How about sharing some tips for good finds?

[grasswire]

I'll start.

I've always done very well with handwritten recipe books. You know, the old looseleaf kind where the homemaker wrote her favorites, and pasted in some clipped ones and ones from aunties and friends.

These generally are overlooked at estate sales. Buy it for a dollar, sell for twenty or thirty or more, if it's good. That's a great return on a dollar!

[libodem]

1. My pal sells vintage fabric

She finds at garage sales. She was telling me on the phone she is still listing material she paid $30.00 for in a trailer park. She has made a couple hundred off that find.

I collect old dolls and clothing. I just found a bag of doll clothes for 1/2 price at a Youth Ranch second hand store. I also go on senior discount day.

[libodem]

2. This was to collect

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[libodem]

3. I can't see it

Hope it shows for you.

[grasswire]

6. do you know about shopgoodwill.com?

I see many lots of doll clothes there. Was looking at a couple of lots recently that were about 4 1/2 pounds, selling for five bucks each plus shipping cost. I need some medium sized ones for twin girls in the family who are just getting their baby dolls.

[libodem]

11. No but I'll check it out

Sometimes for babydoll size clothing I just look for used baby clothes. After they shrink from a few washes they will fit a doll.

[northoftheborder]

4. where would you sell the handwritten recipes?

[grasswire]

5. ebay or etsy nt

[safeinOhio]

7. I like finding old musical instruments.

First thing I ask at sales and picks is "do you have any old instruments". So far this year I've found 2 banjos, a mandolin, a couple of saxs ,a few horns and a quitar, all by asking that question.
It's one of those things people don't think of or forget. The profits have been great.

[grasswire]

8. if I knew more about what to look for I would, too

I've been at some estate sales where the owner was a musician or music teacher, and have seen a LOT of instruments go cheap. Despite the fact that I am an avid music lover and a collector of sheet music, I don't know how to buy instruments.

I thought I had found an accordion today at a sale down the street. But it turned out to be just a case, filled with old clothes. Bah!!

I do see instruments on shopgoodwill.com every day. You might want to check that out.

[safeinOhio]

9. Thanks, I'll check it out.

I started out years ago buying band instruments all summer, had them reconditioned and then sold them in the fall to parents who's kids signed up for band.

Stay away from accordions, hard sell. The only ones I've been able to sell are the small ones. The big fancy ones require expensive repairs and polka music is not that popular.

On guitars, try to find American made ones. Check the strings and make sure that they as close to the fret board (or neck) at the bottom as they are at the top.

I'll pick up any really cheap violin that looks old. I have a buyer that restores are repairs them. Usually doesn't pay more than $100., so I look for, or offer much less.

Ukes are a good seller. Many times I can get them for 15 to 20 bucks. Again, it is fairly easy to learn the good brands, check prices on Ebay, and check for condition.

One of my best, or most fun, buys this year was a guitar case that was empty. I spotted it in an attic on a pick. I saw the patch of cloth in the bottom corner and knew it was a amplifier in the case. Dan Electro made them and also for Sears as Silvertones. I checked and it had the original 2, orange tubes. Got home and it worked. Paid 10 and flipped it the next day for 150. Not the biggest score, but pretty thrilling for me..

Making $ is about knowledge. You have to learn about what you are looking to buy. Next you have to know the market is and what sells fast and is hot. I've been very lucky to find a job and a big antique gallery and get to see everything that goes out and the price it sells for. I broke down an bought a iPhone a month ago and can now do research on the go. I love it. A few days ago a guy wanted to sell me some flatware and said his sister saw it on line for big bucks. I whipped out the phone and said lets take a look. First site showed 10 pieces of the same ones for 6 bucks.

By the way, I'm tone deaf and have no rhythm. I do love music. I have bought and sold hundreds of guitars, only knowing a couple of cords and 2 really simple songs. I'm now having a ball playing around with my new, old, Kay mandolin trying to play some the "easy play" videos on youtube.

[grasswire]

10. nice post, thanks

If I ever buy an accordion, it will be for myself. And it will be a small one. I've seen those entertainers trying to play "Lady of Spain" with a gargantuan, out-of-control wheezebox. Ha! I have a musician friend who entertains at parties and events, and I can't even pick up his accordion.

It is very true about learning the picking trade. I was fortunate enough to have a friend in New England who had been a dealer/picker in paper for 35 years. He let me hang around for several summers, and I learned the ins and outs.

Cheers!

[Vinca]

12. A tip on Currier & Ives prints.

An old dealer told me to never sell a Currier & Ives print without taking the picture apart because people used to buy them in sets and display one and preserve the rest behind it. I've found 2 or 3 extras behind prints I've purchased and made a whole lot more money than I expected. I've also found Wallace Nuttings hidden behind other pictures, too.

[pengillian101]

13. I like online auctions.

There's a local one I use, but here's a link to many USA auction houses online.

http://www.auctionzip.com/

I just buy for my own use, not to resell. Many of these auction houses don't get much traffic, so there are bargains to be found.

Just plug in your zip code and search your area.

[grasswire]

20. There's an online auction near me.

....and they used to have it live as well, for attendees. But I l suspected after attending one, that the operation was crooked somehow. A couple of family members of the owners were bidding up items (which those online would not have known). And the owners were very cantankerous in the community. So I avoid it.

[JCMach1]

14. I think white milk glass is just starting to get hot (quality pieces are best) along with

classic carnival glass...

Milk glass items are still reasonable... you can get in on the bottom.

[grasswire]

17. really?

milk glass has been deader than a doornail for decades. I thought Martha Stewart might try to revive it at one point. There sure is a lot of it out there.

[safeinOhio]

21. Yep, big pick up in milk glass sales at the mall.

Some one must have written an article on decorating with it. For the most part they are buying the low quality, not much Westmorland, etc. Fenton is still the best selling glass.

Also seem to be a lot of post card buyers of late. Some drop off of Fire King and Jadite. Costume jewelry is selling and the guy with spoon rings has been doing great. I'll have to see if there is a Youtube video on how to make em. Still can't keep pint, blue fruit jars in stock. Of course, ugly, weird and unusual always goes fast.

Today, Labor day, the store was packed.

[grasswire]

22. not the Westmoreland?

Wow.

Often the low quality stuff isn't even true milk glass.

Hmm. I would be one of those post card buyers. Love post cards. Love sorting them. I have thousands of them. My favorite post card buy was a lot that was written in the early 1900s from son who was a traveling salesman across southern Canada to his mother at home in Saskatchewan. Every dinky place he went he wrote her a picture post card, for about ten years. Another lot I bought was collected by an architect in 1910-11 as he traveled throughout UK. Veddy interesting, all unused.

[JCMach1]

23. Indiana Glass as well

look for yard sale items for 1 or $2 and flip them for 10-20

[JCMach1]

15. Also, china and dishware sets are going for dead cheap at auctions and sales these days

so much so that real quality is being overlooked...

I bought one particularly pristine set from the 1940's for about $25 and flipped it for almost $300.

[grasswire]

18. yes, I have read in a trade publication that there is zero market...

...for complete sets of china.

I suppose something particularly appealing from the 40s would sell, as you saw.
Supposedly, young people are not buying them, but moms and grandmas are buying them on occasion for the younger folk as heirlooms. (Perhaps because they themselves never could have afforded that set in their own days.)

[JCMach1]

24. Some are--- China is dead dead dead in the local auction scene

but like I said, that can also lead to opportunities...

[mopinko]

16. what about charity produced cookbooks?

i inherited a cute one from my mom. probably from the 60's or 70's (now i have to go look)
she worked at mercy medical center, and the book is called "mercy me".
spiral bound half page thing.
i think i have a couple little sorority cookbooks around here, too.

[grasswire]

19. some are good, many are worthless

Take a look at eBay cookbook sales to see how things are going. I have found that older ones from very specific localities can sell. Especially from southern, rural localities.

When I am at book sales, the spiral bound cookbooks don't get much action.