Can You Find Good Vintage & Antiques at Thrift Stores?
Hi there! I am SO interested to hear what everyone thinks about this question: Can you find good vintage and antiques at thrift stores? When the cold weather sets in and garage/estate sales are few and far between, what’s a girl to do? Well in my neck of the woods, it’s time to hit the thrift stores in hopes of finding a treasure or two.
Not long ago, I visited both my local GoodWill (GW) and Salvation Army (SA), taking photos of a number of items that from all appearances might be good buys. So I’ll show you what I saw and then what I actually bought. [Keep in mind dear friends that I am a reknowned penny pincher.] 
First of all, I should tell you that I have shopped at thrift stores since high school and I love them. However, the goods that I find there vary dramatically from what I am able to find at garage and estate sales. Typically, I buy clothing and household goods from thrift stores, at a significant discount over retail stores, of course.
That said, I do on occassion find vintage items to decorate my home with and sometimes even to sell. Several years ago, I found a set of red transferware dishes (Old Britain Castles) at a SA in Pittsburgh for $30 and made almost $200 off of them. I think that was the best thrift store find I ever made.
What I come across most often at thrift stores are items that I can use for various DIY projects, like scarves and belts, candlesticks and pans to make pedestal stands, and side tables in need of a good paint job. However, these are the exact sort of things I need to cut back on given the state of my workroom.
[Have you been following the ongoing “decluttering your workroom” convo I’ve been having in my subscribers to my weekly newsletter and in my Facebook group?]
A couple of weeks ago, I stopped into a local SA and a GW, and I took some photos of items that looked interesting. I bought a couple of them, but I’ll show you those at the end of the post. I also bought some clothes that I thought I’d show you since buying them at thrifts can save an enormous amount of money.
What I Found at the Thrift Shops
If I wanted to start an ironstone collection from ground zero, I might consider buying all three of these items, but the only “true” ironstone are the dishes in the center made by Johnson Bros. of England ($4.99). And even they were made in the 1970’s, so not the old stuff that everyone loves.
In any event, I have a cupboard filled with real ironstone, so I don’t need to buy any faux place savers, like the pretty teapot on the left, which is newer and not terribly overpriced at $7.99. The large creamer on the far right has a lovely shape, is marked “Made in England,” and was also reasonably priced at $4.99. Unfortunately, none of these would sell for me since they are all newer. 
Milk glass popularity has not extended itself to my antique booth, so despite finding it for low prices out in the “wild,” I tend to stay away from it. On the other hand, this patterned, trumpet vase (left) is quite pretty and at half off ($1.50) might be worth buying.
I like to pick up attractive recepticles, like this ceramic cup (center) to hold pens and scissors (79¢). I also prefer ceramic travel mugs to plastic and this one (right) sure is pretty ($1.09).
Almost any kind of dish (glass or china) refuses to sell from my antique booth, and so I work extra hard to avoid purchasing them for any reason–other than to use or decorate with personally. Back in the day, Southern Pottery dishes sold well for me, but not so any longer.
In fact, not too long ago, I sold an entire apple pattern set to a lovely reader for $25!! Even if SA had priced this Southern Pottery apple platter for $1, rather than $6, I would not have bought it since it’s not my decorating style, and it would not sell for me. Pretty much ditto for the pretty English bone china mug priced at 79¢.
Also seen at GW: a large set of pretty pink dishes ($59.99), a metal Christmas tree, votive holder ($5.99, half off $2.99), and a chintz jug made in Japan ($5.99).
On view at the SA: an English style toast holder in kind of rough shape ($1.99), a box of faux lemons ($5.99), and a package of Christmas gift tags (.99). I personally like to decorate with faux (or real) lemons, but have enough on hand. I also like to sell them since I think they brighten up my antique booth, but $5.99 doesn’t leave much room to make money.
Finally! A piece of genuine, older ironstone, and a pretty one at that ($9.99). At the moment, I am in possession of literally scads of ironstone platters of all sorts–old, new; plain, decorated; and perfect, imperfect. That said, if the price had been closer to $2 or $3, it may have come home with me, not for personal use but to sell.
However, platters are not quick sellers for me, so I try not buy them anymore unless they are truly beautiful, antique, in perfect condition, and well-priced. This piece, marked “W. Hulme, Burslem, England” in the pattern “Maine,” dates to the early 20th century, which is not old enough (or white enough) for avid ironstone collectors.
Truth: Even after all that whining about SCADS of ironstone platters, I may have [just yesterday] felt compelled to purchase not one but four antique ironstone platters (all white) at a different SA for the crazy price of $1.50 each, Yes, I succumbed to the lure of low prices and beautiful backstamps, LOL. Help me, Lord to resist!!
What I Bought at the Thrift Stores
This thrift store shopping excursion took place on December 23rd, and so we decided to pick up a couple of items for my son for Christmas–we give each child what we call a “garage sale box,” filled with second hand items we pick up for them that we know they’ll enjoy. He loves football jerseys and this San Diego Chargers shirt had a favorite player’s name on the back ($6.99).
The Reebock athletic shirt on the far right was also for our son ($1.99), and the sweater in the center I bought for myself half price ($1.99) since it had a green tag–SA’s color of the day. We spent $11 for all three items.
My sweet husband was with me on this shopping trip, and we picked out four long-sleeved shirts for him at Goodwill where they cost $5.99 each. All were in like new condition by Arrow and St. John’s Bay. The second one from the left had a yellow tag–the half-price color of the day–so we purchased four nice shirts for $21!
So, from among the items I showed you, these are the ones we took home (in addition to the Christmas gift tags). I added the trumpet vase to my “collection” of vases; won’t it look precious filled with violets? I’ve already used the travel mug and the white cup is filled with pens. The metal tree looked lovely on Christmas with a tea light flickering inside.
All told, we spend $43, well over half on seven pieces of clothing(!) and only one single vintage purchase–the milk glass trumpet vase, which I would value at about $10. So what’s the answer to my question: can you find good vintage and antiques at thrift stores?
If you read this post in full, then you know my answer to that question is definitely yes, but with the caveat that you should generally be buying for yourself, not for resale. The sorts of things found at thrift sales often make poor resellers and are frequently price too high to leave room for a good profit.
However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t treasures to be found at thrift stores; they are just few and far between from my experience here in the Northeast. With limited opportunities to shop vintage in the winter months, thrift stores offer a decent stop-gap that I encourage you to take advantage of, but use wisdom in your buying. Now I’d love to hear your answers to my question–
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We live in the land of No-Thrift Shops. To give you an idea, the Salvation Army thrift store closed and left! I really miss them. Our estate and yard sales are few and far between. Thank goodness for etsy shops!
Oh Vikki, that’s so sad! But I’m glad you’ve found an alternative to make you happy 🙂
I am from Michigan, and the thrift shops continue to disappoint. They are filled with made in China type items. When there is a genuine antique, it is usually priced much higher than at an antique mall. For this reason I rarely go to them. When I need a ” junking fix” I prefer the smaller charity shops over the GW or Sally’s.
Gosh, I’m sorry to hear that, Carol–what a bummer. I totally agree with you about smaller thrift shops being more satisfying than GW or SA, but we don’t have many of those in my neck of the woods and the ones we have are quite far away 🙁
Because I live in the same area as Diana, I visit some of the same retail thrift outlets, and, for me, they are the primary source for finding items to re-sell. My selling is on eBay only at this point, so I don’t have the issues that she has with respect to an antiques booth. I have been selling on eBay for more than 15 years, and, while I keep my volume manageable (I don’t make my living selling there), I have had some decent years augmenting my income.
My success comes from finding items – mostly all housewares – in our local thrift stores to re-sell. Are they “vintage” items – some are, but many are just good quality items from well known makers priced well below original retail. If I can sell for 3 to 4 times purchase price, I consider that a success, but I’ll be happy to double my money if I can cover all costs, including selling fees. I also take advantage of the days with certain items (based on price tag color or item categor) are 50% off – that’s a huge bonus when you’re trying to keep buying costs down and revenues up.
My take-away from Diana’s post is that yes, you can find good, saleable vintage items at thrift stores, but it does, as she mentioned, take an educated eye to know your merchandise AND it also takes knowing your market – whether at a brick-and-mortar location, a periodic festival/fair, or online – and what that market will bear in cost, and what the current design trends are to know what’s in vogue and likely to appeal to buyers.
Some things are enduring classics, some are just for the moment, so do your homework when considering an item to re-sell. Since I’m selling on eBay, I don’t hesitate to stand (to the side) a the thrift store aisle and pull up the eBay app on my phone to check on an item if I’m not sure whether to buy it to re-sell. I’ll see if I can find others, what prices sellers are listing them for currently, and, most importantly, what that item has sold for in the past three months.
Friends who are interested in eBay selling always ask me how I “know” what to sell. My answer is that there simply no substitute for an educated eye and doing one’s homework. I was an art major in college have a background in marketing and communications, but I have been a home/style/design housewares devotee since I was a teen, so I have had a long, self-directed “education” in that arena. That puts me at an advantage over those who don’t have that kind of interest or knowledge. Sure, it does take time, but it comes easily and is fun if you’re doing something you love.
Fantastic points, Leslie! Thanks so much for sharing them with all of us 🙂 Shoot me a DM sometime on FB or IG–I’d love to connect sometime–
We call thrift shops charity shops here and I enjoy browsing through them buying most of my clothes there. As for antiques, these are all valued by experts and taken away to be sold in speciality sales.
Hi Jean–you must living in England? We lived there for two years and I remember the charity shops fondly. So many of them were run so professionally, I would think of them as boutiques, not thrifts! I shopped them regularly while we lived there and brought home loads of momentos 🙂
I don’t have much luck finding nice vintage or antique items in the GW here. Nor do I find many clothes for myself. I do have pretty good luck finding clothes for my husband and sons. The workers tend to pick things over.
As for the thrift stores, they have gotten higher in price over the years which is disappointing. Occasionally I find something I can use or something that I can repurpose. I tend to hit the peddler malls and antique stores to find specific items even though I will pay more. This is the year that I’m purging, so I’m trying to restrain myself and be more conservative with my purchases.
Good luck with your purging, Rita!! I’m working on it too and I’ve noticed that I feel less stressed out about my cluttered areas–I guess because I’m making progress 🙂
You guys should come down south of the Mason Dixon line! My daughter and I had a blast at the SA looking for and buying beautiful vintage (and not so vintage) cake stands and plates to showcase her amazing creations for a bake sale. There were quite a few gems 🙂
Sounds wonderful, Joanna! My sister lives in Atlanta and reports some pretty awesome finds down her way. Glad to hear you’ve had so much success 🙂
I have been going to S.A. and G.W. for years in NYC area, Sports cards and other sports items like bobbleheads have always been good pickups,whether for my own collecting or Ebay.
Nyc stores are great for high end clothing at reasonable prices which net good resale on ebay. Love the post,keep up the great work.
Glad you enjoyed the post, Dilia and I’m also glad that you find such great stuff at your local thrifts 🙂
Good post, Diana. I have mostly shopped the GW and SA near me for items that I want or need and clothing. The GW has raised its prices quite drastically in the last two or three years but I do like the bright, clean and well-organized goods displayed. The Salvation Army store near me has closed just this month and I don’t know if there is another one in this area or not. They were located near an upscale community adjacent to the suburb where I live so maybe that influenced the amount of business they did. I suppose that if you have a certain leel of income you might never think to set foot in a thrift store! There are a couple of thrift stores that I sometimes shop at that are more of a driving distance from me–the VOA–Volunteers of America and St.Vincent de Paul or St. Vinnies as we call it. VOA has the best buys and selection and they have a half-off sale once every month where you can get some really good deals. But I think that the best buys in all the thrift stores in terms of resale are things that you can up-cycle or refurbish in some way, either to keep and use yourself or to sell.
So, I think you are right, Diana. Thrifting is fun but not good for items for re-sale. Sad, but true. So let it be Spring very soon when we can get back to the yard sales and the estate sales! And when we don’t have to wear so many blankety-blank clothes to step out the door!
I’m glad you enjoyed my post Naomi, but was sad to hear your SA has closed 🙁 Sounds like you still have a few options though to satisfy your thrifting needs during the garage sale “off season,” LOL. I hear you about the blankety-blank clothes. It is COLD out there!! Try and stay warm friend!
I do very well at thrift stores. Here in the Twin Cities, the garage sale and curb picking seasons are short, so I think more stuff cycles through the thrift stores. I have 8 thrift stores near my day job that I can take a quick peek in on my lunch break, which I think improves my chances of finding something. Not sure if it goes this way everywhere but the Goodwills in this area give out 25% off coupons for donating bags/boxes/newspaper and 35-50% off coupons for donating product. That goes a long way in getting stuff cheaply enough to turn a profit on.
As you mentioned with the lemons, I do well with getting stuff for my shop that are meant for displays rather than sales. Baskets, sheer curtains, sign holders, interesting bowls and boxes for holding the extra-smalls, etc. Though, some of the crafty items can be purchased cheaper at Micheals or JoAnn’s with coupon or a good sale.
For stuff I sell, I’ve had good luck with vintage cookware (sells better on ebay than in in the shop), aprons, and mcm bar ware. Most of the stores around here have caught on to the Pyrex and enamelware and stoneware trends, so it’s rare for me to find those items marked cheaply enough.
It’s also a good way to measure trends. Right now, the thrift stores around here have shelves stuffed with farmhouse signs and dyi tiered stands made from vintage plates. Guessing shoppers are done with those items now, and I’m planning on letting my inventory run low and checking through recent sales before re-stocking.
I found a 1st edition Godfather novel for $2 at a Sal Army in Woodside, Queens and sold at my booth in Cold Springs for $100. But most of the time I find this Sal Army to be at full blown retail. Years ago, the old manager insisted that the delivery truck bring in collectibles which he priced reasonably as he had junkers waiting outside before opening. Miss those days.
I really enjoyed this post and the discussion it generated! Very helpful. I have found numerous treasures at thrifts–stuff for my vintage booths, craft supplies, clothes for myself, daughter, grands, crafting, items for gift baskets, and my own collections. My 2 local GWs often miss the fact that some books are SIGNED by the authors or are first editions! As my knowledge increases, so does my treasure finding. This week it was a $2 GW Duncan and Miller covered candy dish which someone sold on eBay for 10.49 (+11 shipping) , Replacements wants 32.99 and someone else is asking $95! We have few little thrifts but I especially love them. When we do day trips, I agitate to go to 2 GW that are in ritzier communities! I also wait till after a holiday for 75–90% bargains on new merchandise.
I agree with you that prices at most thrifts are far too high in my opinion. If I were buying the item for me & not to re-sell, then I wouldn’t mind paying more, but for reselling, it’s hard to make a profit. Sometimes you can find a good vintage item or two. Our local Goodwill never has anything, & the SAs are OK, but usually high.
BTW, I love the white milk glass vase you bought. It’s pretty & different from the usual.
We have a number of different thrift stores in our area in southeast Michigan including Salvation Army, STEP, Goodwill, etc. Recently we have found several art pieces of various ages and styles including framed prints, ceramic and metal plaques, signs, small sculpture, and beautiful empty frames.
With research we’ve found that some of these items were created by notable artists and occasionally are quite valuable. That being said, we have sold a few at our antique/vintage booth and others on Etsy but admittedly have a lot sitting in inventory.
We steer away from most kitchen items as there are many people looking for and selling those types of items. I absolutely will not buy plates of any type unless they are notable souvenirs of some distinctive location. I also will not buy vases of which there are hundreds sitting at every thrift store and I’ve have no patience to weed through them. While most of the baskets are originally of an inexpensive type we have located a handful that were signed, dated, and of higher quality that can be sold.
My husband generally browses in the clothing aisles and has come away with expensive shirts for very little cost. I am becoming more selective in the items we purchase at thrift stores now and still favor estate sales for the more distinctive and interesting items for resale.
I find the same at our thrift stores. Everything is way overpriced. Now when I get into outlying areas or small towns, I can often find bargains, but I agree with you…going to a thrift store is usually disappointing. Wish I had stumbled across those fake lemons though!
Having a husband shop with you is a mixed blessing. I will say mine has found some interesting (to him) purchases in tools and hardware that have netted good profit. Comparatively profit margin on dishes and baskets is much smaller than what his guy things generate. Wheels, Oil cans, primitive tools, wine/sausage makers (think grinders). I am coming round to his way of thinking.
Fortunately he can fix ANYTHING, so I am spoiled. But still he rushes me through stores. It’s a passion we share a try not to be hoarders. Lol.
Sounds like I could learn a lot from your husband, too, Rhonda! I’ve always said there’s good money in “man things,” LOL. And he fixes things, too!! Amazing find that husband of yours, just wish he didn’t rush you. Mine reads sports on his phone while waiting for me and is happy as a clam. Maybe your husband would be open to that???