Best ever thrift shop / charity shop score?

[breezer]

Read about this today - Vince Lombardi's West Point coach's sweater fetched over $43,000 at auction - it was found in a Goodwill store in Asheville N.C. and purchased for 58 cents! And the auction house were good enough to donate their fee back to Good Will.

http://onlyagame.wbur.org/2015/02/14/vince-lombardi-goodwill-auction

My best score? A pair of Red Wing Iron Rangers, in my size & nicely broken in, for £15.

 

[bn1966]

A black 70's trench coat that I later sold on & used the funds funnily enough for another jacket purchase.

 

[breezer]

Of course the charity shops ( or chazzas ) as we call them are pretty bereft of good vintage stock these days. Unfortunately the well running dry has coincided with the charities attempting to get in on the vintage market and pricing goods accordingly.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Of course the charity shops ( or chazzas ) as we call them are pretty bereft of good vintage stock these days. Unfortunately the well running dry has coincided with the charities attempting to get in on the vintage market and pricing goods accordingly.

So true. Nowadays I go to the Salvation Army thrift store near my house to see what stuff is worth!

 

[Superfluous]

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-23-rare-document_N.htm

http://www.wyff4.com/-3-Goodwill-Store-Purchase-Earns-190K-At-Auction/10077036

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/29/shopper-finds-an-original-picasso_n_1387852.html

http://nypost.com/2013/03/20/bowled-over-ny-family-buys-bowl-for-3-it-sells-for-2-million/

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/14/arts/declaration-of-independence-sells-for-2.4-million.html

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/04/man-buys-warhol-sketch-for-5/

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Velvet-Underground-rarity-sells-on-eBay-for-2482389.php

 

[breezer]

unfortunately none of the above fall under the category 'outerwear'. Keen to hear what gems members have uncovered in their local chazza.

 

[Superfluous]

unfortunately none of the above fall under the category 'outerwear'.

My best score? A pair of Red Wing Iron Rangers, in my size & nicely broken in, for £15.

My apologies for going astray.

 

[devilish]

A vintage 50's HH Hercules HB and a Baracuta G9 I think have been my best scores over many years of trolling the thrift/charity shops. Oh and a single Royal Warrant era Barbour.

 

[breezer]

My apologies for going astray.

No worries, I appreciate your enthusiasm! I trawl the flea markets here looking for that elusive bit of treasure too.

The one that sprung to mind immediately was the man who found a Phillip Treacy handbag in a charity shop in London - one of only 10 made, decorated with a a Warhol Elvis. He paid £20 and it was valued at £350,000.

 

[Azog]

I found a late 80's goatskin Avirex A2 in near mint condition at a local flea market for $20. The seller had near 100 leather jackets piled up on a few tables. Most of them were ugly 80's fashion jackets all going for $20 each.
I find it curious how a US airforce issue jacket wound up at a flea market in Australia in mint condition?
It was a little small for me but onsold it for a tidy profit.

 

[BobHufford]

I can't think of too many that are outerwear related (as I tend to keep those), but I did pay $1.50 for this at the local Salvation Army thrift and sold it for $130 a couple of months ago.

Bob

 

[Seb Lucas]

Of course the charity shops ( or chazzas ) as we call them are pretty bereft of good vintage stock these days. Unfortunately the well running dry has coincided with the charities attempting to get in on the vintage market and pricing goods accordingly.

Which is good, of course, since they are raising money for important causes.

EBay has been the real problem. Lots of people no longer donate good items because they can readily make money. Or their kids can.

 

[havocpaul]

I've found a couple of 1970's Lewis Leathers jackets for less than £30, sadly both too small for me so sold on, a rare M-1948 US Parka for £10, a 1960's MA-1, several nice vintage coats (CC41!) and tweed jackets, and just last November I spotted a small (36!) Eastman RW B-10 for £15 which went on eBay. I have noticed though that many of the charity shop chains such as Oxfam, Scope and Cancer Research are now selling through their own online shops and eBay so the chances of finding something rare is tougher.

 

[AdeeC]

Sadly there are a few charity shops that have unscrupulous staff working for them. I am aware of a seemingly kindly old lady volunteer who kept the good stuff for herself and on sold it to dealers and auctions as well as for her personel ceramic collection.

 

[havocpaul]

That's true here too especially with books and records, dealers slip them a 'bung' and get to see the items before they go on display, many of the volunteers don't know the value of the donations but the managers certainly are keen to 'deal' with dealers! The best charity shops are now the ones that support local charities such as hospices rather than the big names who are running large retail chains and online businesses.

 

[dh66]

That's true here too especially with books and records, dealers slip them a 'bung' and get to see the items before they go on display, many of the volunteers don't know the value of the donations but the managers certainly are keen to 'deal' with dealers! The best charity shops are now the ones that support local charities such as hospices rather than the big names who are running large retail chains and online businesses.

True also here in the States. There are still some small thrift shops run by local charities that will produce the occasional gem, but the bigger ones are by far and large a waste of time. Around here there are several "for profit" thrift stores, which buy up bulk lots from some of the bigger name charities and resell the stuff. There are "professional pickers" employed at these places, who skim off the good stuff for sale elsewhere. It's rare to find anything older than the 90s at these places. Even the big legitimate charities have online auction sites, so odds of coming across anything truly worthwhile are slim.
The best of the little ones are usually found in "dying" neighborhoods, areas that were once prosperous but are in decline. Some of the old residents are still there, but the kids have moved on to "brighter and better" parts of town. When mom and dad or grandma and grandpa finally head out to the great beyond, there is a mad rush to clear out everything and dump it at the closest place possible so they can get the house on the market before property values in the neighborhood drop any further.

To get back on track, this isn't necessarily outer wear, or maybe even the greatest thing I've ever found, but I recently scored this vintage Borsalino hat, in my size, for $5.

This past summer I also found this necktie from the presidential campaign of Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower, 34th pres. of the U.S. who served from 1953 to 1961. I gave $2 for this. I haven't tried to sell it, because I'm enjoying having it for the time being and i really never buy stuff with the mindset that I can make money off it, but research I've done shows these selling at auction for easily in excess of $100.

 

[breezer]

keep those amazing finds coming folks!

 

[xmr]

Well, not exactly outerwear but a colleague of mine told me about this old watch his grandpa gave him. Grandpa was a navy swimmer. My colleague used the watch for diving and a daily beater until water leaked inside and the movement broke. I told him to show it to me (he wanted to throw it away, a broken watch is useless, right?) and he brought it with him to work. It was a beat up Rolex 5513/17 double ref Milsub. I helped him selling it for 50k EUR

 

[cookie]

True also here in the States. There are still some small thrift shops run by local charities that will produce the occasional gem, but the bigger ones are by far and large a waste of time. Around here there are several "for profit" thrift stores, which buy up bulk lots from some of the bigger name charities and resell the stuff. There are "professional pickers" employed at these places, who skim off the good stuff for sale elsewhere. It's rare to find anything older than the 90s at these places. Even the big legitimate charities have online auction sites, so odds of coming across anything truly worthwhile are slim.
The best of the little ones are usually found in "dying" neighborhoods, areas that were once prosperous but are in decline. Some of the old residents are still there, but the kids have moved on to "brighter and better" parts of town. When mom and dad or grandma and grandpa finally head out to the great beyond, there is a mad rush to clear out everything and dump it at the closest place possible so they can get the house on the market before property values in the neighborhood drop any further.


.

That's pretty much it. I suspect the same happens in the older parts of Sydney Australia but I never travel over there to investigate. Here the best stores are in the richest neighbourhoods but where there is really only one main store like Vinnies...especially if the suburb is full of rich Catholics LOL! But you have to be quick.

 

[breezer]

It was a beat up Rolex 5513/17 double ref Milsub

Pictures please! Please expand on how you went about selling such a rare piece.