilize a list of over 100 resources I put together on a broad array of vintage and antique topics, including everything from Amberina glass to yellowware and darners to postcards.

(3) My Christmas Course

Learn more about Christmas collectibles in my intensive Very Vintage Christmas course, which looks at the history of Christmas decorations and focuses on three specific collectibles: mercury glass garlands, Putz houses, and bottle brush trees.

(4) Other Guides

Pick up vintage and antique guides at sales whenever you see them for reasonable prices; buy them at the bookstore; and/or borrow them from the library.

5 Resources with Tips for Buying Vintage & Antiques

(1) Garage Saling Guide

Get super helpful tips for developing the proper “garage sale” mindset that will turn your garage saling experience from ho-hum to heck-yeah. (Applies to estate sales as well.)

(2) Your Guide to Becoming a Garage Sale Superstar

This guide promises to help the newbie garage saler establish the necessary habits and skills needed to become a successful “professional.” (Applies to estate sales as well.)

(3) Be Prepared

Read this in-depth blog post to ensure your readiness the next time you want to plan a day of garage and/or estate sales. Don’t forget to print out the FREE checklist and route planner in the Member Library.

(4) S ix Questions to Consider

Learn the six questions you should ask yourself whenever you are thinking about whether to buy something. These questions, related to age, desirability, condition, uniqueness, and price, are essential considerations that every vintage seller should ponder before making any purchase, especially expensive ones.

(5) The Art of Haggling

Most venues that sell vintage and antiques, be it a garage sale, an antique shop, or a flea market, expect a little negotiation over price. Learn the art of haggling from an expert (me!) in a blog post I wrote several years ago that still holds true.

2 Cleaning and Caring for Vintage & Antiques Resources

(1) Clean & Care for Vintage blog posts

As of the writing of this page, I have sixteen blog posts covering topics like how to clean rusty metal, antique ironstone, and grungy novelty candles, along with posts on how to revive dry wood, repair wobbly legs, and remove scorch marks on linens.

(2) 33 Supplies Antique Lovers Can’t Live Without

Learn about all the products that I (and many other antique dealers) use for cleaning, repairing, and caring for my vintage and antiques. It contains related links to blog posts that talk about each item.

I hope you find these resources helpful! I am constantly writing new blog posts on all of these topics and developing new products to help you grow a successful vintage and antique business. Feel free to reach out to me if you ever have any questions or topics that you’d like more information on–I love hearing from you!

Before I say good-bye, I’m SO excited to let you know that I opened the doors to my very first course last week! It’s called a Very Vintage Christmas, and I hope you pop over and check it out. I’m already getting some great feedback on it.

Thank so much for stopping by!

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10 Vintage Items Often Overlooked & Undervalued at Garage Sales: