I love browsing thrift stores. I have found some great items for my house, some items to upcycle, some for projects, kids' clothes, and even presents for friends and family. Even now, I like to browse, you never know what you might find! If you know what to look for you can make some extra money shopping thrift stores. Wait, yes re-read that. You can MAKE money for SHOPPING. Let's check out a few thrift store finds that were worth money.
Thrift Store Finds Worth Money You Don't Want to Pass Up
Before you jump in to buy check on your phone what the item is going for. I always take my phone. Some items I thought would be really good weren't and some I didn't think I would get a whole lot out of were worth more than I thought!
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Name Brand Clothing – I love being able to snatch up name-brand clothes for pennies on the dollar. Another blogger picked up an Oscar De la Renta dress for $6 and was able to resell it for $200+ Stay away from Target and Old Navy brands and go for higher-end brands.
Clothing with Tags – Of course, any items new with tags you can pick up for cheap can be resold for more, just do your research!
Signed Books – Look for signed books! Some of them can go for thousands of dollars. These are some of the best thrift store finds.
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College Text Books – Check thrift stores near a college campus for textbooks. You can snag them for $5 or less and resell for $50 or more! You can also use the Amazon college textbook trade-in program to make money from them.
Vintage Video Games – Many adults are hunting down the classic video games they remember playing as kids. Some are going for thousands of dollars.
Vintage Pyrex– This stuff is sought after and the vintage sets sell well on Etsy.
Watches – If you know what you are looking for, this can be a real money maker. A man bought a divers watch at a Phoenix Goodwill for $5.99 then turned around and sold it for $35,000! While stories like this are rare it’s nothing to make $100 off a thrift store flip.
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Vintage Board Games – If all the pieces are there including the instructions and the box is in decent condition you can make some good money selling these on eBay. Just do a simple internet search before buying.
Picture Frames – Many of the old ornate picture frames are worth more than the cheap pictures they have in them.
Carnival Glass – It’s that glass that is a rainbow of color that looks almost like an oil spill on water. It’s beautiful and can be worth quite a bit. Look for a makers mark on the bottom and do a quick Google search.
Vintage Blue Mason Jars – These are sought after and can be pretty easy to find. At most thrift stores you can buy them for $1 or so and then resell them for $10 each. These are some of my favorite thrift store finds worth money.
Depression Era Glass – This glass is translucent colored glass and is pretty sought after now. Normally these are in a bluish color or a slight red tint.
Vintage Globes – These are hard to ship but if it’s in good condition you can get around $200 for them, even more, if they include countries that no longer exist.
Related: Sell Photos Online – Make Money Selling Your Cell Phone Pictures
Want more? Check out the eBook Thrift Store Profits: Discover 44 Amazing Items You Can Buy At Thrift Stores And Sell Them For Huge Retail Profits!
What has been your best thrift store find worth money?
I also want to point out one of my favorite ways to make money at home is via blogging! See what you need to know to get started blogging.
Great list. My best flip has been a brand new Luis Vuitton purse I think I bought for $1 and sold for $75. I could have gotten more but I had no way of knowing if it was a knock off so I took the $75 and ran! Lol
Thera! That’s awesome…and hilarious!
I got a pair of Manolo Blahniks for $8. I still have them! 😉
It wasn’t a thrift store but I paid 50 cents for a leather purse made in Italy. I sold it on Ebay for $200.00 . Til this day that’s been my best find.
i Love it
I sold items on eBay for a man that answered my ad for that service. He had a lot of items that weren’t really worth anything, but I did sell most of them. There was a box of junk that he told me I could have and do with what I wanted. Inside that box I found a vintage stateroom key for an old ocean liner. I can’t remember the name of the liner, but I did research on it online and found one on eBay selling for around $500.00. I listed it and it sold for $400.00. Being the person that I am, I told the man that gave it to me so that he could have the money, and he was so pleased that he split it with me. A very nice man, and a great profit for nothing! Look for old keys!
I have three old sewing machines one is by White, Singer. They’re the kind that has a built in table. What are there value and how can I sell them
Your best bet is to see if a local antique store will buy them from you.
I have sold many thrift store finds but a crazy one was a plastic dole pineapple drnk container. Dated 1979. Bought it foe .49c sold 21.99
14k Jade necklace and bracelet for $1.99 work 200.00 and 350.00 each.
I got a brand new, obviously never worn pair of SAS lace up shoes with the original ‘product care’ card and a spare set of laces, that retail for nearly $160.00 for $3.00!!!!
I have them listed on eBay….wish me luck!!!
Bought city of chicago old parking meter with key for$5 .a nephew in florida wanted it. Offered $50 and i took it. He drove in to pick it up. Said wanted to make sure it got home safe. “It was heavy.” He was happy and i was happy.
I bought a hand held shower, new in box for 3.00 and sold it for 200.00. Don’t remember what kind it was but I was happy!
I have made a few really great junk buy/sells, but I have a couple of all time favorites. One was a hot dog cart stand that I bought at a church rummage sale for $20 and sold for $1,400. The other was from a storage unit clean out sale where I bought two old steamer trunks for $50 each then sold one trunk for $100, the other for $125. One of the trunks was full of old clothes, and wrapped in those clothes was an antique gun that sold for $2,500. To be completely truthful,, I’m a poor salesperson, so my daughter usually does the selling and we split the profits.
i bought a Madonna at goodwill for 3 dollars. it was a hummel and is worth 150.00
I bought a box of goodies for $10 and sold 2 dolls out of the box for $55 plus lots of other cheaper goodies. I bought a small brass dagger for $2. and sold it for $35. I bought a bronze leopard statuette for $2 and finally found it on the internet for $400-up. It was made in Africa, is still being made and sells for tremendous prices. I still have it. Bought another box for $15 and sold many good items from that box. Such fun….So many Thrift Stores, So little time!
I bought a white kitchen aid mixer for $25. Sold it in a garage sale for $200.
older sewing machine parts $$$$$$$$$$$$
Bought 2 Pewter and glass decanter Made in England I do believe..Paid .99 cents a piece for them. Did some research. One is selling for 100 and the other 160. SCORE.
My best one so far is what I thought was a small soapstone fu dog carving on a circular base, which I got for $1. I showed it to a geology professor who was a regular customer at my then-job, and he informed me that it was actually jade, not soapstone. I checked it out a bit further, and found out that it was actually the lid for some form of container, and had it valued at $150-$175, with the chip it has on one side. If not for that, the value would have been around twice that.
I once got a set of rattan chairs for 10 for all 4 and sold for 120. I have an oriental MOK picture in a gold frame that I got a goodwill for 6 dollars and it’s worth 250. So yes you can make money while thrifting! I love it!
This is an awesome idea! Where do you typically resell things? Ebay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc? I’m just wondering how much marketing is involved to be able to resell items.
I DON’T flip good old items I find. I have 3 glass flower “frogs” that I’ll never part with because I still use them. The same goes for any old Pyrex I find. i add it to what my late Mum left me and use it. Ditto for my stoneware bread bowl. There is plenty of life in quite a few things that are thrifted and I appreciate them for their original use