TREASURE HUNTING 101 - Long Read

[theantiquetiger]

After reading Megoat's post under Classic Toys about his great garage sale finds, it got me thinking about telling members here on how I got started to some of the secrets/tricks I have learned. I hope this helps:

1. How I got Started:
When I first started out, I had no plan other than I would only bring $20 with me and keep it to a minimum, no more than $5 an item, and NEVER go over my $20 limit. I was buying stuff from $1 - $2 each and selling on Ebay for $10 to $20 each for the most part. I did this every weekend for a few months, basically to just increase my bankroll, or "play money" I call it. After a few months, I had a nice little bankroll of $300 or $400 inorder to go alittle bigger with my purchases. This sounds like good money, but if you consider the time in shopping, listing, and shipping, it probably came out to less than minimum wage, but it is a hobby and will take time.

2. Where to Shop:
For the most part when garage selling, I stay in older, up-scale neighborhoods, where the homes are atleast 50 to 75 years old or in rural farm areas where the houses have been in same family for generations. If there is not much by way of these two options, i try to find one in a rich neighborhood. I avoid auction houses because they know what they have, and are known to place shill bidders in the crowd to run the price up. The flea market is OK because some people set up "garage sales" there instead of having them at their homes.
I completely avoid antique shops, because you will never find a good bargain. They know what they have and are in the same business as you and are doing it for a living, so they are not gonna cut you a deal. Use these only for stuff you wanna keep yourself.
Estate sales have been my gold mines because the estate companies focus on the art, jewelry, furniture, and other "nice" stuff and put $5 price tags on all the toys, sports items, and strange items. I will go more into detail about estate sales later.
Goodwill stores are good as well, but I have never found a great find at one of these yet.

3. What to Buy:
This is the $64,000 question. I have alot of people who ask to go shopping with me so they can try making money. I tell them I have no idea what to buy, you just have to be willing to risk the money. My main rules when deciding whether to buy something or not are:

A. If the item is less than $5 and looks interesting, buy it. 9 out of 10 times, you are right and usually double or triple your money at the least, building your bankroll.

B. If the item is strange, stranger the better, buy it. Just make sure it falls within your spending limit. A great example I have was 24 tokens from AA. They were anniversary awards of 1 week to 1 year of being sober. They were very plain, not too ornate and I paid 25 cents for the lot and sold them for $100. 999 people out of 1000 would have passed on them, but I thought they were strange, so I grabbed them.

C. If there is a good size lot and the total value comes out to less than a dollar or so per item, buy it. I bought a comic book collection when I first started out. I splurged and paid $40 for 300 comics. I didn't know too much about comics, but I figure I wouldn't lose money. Come to find out, there were quite a few golden age comics, including the 2nd appearance of Thor (1st appearances of his arch enemy). I sold the collection for over $300.

To be continued tomorrow.....

[batmanmc]

great read i thoght of trying to do soemthing like this . some good ideas. mike

[toys2cool]

LOL! just kidding,good stuff so far,for the most part I do pretty much what you do,but it's good to know there are others who do it the exact same way,the only thing I've never done is an estate sale,but there are so many awesome thrift shops in Miami that you could keep yourself busy with those alone,funny how I have friends who want to come with me and make money too,But I'm there thinking yeah I'm sure if I find something very valuable I'm gonna turn around and give it to you so you could sell it

[theantiquetiger]

4. Estate Sales
Like I said before, these are my gold mines. Most of my BIG finds came from these sales. Here are some really good guide lines to follow when estate selling:

A. Call all the estate companies in your area and get on their e-mail/mailing list because they usually do not advertise in the newspaper the exact location of the sale until the day of the sale, so their regular, faithful customers can get there first. You can also get on the list at a sale for upcoming sales.

B. Get there early! This is the most important tip. Most sales around here start at 7 or 8 in the morning and they give out numbers atleast an hour before that. They let in people in the order of the numbers and in lots of 30 people or so at a time, so you want a low number. If you get a number in the 30's or 40's and the sale starts at 7 am, you may not even set foot inside for an hour or 2 after it starts. I usually get there around 4 am and usually one of the 1st 5 people in line.

C. Once you get inside, don't stop to look at something, grab it and move on, you can put it back later if you don't want it. It took me a few sales to realize this. As I was trying to decide if I wanted to buy an item that I picked up, I missed out on 10 other things I should have grabbed. Bring a large laundry basket, box, or shopping bag, because you hands get full fast. Bring a black garbage bag to cover you basket when it gets full so you can continue to shop. People will shop out of your basket if you don't pay attention.

D. Get to know the people in line. While sitting there for 3 hours waiting for your number, talk shop with the other people. 95% of the early birds are gonna be dealers with shops. Let them know what you are looking for. After a few shows, they will help you find stuff. All the people I am in line with know I am a toy collector/dealer, and they have grabbed stuff at a sale, and held it for me to see if I want it. I do the same for them.

E. When waiting in line, ask questions to the estate company of where items are located in the house; i.e. the toys. Learn the layout of the house. Most estate sales are at wealthier family's homes and the houses are usually quite large.

F. Don't forget about the garages and sheds. Most companies focus on the higher valued items in the house and let the stuff in the garages and sheds go for next to nothing. Old tools are a great bankroll builder.

G. Ask if you can look in out of the ordinary places. Most estate companies are run buy older women who don't want to crawl in the attic or dig in the basement (which we don't have in Louisiana). The family of the estate have taken out every thing they want and the house is usually for sale, so EVERYTHING in the house is for sale. Some of my greatest finds came from attics. I found a dozen Tonka sized Marx pressed steel truck and tractors in the attic of a garage that cost me $5 each, sold for around $700, and a 1952 Daisy BB gun in the open rafters of a backyard shed that cost me $2, that I sold for $300.

H. Be helpful and respect the family. This is an estate sale after all, and for those of you who don't know what this means, the owner has died and the family is liquidating the estate. If you find something that looks personal, i.e. pictures, give to the company. This will get the company to know who you are and will help you get into the attic or even a sneak peek of future sales. Be on the lookout for shoplifters. Most of the sales will have a hired security because of the shoplifting that goes on. I know of one case where some one swapped the price tag of a $100 Aurora Frankenstein model still in the box, paid $2 for it and walked out the door. Since I am 15 - 30 years younger than most customers, I always offer to help carry out larger items that some one has bought. This helps me get in good with the customer, because they will remember me in the future and may grab a toy and hold it for me. It also gets me in good with the company and helps me get into the out of the ordinary places to look.

I. Learn the history of the estate. When you learn of an upcoming sale, call the company and ask who was it and what did they do. If they were store owners/ business owners, I usually find good stuff. I made over $3000 at one sale because I learned the estate was from a man who did the radio show for LSU football and worked for LSU for 30 years. They told me there was alot of LSU stuff marked cheap. I spend just under $400. This was the sale where my most valuable single item find came from, a mint condition #1 Thun'da comic book. I paid $5 and sold it for over $600.

To be continued if you want.....

[Marvelmania]

I would like to hear more.

[theantiquetiger]

4. Garage Sales

Like I said before, choose older, nicer neighborhoods where the houses are atleast 50 to 75 years old and by the most part, have had the same people in the house for atleast 30 years, or rich neighborhoods, because rich people who do have garage sales are doing it for the original reason to have one, to sell off their junk. Rich people have more expensive "junk" and usually have it marked really cheap. Some easy rules to follow when garage selling are:

A. Tell the home owner what you are looking for. I have had home owners go inside and pull out some stuff they were not sure if they wanted to sale or forgot they had sitting in a closet for years.

B. By staying in the same neighborhoods, you will start to see the same people going to sales. Ask them what sales have they hit so far, ask if any particular one had anything you are looking for.

C. Read the newspaper before you head out. Choose two or three that look good and hit those early. Get there an hour before the time says on ad, because most don't mind early birds. Ones with "HH", "Baby items", or "Nic-Nacs" in the ads, I usually avoid or go to last. Look for keywords like "antiques", "collectibles", or "old toys"; or sales that say "Cleaning out the attic", etc.

D. Be an early bird. Some ads will say "Early Birds pay double", that is no problem, because you are looking for great items that will could make you 100x more than you paid.

E. If you see an item someone has bought that you would kill to have, make them in nice offer in the driveway. I usually only do this with something I want to keep for myself.

F. When building a bankroll, shop for anything, not just stuff you are interested in. I did really well with designer name women's shoes and purses. I usually found these at the richer neighborhoods. I would pick up a nice pair of Doc Martens or a Dooney & Burke purse for less than $10 and sell it all day long for $50 to $100 each. Vintage clothes are a good buy as well.

G. I usually don't barter the price unless it is a large lot of something and I want to get it down to a dollar or two per item. If they don't budge, I still usually get it.


Doing Research on items:

When ever I get something home that's interesting or saw it but didn't get it, start research. I use Ebay as my search engine since that is where I sell my stuff. After I find this particular item, I search similar items and get a good basic knowledge of those as well.

If you have a laptop, carry it with you. If you find something you are not sure of, you can usually find a wireless connection in a large neighborhood or in the parking lot of the closest coffee shop. This will help you avoid buying something on the higher end and getting it home and finding out you paid going value/ or higher than going value for it. If you planning to get into treasure hunting seriously, getting the $65 a month internet hook up through the cell phone companies is not a bad investment.

[batmanmc]

great ideas i want to read more so i can do this also. mike

[megoat]

pretty good tips but:

a) i can't believe you have to show up so early in your area for estate sales. Thank God around here we only have to show up a half hour early.

b) I regularly find great stuff at antique malls, granted it's not like it was 10 years ago, but I would not say they are a waste of time. Many dealers at antique malls DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE.....

c) Thrift stores are my bread and butter. I find TONS of stuff there....

The key I have found out is you have to work hard and don't be discouraged. I will hit 15 thrift stores in one day--14 will suck hard and the last one will pay off big time. Same with yard sales. Junky sale after junky sale and then BAM the one that pays off.

[theantiquetiger]

pretty good tips but:

a) i can't believe you have to show up so early in your area for estate sales. Thank God around here we only have to show up a half hour early.

b) I regularly find great stuff at antique malls, granted it's not like it was 10 years ago, but I would not say they are a waste of time. Many dealers at antique malls DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE.....

c) Thrift stores are my bread and butter. I find TONS of stuff there....

The key I have found out is you have to work hard and don't be discouraged. I will hit 15 thrift stores in one day--14 will suck hard and the last one will pay off big time. Same with yard sales. Junky sale after junky sale and then BAM the one that pays off.

Estate sales here are the big thing to go to, and you have to get there 3 or 4 hours early or you are not getting in for atleast an hour after they open.

We have a few antique villages/malls around here and I have yet to find anything. I also feel these take the hunt out of treasure hunting. It is like going out and killing a 12 point buck or just ordering venison from some exotic meat dealer, you are still enjoying the rewards, but there was no hunt.

Like I have told many people in the past, I never started this hobby for the money, I do it for the hunt. The feeling I get when I buy something I have no idea the value, and getting it home to find out I just hit the jackpot.

When I bought the large Mego/Six Million Dollar Man collection a couple years ago, I had no knowledge of the Mego's, I only remembered one friend in the 70's who had a few figures and never played with them, he only brought them to show and tell.

I nearly passed on the collection because it was mark $160, too rich for my blood back then.

I was all excited about the SMDM toys because thats what I played with in the 70's and the guy wouldn't break the collection up, so I risked the money. That is my MAIN rule, you have to be willing to risk the money.

[toys2cool]

yeah thrift shops are the thing for me,they have a shopping center down here with like 8 stores,so there's always something good.Your tips are awesome and I will sure keep them in mind when I hit my first estate

thanx man that was very helpful

[FullerDawg]

Man you guys are PROS Very interesting reading .I've did alot of the same things too.I have a great thrift store near me I check out every day or two.Stuff rolls in and out of there. My trouble is I dont sell much of what I find my wifes about to kill me LOL

[Marvelmania]

Yard sales and estate sales are the best in my area. Thrift stores, especially Goodwill are the worst with such high mark ups. Last week I found 3 70's looney tunes drinking glasses there. Normally around $5-$7 each but these had barely the picture left from fading. $10 each! We have 3 Goodwills and they are all like this. Haven of Mercy is a pretty good thrift store here. Nice to hear it's better in other areas. Nice reading Chris and thanks for the tips!

[MegoSteve]

Wow, what a great post. I love hearing about finds "in the wild," and I admire anyone with the work ethic to put in all that legwork. I just don't have the patience.

My experience up here in Pennsylvania is that most of the yard sales are junk. I used to crawl the neighborhoods looking for sales every Saturday when I was younger, but it just got to the point where I wasn't finding anything for all the effort I was putting in. Whenever I did find something, it was invariably marked way too high because "it's old" or "this is a collector's item." I blame Antiques Roadshow.

I pretty much restrict my buying to flea markets, larger community or church yard sales, toy shows, and eBay these days. I think it's still possible to find bargains at toy shows, especially, because there are many rare variations that aren't well-documented. No one can possibly know everything about everything, even a dealer.

And, ulimately, that's where you make your money. Knowing more than the next guy.

[theantiquetiger]

Going back to thrift stores, I did pretty well at these when I first started out. I found some nice stuff to build my bankroll, but nothing in the BIG MONEY range that I am at now. I remember grabbing some transformers, MOTU, and other figs for a dollar a bag, and selling for $30 or $40. I think the best thing I ever found were some records from the 60's. They were some late 50's TV western soundtracks. I think I paid a quarter or so, and sold them for $60.

Here are some the most memorable finds I have had in the past five years, from the beginning first:

I cannot forget my 1st big hit, a 1970's Peirre Cardin backgammon set. It was at a rich neighborhood, paid $2, and sold for $125, buy it now, in about 30 minutes.

A bakelite Mah Jongg set from the 30's or if not older, paid $15 and sold for over $200.

The Daisy BB gun I mentioned earlier. I bought that, a broken "Borden Ice Cream" neon sign from 1930, a Louisville Slugger Joe DiMaggio bat (lying next to the BB gun in the attic), and a Benjamin pellet gun from the 60's. I paid $13 for all, sold for around $600 total, with the BB gun going for $300 and the neon for $125.

My 1st four figure sale. 30 mint in the box Lesney Matchbox cars from the late 50's. I was sweating when I paid $150 for the lot, sold for $2400.

The box of train passes from 1903 to 1930. I think the guy gave it to me because I had already spent $200 - $300. They were nothing business card size pieces of paper with different train companies on them. There were 2 per year. They sold for $700. I made over $2000 from this sale. I found a great old non-pc child's book called "The Pickaninnies". It sold for $100, paid $1 or less. I also found a half dozen mint Roseville pieces for $5 each, sold for $300 or so.

My great Model Rocket purchase from a garage sale last year(my best garage sale find). It was about 100 unbuilt rockets and 1000's of parts and pieces. Paid $200, sold for well over $2000, with some of the rockets going for $200 - $300 each. I also picked up a complete set of Ping Eye II irons for $100, sold for $300, and about 5 rare Beatles albums for $1 each, sold for $50 to $150 each.

The estate sale of the man who worked for LSU. Grabbed a full basket of about 80 comics including the #1 Thun'da that sold for over $600, plus some nice low number Detective Comics and other golden age comics that went for around $100 each. With the comics and LSU stuff, I spent just under $400 and sold for well over $3000.

My most recent find just a couple moths ago. Paid $10 for 6 Kentucky derby glasses from the 50's. Sold for $600. I spent $200 at this estate sale, and sold for $1500.

And finally the grand-daddy of them all, the Mego/SMDM collection I bought at an estate sale. There were about 35 mint loose figs with all the parts (including a minty Green Arrow and a minty Batgirl with her plastic headband still on), playsets and vehicles still in the boxes such as Spidy, CA, & GA cars, Batlab van, Joker Van, Batcave, and some other loose vehicle such as the batcycle. All the SMDM figs and playsets were still in the box as well, including a minty Big Foot. I paid $160 for the lot (their asking price) and sold the SMDM stuff for $700 (including $300 for the Bigfoot) and the Mego lot for $5800. Funny this about this lot, i almost passed on the Spidy, CA, & GA cars because I thought they looked so cheaply made. These three items were the big money getters with the GA car catching $600.

Alot of people have said, yeah, all these are great, but how about the duds I have lost money on. I can honestly say, there has been very few of these. My biggest dud was a collection of about 2500 beer cans that I paid $300 for. I sold the very rare ones off the bat for almost the cost of the cans. After that, I was selling them in lots of about 60 for about $10 - $20 each (thats how many would fit into a box). I was paying $40 a month rent at a storage unit just for these things. After 5 months, I got tired of them, gave the remaining 1500 or so cans to a man at the flea market. Told him it was his turn to listen to his wife b*tch about these things. After 6 mouths, I broke even on these things. I could have made OK money on them, but it was more work than it was worth.

I did have alot of duds when I first started out, paying $1 for stuff and finding out it was crap when I got home, but that was a great learning tool, and the item would never get me again.

I have atleast 200 individual finds that I paid less than $5 that broke the $100 mark.

I have yet to break the $1000 dollar mark on one single item. The Thun'da comic for nearly $700, the train passes for $700 (even though there were about 60 of them), the Kentucky Derby glasses for $600, and the GA car for $600 are my biggest individual item finds.

[toys2cool]

yeah I don't buy at the goodwills or salvation army's anymore,the last few times I've been there I've noticed the antique price guides behind the counters,the best money I've made has been with dolls,my mom has collected dolls for over 25 years,so I know my stuff ,I've sold madame Alexanders and Vintage Barbies for well over $500-$800 each,so the 1st thing I do is check the dolls and then move onto the boy toys