We’ve been writing a series on adventures and even profit in Seattle’s junk trade. In Part 1, we gave readers the ways to approach estate, yard and garage sales. In Part 2, we unlocked some of our best secrets on buying art and books that can be flipped for some good cash.
Now, in our third installment, we’ll give some more buying tips on household items, posters and clothes.
Picture Frames
Buy frames. Picture framing is horribly expensive. At every estate sale, there are tons of frames. If a frame is in good shape, buy it, regardless of the art it holds. When you come to sell your art, a good frame adds value. The older a frame is, the better. You can determine age by seeing if nails were used in putting the frame together. Old mid-century frames are hot right now. Search the Internet to familiarize yourself with styles. Keep an eye out for silver frames, which are often overlooked.
Price points: $5 to $25 dollars depending on size. There are usually a glut of frames at estate sales. If you see a bad work of art in a nice frame, buy it, and throw the art away.
Furniture
Probably the best sector to flip items quickly. Good, solid furniture can be a boon to the savvy flipper.
The best furniture for quick resale is made in America from the 1700s to the 1970s. After the rise of pressboard, the value drained away. Naturally, very few really early pieces find their way to the kind of sales we see in Seattle. Best bets are the 1920s to the 1960s: dressers, side tables, end tables, piano benches, dining table sets, kitchen table sets, chairs of all sizes and shapes, old stereo consoles, wood-cased speakers and reel-to-reel consoles. Bed sets are a special issue. Older headboards and beds were much smaller than modern beds. If it’s a smaller bed than a twin, move along.
Mid-century furniture is hot right now, so don’t be surprised to find high prices at sales; and don’t be afraid to buy at higher prices. You’ll be able to flip this furniture fast.
Price Points: $25 to $200. Ouch. Prices will be high, but you can often make more money in this category. Good furniture, with nice wood, a pleasant design and sturdy, is always in demand. Don’t be afraid of minor damage: that can be fixed with off-the-shelf products at any hardware store.
Posters
Pre-1980 movie posters from are highly collectible. Horror and science fiction films sell the best. All posters are dated, usually in the lower left hand corner. Peanuts posters produced by Hallmark and made by Springbok in the 1970s are collectible. Advertising posters pre-1970 are easy sells. Don’t waste your time on art posters.
Price points: $2 to $4 dollars unframed, $10 to $15 framed.
Clothes
All sales have tons of clothes.
Right now, clothes from the 1970s and early 1980s are in. There are national chains, like Free People, that are mimicking those styles for huge dollars. The families that are holding estate sales in Seattle right now, usually seniors moving into retirement communities, had children in the 1960s. Their children have left behind some wonderful clothes, and, although you often have to dig deep into closets, you can find valuable second fashions that will pay dividends in your new, reseller career.
Look for bold colors, bell-bottom pants and jeans, platform shoes, leather shoes, sandals, geometric patterns and anything handmade. In the 70s, enterprising young women [and men, presumably — ed.] made pants and skirts out of any material they could find, even flags. These are easy sells.
Price point: $5 to$10 per item. Negotiate down all prices and bundle where possible.
In our next installment, we’ll give you a hot time on a coming collectible, one where you can get in on the ground floor of a category that will take off, in our humble opinion, very soon. We’ll also give you some tips on how to sell your best items.
