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These Hidden Clues Help Me Find Treasure at Thrift Stores — Transcript

by Justin Resells · 8,088 words · 1,177 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Thrift stores aren't dead.
0:02You're just bad at shopping.
0:05>> An old set of binoculars, Netgear Wi-Fi
0:08adapter.
0:09>> I don't mean to be rude, but most people
0:12they scan for stuff that they recognize.
0:15>> So, that's a no. That's definitely a no.
0:17>> And then they walk right past everything
0:19else.
0:19>> Before I bought these, I didn't even
0:20know what the brand was. And you [music]
0:22can tell that they were made with
0:23quality materials. $531 on a pair of
0:26headphones.
0:27>> And nobody can recognize everything,
0:30right?
0:30>> Check out this very unassuming little
0:32black disc.
0:33>> Your edge in this business, it's not
0:35memorizing 10,000 different items.
0:38>> USB type-C cable. Could have walked by
0:40it all day.
0:41>> Instead, it's knowing the clues that
0:43point to value no matter what aisle
0:45you're standing in.
0:46>> So, I didn't even know what this thing
0:47was. It was [music] very heavy.
0:49>> So, for $314.98.
0:52>> So, we're going to walk the whole store
0:54right now, section by section. We're
0:55going to start in clothing, we're going
0:57to go to shoes. We're going to talk
0:59through electronics and housewares and
1:01toys and art and books. And in each one,
1:04I'm going to give you the clues that you
1:05need to spot value without needing to
1:07memorize a bunch of brands or specific
1:09items.
1:13Now, we're going to start in the
1:14clothing section. But before we do, I'm
1:16going to go over a few clues that work
1:18basically everywhere in the store, no
1:20matter what section you're standing in.
1:22And yeah, I know. Before you head to the
1:23comments and tell me that thrift stores
1:25are overpriced in your area, I get it.
1:27You know, thrift stores they are they
1:29are overpriced. They're very expensive
1:30sometimes, but not everything. They
1:32don't catch everything.
1:35Now, the first one is country of origin.
1:38And this is one of the most reliable
1:40signals of value basically anywhere in
1:42the building. So, check the bottom of a
1:44mug, look at a tag inside of a shirt.
1:46There's a stamp on the back of a tool
1:48somewhere. Like almost everything tells
1:49you where it was made.
1:51>> Here's a cool old alarm clock. Made in
1:53the USA.
1:54>> And like seeing made in USA, that still
1:56means something. On clothing or
1:58glassware or tools or ceramics, being
2:01made here right in the US, it usually
2:03means better materials or like tighter
2:06quality control than what replaced it
2:08overseas. So, if something is
2:10American-made, just slow down and look
2:12at it a little bit more closely. So, I
2:14picked up this all-American ultimate
2:16griddle pan for five bucks. And
2:18honestly, I just don't think I would
2:19have picked it up if it wasn't made in
2:21the USA. Like, I don't know. But because
2:23it was made in the US, I thought might
2:25as well check it out. So, I did and look
2:26at that. I paid five bucks and I sold it
2:28for $109.98.
2:30My net profit, $72.85.
2:33Or even better, countries that don't
2:34even exist at all anymore like
2:36Czechoslovakia or Yugoslavia or the USSR
2:39or East Germany or occupied Japan or
2:42West Germany. If you see a country name
2:44that hasn't existed in like 30 years,
2:46you're holding something with a built-in
2:48timestamp. And that's often a good sign
2:49that it could have some value.
2:52The next universal clue is one that I
2:55call the Jurassic Park rule.
2:58There's a line in the movie where the
2:59kid puts on night vision goggles.
3:02And the lawyer asks,
3:03>> Are they heavy?
3:04>> Yeah.
3:04>> Then they're expensive. Put them back.
3:06>> And that's a pretty good rule. Pick
3:07something up, you know, a coat or a lamp
3:09or a piece of cookware or a tool and pay
3:11attention to whether the weight
3:13surprises you. If it's heavier than your
3:15eyes told you it would be, like that's a
3:16good sign. Heavy fabric means better
3:19materials. Heavy metal means like actual
3:21metal and not pot metal or plated
3:23plastic or whatever. Heavy cookware
3:25means cast iron or copper core or like
3:27thick gauge stainless steel instead of
3:29that flimsy stuff. And this is
3:31especially useful when you have no idea
3:33what something even is, you know, you're
3:34just going to find these weird tools or
3:36unidentified gadgets or mystery objects
3:38from somebody's garage. And if it's got
3:40real heft, somebody at some point
3:42probably spent real money on it. And
3:44that's worth more research before you
3:46just put it back on the shelf. And the
3:47reason that this works, by the way, is
3:49that modern manufacturing is constantly
3:51trying to make things lighter because
3:53it's cheaper to ship or cheaper to
3:55produce. So, when something feels
3:57heavier than it looks, you've likely
3:58found something that was just built to a
4:00different standard. And things that are
4:01built to a different standard, often
4:03they're just worth more money.
4:06And closely related to the weight rule
4:08is what I call the cold touch test. Uh
4:11you just pick something up and notice
4:12the temperature against your skin. If
4:14it's made of real materials like metal
4:16or glass or stone or marble or ceramic
4:19even, that's going to feel cold when you
4:20first touch them. And just like, you
4:21know, plastic imitations don't have that
4:24same feeling. Like they just feel like
4:25room temperature because plastic is a uh
4:27a thermal insulator. And this is how you
4:28can tell like real brass from
4:30brass-colored plastic or marble from
4:33resin or glass from acrylic. And if you
4:35have something that's heavy and it's
4:36also cold to the touch, that's even
4:39better. Uh this is also one I just
4:40didn't know what it was. Uh but you pick
4:42it up, small, it's heavy, and it's cold
4:45to the touch. And it took me a while to
4:46figure out what this thing was. Like it
4:47turns out it's an antique uh hard candy
4:50roller. Anyway, this thing sold for $330
4:53uh and my net profit on it was $200.60.
4:57Small, cold to the touch, very
4:59interesting piece.
5:01All right, let's go ahead and get into
5:02the actual sections of the thrift store.
5:04We're going to start with clothing.
5:07So, when you spot something interesting
5:09on the rack, the first thing that I want
5:11you to do is look at every tag. The
5:13brand label, the care label, anything
5:16sewn into like the side seam or the back
5:18of the neck. There's a stack of clues
5:20that are going to be hiding right there.
5:21The first thing I look at is how the tag
5:23was made. Older labels are often woven
5:26with real thread that you can actually
5:28feel on your fingertips. And modern
5:30labels, they're just usually printed
5:32directly onto like a a thin strip of
5:34fabric or plastic or even right onto the
5:37clothing itself. Take a look at how the
5:38tags from a brand like L.L.Bean have
5:40evolved over the years and compare that
5:43to the label on a modern L.L.Bean
5:45jacket. There's just a huge difference
5:46there. And the tags, they tell you a
5:48lot. Another thing I look for is union
5:50labels. So, if a garment was made in the
5:52United States by unionized workers, it
5:54almost always got a small union tag sewn
5:56along the inside of the brand label.
5:58There are a lot of unions out there.
6:00Like, you don't need to bother
6:01memorizing them all. You just need to
6:03recognize that little union stamp when
6:05you see it. And once you've spotted a
6:06few, they all sort of start to look
6:08similar to one another. Uh and it
6:09usually means that these pieces were
6:11American made and uh made by union labor
6:13and almost always before the 1990s. And
6:15it can just mean that they're worth more
6:17money because of it. This is a Carhartt
6:19Detroit jacket, union made. Uh it sold
6:22for $106.98.
6:24If this was a better size, like a medium
6:26or large or extra large, it probably
6:28would have been worth double the cost.
6:29But, that's okay. Still, I made $70.74
6:32on a uh $15 investment. And, you know,
6:35just noticing that union tag really
6:37played a role in that. Uh another word
6:39to keep an eye out for on a label is
6:40Sanforized. This is a pre-shrinking
6:43process from a long time ago. They would
6:45stamp it on tags, like in workwear and
6:47denim and cotton shirts. And modern
6:49clothing, typically, they just don't
6:51bother labeling it with that word. And
6:52so, when you see Sanforized on a tag,
6:54you're just you're pretty sure that
6:55you're going to be looking at a vintage
6:56item. Uh and vintage Sanforized shirts
6:58can go for a lot of money. It's kind of
7:00crazy. Or, pay attention if you just see
7:01no care label at all. Care instructions,
7:04they weren't always a part of clothing,
7:06right? They became federally required
7:08back in the 1970s. So, if a garment has
7:10a brand label, but nothing telling you
7:12like how to wash it, you're almost
7:13certainly holding something like
7:14pre-1970s. Uh now, just because
7:17something is vintage doesn't mean it's
7:18valuable, obviously. Uh and there's
7:20plenty of modern clothing worth real
7:22money, too. And the trick with modern
7:24clothing is knowing what premium quality
7:27looks like without having to memorize
7:29200 different brand names. Uh and here's
7:31what you need to think about to do that.
7:32Uh modern fast fashion uh and modern
7:35premium goods, they come from the same
7:37stores, the same shelves. Sometimes,
7:39they show up on the same racks. And the
7:41different things about them is the
7:42construction. You know, you often need
7:44to look pretty closely. So, instead of
7:46looking for old, you know, with vintage,
7:48you're looking for evidence that
7:49somebody paid more to make this thing
7:51well. Like, just take boots for example.
7:53And we're going to talk about shoes here
7:54in a minute. I have a whole section
7:56category on them. But, just really
7:58quick, like take boots. Like, flip them
7:59over and look where the sole meets the
8:01upper. If you see stitching going around
8:03the perimeter, it usually means that the
8:05shoe was built to be resoled, like, you
8:07know, by a by a cobbler. Yes, those
8:09still exist. But, if it's just like
8:12glued to the shoe, that's the modern
8:14cheap default. And stitched soles are a
8:17signal that maybe it's valuable. Like,
8:19check this out. Look at these boots.
8:20These are Red Wings. Where you see the
8:22stitching right along there. So, I paid
8:23$5 for it, if you can believe that. And
8:25still, like, that's a
8:26That's like a decent chunk of change,
8:28you know, for a pair of boots that are
8:30that look like this. You know, this sold
8:31for $27.98.
8:33I made almost $10 in net profit. But, I
8:35wanted to talk about this one in
8:36particular cuz just look at the
8:37condition. These can be completely
8:39reconditioned. The leather can be
8:41reconditioned to look almost brand new.
8:43They can be resoled. And that's amazing.
8:45It's quality craftsmanship. These were
8:47built to last, and they're built to be
8:49repaired. And you find items like that,
8:51they're just going to be worth buying,
8:53even if the condition is really terrible
8:54like this. We're going to get into shoes
8:56more in a minute. Or, you could take a
8:57look at a pair of jeans. If you turn
8:59them inside out and check the outer side
9:01seam down by the heel, if you see a
9:04clean finished edge that has like a
9:06stripe of white or colored thread
9:08running down it, that's selvage denim.
9:11Basically, it's just like premium
9:12production from a specific kind of loom.
9:14Most jeans, they have just like a
9:16frayed-looking seam down there. But, the
9:18selvage denim, if you see that, they
9:20could just go for a whole lot. So, keep
9:21an eye out for that as well. Now, tags
9:23can also tell you about materials,
9:24right? And this is especially important
9:26for more modern pieces. Fast fashion
9:28tags, they're going to say stuff like
9:30100% polyester or 60% cotton, 40%
9:33polyester. And premium tags, they name
9:36the specific material often. So, they're
9:38going to say things like merino wool or
9:39full-grain leather or Gore-Tex or 800
9:42fill down. Uh and so, when the tag
9:44bothers to name the technology that's
9:46being used to create the actual shirt or
9:49whatever, that just means somebody paid
9:50a premium for it. Here's an example of a
9:52sweater that I picked up at a thrift
9:54store for it was 10 bucks, which is kind
9:55of a lot, but uh this checked a lot of
9:57boxes for me. One, it's just kind of a
9:58desirable pattern. It was a good tag on
10:01it, a good brand, Shannon. It was came
10:03from Ireland. Uh it was I think it said
10:05made in Ireland on there. And also, you
10:06know, on the tag it's calling out what
10:08it's made of, merino wool. Took 6 months
10:10to sell, so it was a little bit of a
10:11slow seller, but it sold for $54.98.
10:14I made $29.10.
10:16Now, another thing to look for in the
10:18clothing section are single stitch
10:20t-shirts. So, next time you're at the
10:22store, just go to the t-shirt rack and
10:24look at the hem on the shoulder or the
10:26sleeve. And if you see a single row of
10:28stitching, you're probably holding
10:30something from the early '90s or
10:32earlier. If you see double rows of
10:34stitching, well, that those became like
10:36more industry standard in the mid-1990s
10:38when manufacturing got faster and
10:40cheaper. And single stitch alone, like
10:42it doesn't it doesn't mean the shirt is
10:43definitely valuable. Uh and double
10:45stitch t-shirts, they can have value as
10:47well. You just want to think of this as
10:49like a sorting tool. So, when I see a
10:50single stitch t-shirt, I just slow down
10:53and look a little bit closer um to see
10:55if it might be a desirable print. Like,
10:57check this out. This is a vintage Sub
10:59Pop. Sub Pop's an old record label that
11:01Nirvana was on and lots of other very
11:02well-known bands. You know, because I
11:04noticed that this was single stitch, it
11:06made me pause and think like, "Okay,
11:07what is this? This might be a little bit
11:08more interesting than if it was just a
11:10regular shirt that said loser on it."
11:12And, you know, it turns out that it was
11:14just a very, very desirable shirt. It
11:16sold for $456.99. It took
11:209 minutes to sell. I remember it sold to
11:22Thailand. My net profit on it, $383.35
11:25for this single stitch
11:27uh vintage pop Sub Pop t-shirt. The last
11:29thing I check on a piece of clothing is
11:31the hardware. So, that's like the
11:32zippers or the buttons or snaps or
11:34rivets. A lot of the older pieces, they
11:36have a brand that's stamped right into
11:39the metal uh piece of the zipper, like
11:41the tab. And you're going to see names
11:43like Talon or Scovill. There's a bunch
11:45of other ones. You don't need to
11:46memorize them. Just know that branded
11:47metal hardware is just like a vintage
11:49tell. Modern clothing, they almost
11:51always use YKK zippers uh or even just
11:53like unbranded plastic zippers. Uh so,
11:56if you flip a zipper and you see a name
11:58that you don't recognize and it's like
12:00an actual piece of metal, it's probably
12:01older and it probably means it's better
12:02made and and probably worth more money.
12:04And the same goes for for buttons and
12:06for snaps. Like real shell or pearl or
12:09horn or wood, those almost always point
12:11to an older or higher quality piece. And
12:14like the classic example here is like
12:15pearl snaps on a western shirt. So, this
12:18vintage Wrangler, uh this style is
12:20called a brush popper. So, that's a good
12:22name to know. Aside from the styling of
12:24just being kind of unique and different,
12:26those pearl snap buttons uh are really
12:29an indicator that it could be worth more
12:31money. And you often see them on shirts
12:32like this. My net profit $54.99.
12:35Now, there are some modern heritage
12:37brands like Filson or Howler Brothers
12:40that use these sort of like classic
12:41construction techniques on purpose. So,
12:43these clues, they don't always mean
12:44vintage. Uh sometimes they mean it's
12:46like a current production but at a
12:48higher quality. Either way, you've
12:50probably found something that's worth a
12:51closer look.
12:53Okay, let's go ahead and head over to
12:55shoes now.
12:57In the shoe section, it's kind of like
12:59the most chaotic and gross section of
13:01the entire thrift store. But shoes, I
13:03mean, they're they can be one of the
13:04highest margin categories in the whole
13:06store. And here's how I can scan a shoe
13:08in about 10 seconds. I always start with
13:09the sole. So, if you just flip the shoe
13:11over, um we already covered the
13:12stitching uh when we talked about the
13:14boots earlier. But the other thing to
13:15look for on the sole is is a branded
13:17stamp in the actual rubber of the sole.
13:20Uh Vibram is the most common. It's like
13:22a yellow octagon logo with the Vibram
13:24name. There are other sole makers as
13:26well. Yeah, here's a pair of boots that
13:28sold for $139.98.
13:30They were Gore-Tex, so they they are
13:32sort of advertising the technology.
13:34Obviously, they're leather. You can't
13:35see it here, but uh you have that Vibram
13:37logo on the bottom. Again, that just
13:39tells you that the manufacturer is
13:40paying a little bit of extra money uh
13:42for a high-quality sole. My net profit
13:44on this one was $88.87.
13:46It took 12 days to sell.
13:48>> And premium shoes, they always use
13:49full-grain leather, and cheaper shoes
13:51don't. Then check like the inside of the
13:53shoe, cuz there's a lot of clues hiding
13:55inside of there. Um you want to look for
13:56stamps like on the insole or on the
13:59inside of the tongue.
14:00>> Made in Spain. The brand on these is
14:03Mezlan.
14:04>> Quality shoe makers, they're going to
14:05stamp their name in there, the country
14:06of origin, sometimes a model number,
14:08something like that. Like usually it'll
14:09say made in Italy, made in England, made
14:11in USA, made in Japan. Any of those that
14:13you see on on leather shoes is is
14:15definitely a green flag. Now, sneakers
14:17are like an entirely different game. I'm
14:19not a sneakerhead. I don't know
14:20everything about them. And the
14:22construction tells from earlier like
14:23those still apply, but with sneakers
14:25they just construction doesn't tell you
14:27everything. It doesn't tell you the
14:28difference between like a $50 pair of
14:29shoes and a $500 pair of shoes. And the
14:31premium is more in the model um in the
14:34edition. Like which Jordan is this? Um
14:36which colorway specifically, which
14:38collaboration? And you just can't read
14:40that off the shoe. Um and you just may
14:42not know by looking at it. But what you
14:44can do is just find the size tag inside
14:46of the tongue. Like every sneaker has
14:47one, and it lists the brand, the model
14:49name, the style number, and just search
14:51that style number on eBay, and you're
14:52going to have current comps in like 5
14:54seconds. But just be be careful of
14:55counterfeits, cuz they're out there
14:57everywhere.
14:57>> I thought these were really cool and
14:59interesting pair of of Nike Dunk Lows.
15:02They were just a little bit different.
15:03One, the colorway was interesting, the
15:04sort of black and orange. Immediately,
15:06I'm thinking Halloween. Uh but upon
15:08inspection, I I started to notice that
15:09these were actually like
15:10glow-in-the-dark. That told me is like,
15:12"Okay, this is something interesting."
15:13And it was. I sold them for $125. My net
15:16profit was $70.55.
15:18Uh one last thing on shoes though,
15:20before we move on, the wear patterns are
15:22weirdly informative sometimes. So,
15:24quality shoes just age more gracefully
15:26than cheap shoes. Like the leather is
15:28going to crease more beautifully. And
15:30cheap shoes they're just going to like
15:31fall apart structurally, you know, like
15:33linings are going to peel, the heels are
15:36going to collapse, like the soles are
15:37going to separate from the uppers. A
15:3920-year-old quality shoe in decent
15:41condition is worth way more than a
15:422-year-old fast fashion shoe. So, just
15:45don't let the age scare you off when it
15:46comes to shoes. Let the construction
15:48tell you what it's worth.
15:50All right, let's go ahead and head to
15:51the electronics section. [music]
15:54So, electronics is the category that
15:56most people tend to get backwards. And
15:58the instinct is to assume that the sleek
16:00and modern Bluetooth speaker is worth
16:02more than the dusty wooden receiver next
16:04to it. And sometimes that's true, but
16:06often it's not. Vintage audio gear from
16:08the 1970s, for example, can be worth
16:10hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
16:12But so can a current-gen gaming console
16:14or a pair of premium headphones made
16:15last year. Meanwhile, like plenty of
16:17brand new-looking electronics are worth
16:19like literally nothing. Age just isn't
16:22the signal that you want to go by when
16:23you're looking at electronics. It can
16:25help, but it's not the only signal to
16:26look for. Build quality and and who it
16:28was built for are the signals that you
16:30really want to look for. So, we'll start
16:32with weight again, you know, like a
16:34vintage stereo receiver weighs like 40
16:36or 50 lb because the components inside
16:38of them are real. But the weight rule
16:40applies to modern stuff, too, right?
16:42Like a really nice pair of headphones
16:44are going to be pretty heavy. Pro audio
16:46gear made of a metal chassis, like it's
16:48going to be heavy, heavier than non-pro
16:51audio audio gear. This was just a crazy
16:52find here and they were a brand that
16:55just I don't not many people know,
16:56including myself. Focal Bathys was the
16:59style. You could just tell when you pick
17:01them up that something special is going
17:04on here cuz they're just heavy and you
17:06can tell that they were they were made
17:07with quality materials. $531 I sold them
17:11for in about a month. My net profit was
17:13$436
17:14on a pair of headphones.
17:16Serious cameras, they're going to have
17:18machined bodies that just weigh more
17:20than cheap cameras.
17:21>> It's a little 120 film camera.
17:24I don't know, it looks like it's
17:24generic, but I'll check that. I'll check
17:27it out.
17:28>> Uh, these things all feel different than
17:30their cheaper equivalents. But then take
17:32a look at how the device is built,
17:33right? Brushed aluminum, real wood,
17:35metal knobs that have some resistance
17:38when you turn them. These types of
17:39things read as built for someone who
17:42cares, regardless of the era. Uh, and
17:44vintage gear and modern premium gear,
17:47they actually share an aesthetic, you
17:49know? Usually they have clean labeling,
17:51like really minimal branding. They have
17:53controls that almost feel like
17:55instruments. Then you can just sort of
17:56flip the device around and look at the
17:58connections on the back. You'll see lots
18:01of analog inputs or outputs, RCA and or
18:04phono, XLR, uh, multiple speaker
18:07terminals, like quarter-inch jacks. Um,
18:09you know, you can sort of tell whether
18:11or not it's a serious piece of of gear
18:13or not. Something that is designed for
18:15like one specific use case tends to
18:17hold, you know, a better value versus,
18:20you know, gear that just does a generic
18:22thing poorly. This is a great example of
18:24just a vintage piece that is very
18:26desirable, you know? Clean branding and
18:28a lot of people might scoff at a $25
18:30tag, but it's worth a lot of money. This
18:32thing sold for $264.98
18:35for this Apple Studio display from, you
18:38know, 28 years ago. This is just
18:40something that stands out as unique, as
18:42interesting, as desirable, as
18:44collectible, and somebody paid up for
18:46it. Also, look at the labeling itself on
18:48electronics. Like a device that that
18:49lists exact specs, I don't know, like,
18:52driver size or the refresh rate or the
18:54IP rating or codec support. It just
18:57means it was built for someone who cares
18:58about those those numbers, right? A
19:00device that just says like amazing sound
19:02um, or ultra HD without any other
19:04specifics, like those were usually built
19:06for someone who who doesn't care about
19:08those things. Also, original packaging
19:10matters a lot in this section. So, for
19:12gaming consoles or vintage cameras or
19:14premium headphones, any collectible
19:16electronic like uh the original box,
19:18like the manuals and the cables and
19:19accessories, like that can just multiply
19:21the value by five or 10 times often.
19:24These old TVs can do really, really
19:26well. Uh I paid 20 bucks for this one,
19:28but look at this, it's brand new in the
19:29box. And you know, this is a beat up
19:31kind of old-looking box, and it sold for
19:33$299. And I paid 20 bucks, and then that
19:36profit was $223.53.
19:39And one last thing on electronics, I
19:40don't automatically pass on broken
19:43electronics, you know, a non-working
19:44vintage receiver might still be worth
19:46100 bucks in parts. Uh a current-gen
19:48gaming console with like a known
19:50repairable issue might still be worth
19:52real money to somebody who knows how to
19:54fix them. You know, I'm not even sure
19:55what this is still today. It's a LGB
19:58Jumbo Transformer Power Pack. I don't
20:00know. I couldn't test it. I didn't even
20:02know how to test it. Uh so, I ended up
20:03selling it for parts, and it still sold
20:06for $114.99.
20:08I paid 20 bucks. Sometimes it doesn't
20:10even matter. If it's not working, you
20:11can often just sell it anyway for for
20:13decent money. Quality electronics,
20:15whether they're vintage or current, they
20:16often retain value even when they don't
20:19work, or they can just be parted out.
20:21All right, now let's head over to
20:23housewares, uh which is another good
20:25section of the thrift store that I
20:26really like to visit.
20:28And this one also is like overwhelming,
20:30you know. Uh it's basically everything
20:31that isn't furniture or electronics or
20:33clothing. And you'll see things like
20:35cookware, kitchen tools, uh or mugs,
20:38kitchen gadgets, lamps, weird stuff that
20:41nobody knows what to do with. And most
20:42of it is genuinely worthless. Now, the
20:44category that I always start with here
20:46is is cookware, just like the pots and
20:48pans. I think this is one of the
20:49highest-value categories in the
20:50housewares section, and it's just one
20:52that delivers the most for me. I always
20:54keep an eye out for cast iron pans,
20:56usually ones with like smooth, polished
20:58surfaces. Uh that can often mean they're
21:00they're older and just better than the
21:02rough and more modern stuff. You also
21:04want to look for a heat ring on the
21:05bottom of cast iron. It's like a raised
21:07circle around the rim, which usually
21:09signals it's older, like pre-1960s or
21:1250s. This brand, All-Clad, this is a
21:15cast aluminum casserole dish, but you
21:17just pick it up, you can tell. You can
21:19You can just You know that it's made
21:20well, and it it's heavy and it's thick.
21:23This thing took 3 days to sell for
21:24$69.98.
21:26You also want to look for enamelled cast
21:28iron, which is heavy and usually like
21:30brightly colored, has a stamp on the
21:32bottom of the maker. Just pick this
21:35stuff up, you know, again, heavy is good
21:36here. Light almost always is junky.
21:39Next, I usually take a look at the
21:41kitchen gadgets and small appliances,
21:43and this is where a lot of resellers
21:44miss money because the section looks
21:46like a graveyard of beat-up blenders and
21:49crusty waffle irons. Most of it is junk,
21:52you know, but specific stuff does hide
21:54here if you know how to find it. A cast
21:57iron pig hibachi tabletop grill, I paid
22:0010 bucks for it and it sold for $233.
22:02Heavy, quality, and and weird, and just
22:06different. You know, you walk through a
22:07an aisle at a thrift store and you see
22:08that, it's going to stand out. And so,
22:10you know, trust your gut on that. The
22:12weight and build rules from electronics
22:14apply directly here, like, you know, a
22:16vintage stand mixer is going to weigh
22:17something like 40 lb because the motor
22:20is real metal, and a modern equivalent
22:21at the same price point weighs 5 lb
22:23because it's made of plastic. Things
22:25like high-end blenders, espresso
22:26machines, food processors, coffee
22:28makers, stand mixers, they can all hold
22:31value even when they're old, even when
22:33they're ugly, even if they don't work.
22:34And that last part is worth dwelling on,
22:36right? Because even when the unit's
22:38broken, you can often make more money
22:40parting it out than just selling it as a
22:41whole unit. So, that's like glass
22:44blender pitchers or stand mixer
22:46attachments or espresso machine
22:48portafilters or food processor bowls and
22:50blades. Like, owners of these machines,
22:52they're constantly hunting for
22:54replacement parts, and there's nowhere
22:55else to buy them but eBay. I buy food
22:57processors and things like this all day
22:59long, and I don't even bother testing
23:00them cuz if they work, great, I'll sell
23:02the whole unit, but if they don't work,
23:03often I'll make more money by just
23:05parting it out like I did this. This is
23:07just one piece of it. I probably got
23:09eight pieces off the whole unit and it
23:10sold for $49.98.
23:12My net profit was $30.57.
23:15Uh now, I want to talk about coffee mugs
23:17for a minute. Um I love coffee mugs, but
23:19I'll be honest, they're not a great
23:21section to source from. Um even the good
23:23ones usually aren't worth all that much
23:24money and the volume of pure junk that
23:26you have to wade through to find the
23:28good ones is enormous. Uh but every once
23:30in a while, you do find a diamond and I
23:31just I like buying coffee mugs. I don't
23:33know. This one was one of the best ones
23:35I've ever found. Not the best, but one
23:37of the best. This is an FBI building. I
23:39mean, I just again saw this mug and it
23:41looked different than all the other
23:42mugs. I also knew that Starbucks mugs
23:44can sometimes do well. Took 13 days to
23:46sell for $159.98.
23:49I paid $2 at a thrift store. Very rarely
23:51do I get one that is worth this much
23:54money. But here's the thing about mugs
23:56that's different from everything else in
23:57housewares. It's not really about how
23:59the mug is made. Uh it's more about
24:01what's on the mug. Like a mass-produced
24:03ceramic mug with the right vintage logo
24:06on the side is going to be worth more
24:07than like a a beautifully hand-thrown
24:09studio mug with nothing distinctive on
24:11it. The construction just doesn't really
24:13matter all that much. The graphic on the
24:15mug matters a lot more. And I'm not
24:17saying there's no like studio
24:19hand-thrown studio mugs that are not
24:21good, but I'm just these are general
24:22rules here. So, don't beat me up in the
24:23comments. So, when you're looking at the
24:25mugs, you really you want to scan for
24:27imagery and branding. Uh things like
24:29defunct businesses or old corporate
24:31logos from companies that went out of
24:33business uh or specific vintage
24:35advertising or souvenirs from like
24:38places and events that have like
24:40nostalgia associated with them. Defunct
24:42theme parks or old restaurants or uh
24:44casinos. Anything where somebody might
24:46pick it up and just like feel something.
24:48Um that's usually a good sign that could
24:50be worth more money. But let's go ahead
24:52and leave the mugs aside and head over
24:54to toys now.
24:57The toy section at most thrift stores is
24:59just filled completely with junk. And
25:02most of it is is literally worthless.
25:04It's usually the most chaotic part of
25:05the store because everyone lets their
25:07kids just run around and and throw the
25:09toys everywhere. But every once in a
25:10while you'll find something worth
25:11buying. The first thing that I just keep
25:13an eye out for is original packaging.
25:14It's just always a good sign if
25:15something is in its original packaging.
25:17Like a sealed action figure with the
25:19original card can be worth 10 times the
25:22loose version and it's much easier to
25:23identify. A Lego set, you know, with the
25:25original box and instructions is going
25:27to be worth a lot more than just loose
25:28random pieces. Even a crushed box is
25:31better than no box at all. This is a
25:32good example of just finding a pretty
25:34beat up box and having the toys inside.
25:37Not even This wasn't even complete. This
25:38was missing a couple characters. But
25:40even so it sold for $84.98.
25:42I paid five bucks for it. The second
25:44thing to check for is just is just marks
25:46on the toys. Like they're always Toys
25:48are just always stamped with copyright
25:50dates or country of origin marks, set
25:53numbers, or like manufacturer codes. And
25:55then these marks are how you date and
25:57identify anything that you don't
25:58recognize immediately. Anytime I see a
26:00Hot Wheels car, I'm always looking for
26:02red lines. And red lines are just right
26:04there. You can see on the wheel, red
26:05line.
26:06Also, if you flip this thing over,
26:07you're going to see it's made in Hong
26:08Kong. So that dates it as being an older
26:10one. Some red lines can be worth a lot
26:12of money. This one wasn't in particular,
26:14you know, $14.99. And again, Hong Kong.
26:16Made in Hong Kong is a good sign of a
26:18vintage toy that could be worth some
26:20money. The toy section is also where
26:21you'll find like plush, you know, like
26:23stuffed animals. And I'll save you some
26:25time here. Almost all plush is
26:26worthless, but there are exceptions. I
26:28think the single biggest signal on plush
26:30is is whether the original tags are
26:32still attached. It could just mean the
26:34difference between 50 cents and 50
26:36dollars often. But beyond tags, you're
26:37looking for like just vintage characters
26:40from defunct franchises or anything from
26:43a maker that stamps or buttons their
26:45identity on the toy itself instead of
26:48like a tag. Anything that just looks
26:49distinctly old or or hand finished is
26:52also a good sign. Uh also, I found with
26:55plush that just like the weirder the
26:57better. It's just very bizarre. Like I
26:58don't know what this is. I didn't know
26:59what I was looking at. I still, if I'm
27:01being honest, don't know what I'm
27:02looking at. But it's just a unique
27:03animal. This thing sold, you know, not a
27:05ton of money, $24.22.
27:07But for $3, and I ended up making
27:08$13.66.
27:10Not bad. Uh then there are board games,
27:12like millions and millions of board
27:14games. Um and the conventional wisdom
27:16when you're out there at the thrift
27:17store uh considering buying a board game
27:20is to check for completeness, cuz
27:22usually they're not new in box. But I
27:23don't bother checking for completeness,
27:25and here's why. Uh if a board game isn't
27:27valuable, it really doesn't matter if
27:29it's complete or not. It's still worth
27:30nothing. And if a board game is
27:32valuable, like it's almost always worth
27:34buying even when it's incomplete,
27:35because you can just part it out. This
27:37is an example of a board game that I've
27:39bought a couple times. Nintendo Pokémon
27:40Master Trainer board game. Look at all
27:42these parts that I've sold over the
27:44years. I I paid basically nothing for
27:46it. And I bet if we look right here, I
27:48can see what I've sold all of these four
27:50over time. Yeah, look at that. $321 in
27:53gross sales just from pieces parted out
27:56from two or three of these Master
27:58Trainer board games. My net return on
28:00all of it is $174.
28:02The total investment that I made was
28:03$13.50.
28:05Other people, they own the same game,
28:07and they probably lost their own pieces,
28:09and they don't know where else to go but
28:11eBay. So they're hunting for
28:12replacements, and you can provide that.
28:13So checking for completeness when you're
28:14at the thrift store just takes a long
28:16time, and it's just a waste of time. Do
28:17you remember this board game, Tornado
28:19Rex? This even wasn't complete. There
28:21was missing a few of these little hikers
28:23down here. But even so, four days it
28:25took to sell for $164.98.
28:28I paid $2. Um but again, it doesn't have
28:30to be in perfect condition to still be
28:32worth a lot of money if it's the right
28:33board game. And so what you're scanning
28:35for here is value, not whether it's
28:37complete or not. Um vintage board games,
28:39like from before the 1980s or so, they
28:41hold their value pretty well often. Uh
28:43especially anything with like elaborate
28:45boards or um like real wooden pieces or
28:48metal pieces or really distinctive
28:50packaging. Usually the modern hobby
28:52games from the last 20 years like the
28:54kind sold at game stores rather than
28:57Target or Walmart. Those are also going
28:59to hold some value. They're easy to spot
29:01once you know how they look like just
29:02have a distinctive look to them. Like
29:04they're usually heavier than mass market
29:06games. They're usually like illustrated
29:07rather than having a photograph on on
29:09the front. They're often like fantasy or
29:12like strategy themed. You know, you want
29:14to keep an eye out for heavy illustrated
29:16weird looking games for adults. Like
29:18that's I don't know. That's kind of my
29:19rule. Those are usually where the value
29:20lives. And beyond plush and board games,
29:22there's also just you know, the random
29:24mix of toys in general. You basically
29:26want to keep an eye out for anything
29:27that doesn't look like modern plastic.
29:29Tin toys, toys made of tin, pressed
29:32steel, wooden toys, painted metal,
29:34anything with like hand finished
29:36details, something made with real
29:38materials that have like real weight and
29:40you see like screws in them or rivets
29:42instead of glue. Look for country of
29:44origin stamps from the right eras. Also
29:46Halloween masks are something to keep an
29:48eye out for in the toy section. I found
29:49this one. I paid $4 and it sold for what
29:52did it sell for? $356.31.
29:55They're just sort of tossed in there
29:56with the toys. And one more sneaky good
29:58subcategory in toys is is educational
30:01toys. I sell quite a bit of these. Like
30:02vintage educational toys have real
30:04collector value from parents who want
30:06them for their own kids or who who
30:08learned on them growing up. Look for
30:10things like wooden alphabet blocks or
30:11old wooden puzzles, vintage Fisher-Price
30:15stuff with wooden cardboard, early
30:18electronic learning toys like the
30:20Montessori style wooden toys. This one's
30:23a for multiplication. It's not
30:25electronic or anything like that. You
30:26just press press what looks like a
30:28button and they're worth a decent amount
30:30of money. $29.99. I bet I've sold this
30:32probably five or six times. This is
30:34going to be worth more money than most
30:36of the other toys in the toy section.
30:38Think things that might be popular in
30:39like the homeschooling community for
30:41example.
30:43All right, let's head over to the art
30:44section and talk about what we can find
30:46there.
30:48Thrift stores are are are full of framed
30:50pieces. Honestly, 95% of it is
30:53mass-produced reproductions worth
30:54basically nothing. But every so often a
30:56real piece is going to sneak into the
30:58pile like an original painting or a
31:00signed and numbered print. And here's
31:02how to figure out what's worth a closer
31:04look in about 30 seconds. First, you
31:06want to start with the image itself like
31:08a real piece of art just looks
31:10different, you know. An original
31:11painting has has visible brush strokes
31:13and sometimes like an uneven surface.
31:16>> Definitely see the brush strokes there.
31:18>> A real hand-pulled print has ink that
31:20sits like on top of the paper or
31:22sometimes visible texture from the
31:24printmaking process. But, you know,
31:26seeing brush strokes
31:28it doesn't automatically mean value.
31:29Like there's plenty of original
31:31paintings that are like someone's Bob
31:32Ross paint-along or someone's watercolor
31:36or just from an artist that nobody
31:37knows. If you see things like brush
31:39strokes, it just means it's an original
31:40something. Like it doesn't tell you
31:42whether that something is valuable. You
31:44still have to figure that out. Next,
31:45look at the bottom margins if it's a
31:48print. On limited editions, you're going
31:49to see like handwritten pencil markings,
31:52usually a fraction like 23 of 150.
31:54Sometimes you'll see a title in the
31:56middle, the artist's signature might
31:58also be there. And, you know, an unknown
32:00artist pencil signed edition of a
32:02thousand from 1985
32:04it doesn't mean anything really. It
32:05might still only be worth ten bucks.
32:07Like these markers, they mean it's a
32:08real print. Whether it's a valuable
32:10print or not depends on the artist. So
32:12again, these are signals to do more
32:13research. They're not signals to buy. I
32:15wasn't familiar with Randall Spangler.
32:17That's an artist that does these these
32:19dragon type images here. But this thing
32:22was signed. It had 828 of a thousand
32:25written there in the bottom. So that was
32:26just a signal that that that was just
32:28something interesting. It also was in in
32:29a frame, you know, it was a very nice
32:31nicely well-done frame. And for only
32:33five dollars, it's like well, that seems
32:35like a no-brainer. And yeah, sold for 50
32:37bucks. My net profit was $25.80.
32:40Now look at everything like surrounding
32:42the art starting with the frame. You
32:44know, a custom framing job is super
32:46expensive. Like if you do a quality
32:48framing job, it can cost hundreds or
32:50even thousands of dollars. So when you
32:52find a piece in a thrift store with like
32:53a real serious frame around it with real
32:56matting and museum glass or a dust cover
32:58on the back, that just means somebody at
33:00some point spent real money on it.
33:02People just generally don't custom frame
33:05cheap posters or cheap art. Sometimes
33:07they do. Most of the time they don't.
33:08Here's another piece of art that sort of
33:10checked all the boxes. This was a a
33:11lithograph that was signed. On the back
33:14it had
33:15a gallery that it came from and turns
33:18out it was a pretty well-known artist,
33:20Evgeny Sidorikin. I think he was like
33:22Lithuanian. Anyway, $250 this thing sold
33:25for. I paid a dollar for it. Sometimes
33:28you'll see gallery labels or exhibition
33:30stickers or like little auction house
33:32tags or certificates of authenticity.
33:35Any of those are going to mean basically
33:36it just has like a paper trail which is
33:38really helpful and it makes everything
33:39easier to research. And again, none of
33:41these signals on their own are going to
33:42prove anything. What they tell you is
33:44that this is worth, you know, more than
33:4630 seconds of attention. So pull it out
33:48and look it up on your phone. See if you
33:49can figure out the artist's name, see
33:51what the comps are. The actual value is
33:53in the artist, not the markers that I
33:55just talked through. The markers just
33:57tell you when to start looking more
33:58deeply.
34:00All right, let's talk about books.
34:02I love looking through the book section
34:03at the thrift store.
34:05You know, used books, they're just
34:06everywhere and honestly most of them are
34:08worth a couple of bucks at most. But a
34:10true first edition, like the original
34:12printing of a book by its original
34:13publisher, can be worth real money. So
34:15let me show you how to spot a first
34:17edition. The catch here is that there's
34:18no industry standard, unfortunately, for
34:21how publishers identify first editions.
34:24So this is genuinely tough. Different
34:26publishers do it differently and the
34:28methods of how they do it have changed
34:29over time. So just treat what I tell you
34:31here as like a starting point. But, if a
34:33book catches your eye, open it up and
34:35find the copyright page, cuz that's
34:36where almost every clue is going to
34:38live. The first thing to look for is a
34:40number line, uh which is just a row of
34:42numbers like 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Find
34:46the lowest number in the line. If it's a
34:48one, you're probably holding a first
34:49edition, not always, but probably. If
34:51the lowest number is a three, that
34:53usually means it's a third printing.
34:55Some publishers also print the words
34:57like first edition or first printing
34:58right on the page, uh which is helpful,
35:00but if there's also a number line, the
35:02number line is going to be what wins.
35:04So, like uh a book can say first edition
35:07uh and still be a third printing if the
35:09lowest number in the line is a three.
35:11So, it's confusing. You know, this was
35:12not even in very good condition. This is
35:14uh Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell
35:16Tolls, and this was a first edition. You
35:18know, you open it up, I could I could
35:19tell that it was a first edition. I paid
35:21$5 for it on the spot, not really
35:23knowing, but the condition hurt it quite
35:24a bit, though. It was only worth, you
35:26can see here, $26.98.
35:28My net profit was $12.03, but just a fun
35:31fun thing to do. I love going through
35:32the books and just trying to find
35:33interesting ones. Another trap to watch
35:36out for are book club editions, uh
35:38because they love to mimic first
35:39editions, and they're often going to say
35:40first edition right on the copyright
35:42page, even though they're not a first
35:43edition. Uh the giveaway usually is a
35:45dust jacket. Um book clubs almost never
35:47print the price on the dust jacket, and
35:49real first editions almost always print
35:51a price on the dust jacket. Uh so, if
35:53you don't see a price, it's probably a
35:54book club edition. And points are are
35:57one more thing worth knowing about, even
35:58if you can't always use them while
36:00you're at the thrift store. And
36:01basically, a point is like a specific
36:03detail inside of a book. So, like a typo
36:05or a wrong page number that exists only
36:07in the first printing and was corrected
36:09in all printings after. Uh the classic
36:11example here is the first edition of The
36:12Great Gatsby, which has sick and tired
36:15on page 205. Uh that typo is how
36:18collectors confirm whether it's a true
36:20first edition or not. Uh and again,
36:22you're not going to memorize the points
36:23for every book, uh obviously, but it's
36:25just worth knowing they exist, because
36:26when you find a book that might be
36:28valuable and the copyright page looks
36:30promising just do a quick Google search
36:31for the title plus first edition points
36:33and it's going to tell you exactly what
36:35to check inside the book to confirm
36:37whether it is a first edition and first
36:38printing because sometimes a single type
36:40on a single page is the difference
36:41between like a $50 book and a $5,000
36:44book. This video is already long.
36:46Obviously I just can't cover literally
36:48everything that you find in a thrift
36:49store in every section and every
36:51category. Otherwise this video would be
36:52like 900 hours long. But hopefully what
36:55I've talked you through here gives you a
36:56decent framework that you can apply to
36:58whatever happens to be in front of you
37:00next time you go to the thrift store.
37:01And again the whole point, you know, it
37:03isn't to memorize every brand or even
37:06every clue that I just walked you
37:07through. The point is to start training
37:09your eye to see signals instead of
37:11items. And once that switch flips, you
37:14know, every aisle in the store is going
37:16to get more interesting including the
37:17ones that you used to walk past all the
37:19time. And look, I'm I'm just one person.
37:21I don't know everything. If I missed any
37:24clues that you swear by just tell me in
37:25the comments below. I read the comments.
37:27I'm going to steal your your tips. I'm
37:29going to use them for myself. So anyway,
37:31thank you for watching and I'll see you
37:32at the next thrift store.
37:38>> [music]

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This page contains the full transcript of These Hidden Clues Help Me Find Treasure at Thrift Stores by Justin Resells, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 8,088 words across 1,177 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

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Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

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