Are Thrift Stores a Bust for Resellers?

In general prices have been going up in thrift stores. The internet is to blame. Savvy store managers are now researching items online and have a better sense of their resell value. Some stores now feature eBay /Poshmark pricing. Take today for example. I found a basic Fossil leather purse for $29 at my neighborhood thrift store. Yikes! I checked and similar pre-owned Fossil purses were selling for $20-45 online.

I don’t begrudge thrift stores making more money but they need to remember who their customers are: low-income folks, thrifty folks and resellers. If stores continue to raise prices, folks will stop going. That’s how it is for me and the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store several towns away. I rarely go and haven’t bought anything there in years. And I’m not the only one. They’ve received some very interesting Yelp reviews!

But despite rising prices and increasing competition (or is that my imagination?) I still believe that thrift stores can form a viable part of a reseller’s sourcing. At least they are for me if I go frequently! And that’s key. I go three to four times a week, always when the store opens for the day getting first crack at the fresh merchandise.

Here are a few of my recent thrift store finds…

A vintage Chinese sewing basket with the old coins and glass beads. These are fairly common, but charming nonetheless.

At a new-to-me thrift store near Half Moon Bay, CA, I found Jesus! He’s vintage, made of chalkware and marked Japan. Not worth much, but I only paid $2.00.

Okay, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to make of this metal sitar-shaped box. So quirky and wabi sabi! But I decided to give it a try in my store. We’ll see if it sells.

I couldn’t resist this silver bowl with smaller matching bowls. They have an Anglo-Indian look to me and are such a cool set. They are marked “Silver”, but I have no pretense that they are sterling silver or even continental silver. Likely silver plate, but I’ll test them. Would be wild if they were really silver!!!

I really like the aesthetic of this mid-century Turi Design Tor Viking teapot, made in Norway. Other than some tea stains inside (which I hope to remove) it’s in nice condition. Typically they sell in the $30-$40 range. (I paid $8.00.) But I’m not 100% sure I’ll put this in my store or exchange it. Besides having to spend time cleaning it, I am trying to veer away from bigger, breakable items. (I’m getting weary of packaging up breakables!)

And this plaster rococo box would look great on a nightstand or a coffee table.

So no home runs. Not like my recent estate sale finds. But still some interesting bread-and-butter finds. Worth the effort. And still part of my Etsy store sourcing.

Would love to hear about your recent thrift store experiences.

As always, happy hunting,

Karen