The top ten things I look for at yard sales…a fascinating topic for all of us sellers and wannabes! Other bloggers may like vintage thermoses, picnic baskets, and white ironstone, but they’re not on my list.
Since I’m buying for online selling on Etsy/Ebay, I look for smaller items that are easily shipped. While in the booth business, I searched for furniture that I could refinish or paint. Shipping is so costly these days, I tend to stick with lighter items.
Garage Sale Top Ten~
What I Look for at Garage Sales~
- Ceramic Christmas trees are always good sellers for me. I buy them even if they are missing the little bulbs as I have a stash from where?? Yard sales! You can also find them on Ebay. This and #8 are about the limit of size and weight I will ship.
2. Rotary dial Princess telephones…especially in unusual colors like pink or aqua. I’ve just had the boring colors of yellow or beige, but they sell well (if they are working)
3. Recipe boxes! Wooden or metal, & it helps if they’re cute.
4. Mail Sorters or Bill Organizers! Even in this day of paying bills online, people still apparently use these:
5. Vintage Purses! I love them and collect evening bags, so I can’t resist buying them if they are affordable. See two favorites below…a Lou Taylor box purse on the left, dating from the ’80’s. What a rarity to find a purse in such pristine condition! The buyer loved it and it went all the way to Australia! The other, a black and white Spectator purse, dating from the ’60’s.
6. Vintage Safety Razors! (especially if adjustable.) Luckily, I do find razors at yard sales sometimes. They are increasingly hard to find.
7. Men’s Pipes and Pipe Paraphernalia! Hard to find at yard sales, but sometimes I get lucky! Grab them if you do! Both of these below were from yard sales. They are always high at estate sales.
8. Vintage Luggage! These are about the limit of weight and size for me to ship. The one on the left was in terrible shape when found. It required a lot of repair to get in acceptable shape. In fact, this style is usually in bad shape if you can find it at all.
9. Dolls, doll clothes, old doll trunks. Composition baby dolls, Vogue Ginny, vintage Barbie. Hard to find at yard sales, and too high at estate sales because I only go the first day. Once someone gave me a composition baby doll at a yard sale, and I promptly sold her for $20! That doesn’t happen every day!
TIP: Avoid buying dolls with white mold on the eyes, due to prolonged exposure to moisture. Once it starts, it is extremely hard to remove and often comes back. Usually the doll’s eyes have to be replaced.
(I apologize for the quality of some of these photos, which I took before I learned how to photo edit.)
The doll trunk was full of Vogue Ginny outfits, shoes and hats. Unfortunately a find that like that doesn’t come along every day! Though the Midge doll was vintage 60’s, she was in less than stellar condition!
10. Anything quirky or unusual has a market. I once sold 6 vintage dried up Howard Johnson ballpoint pens. Priced cheap because they didn’t write, I figured nobody would want them! Ha! Wrong! Wish I had a picture.
#1 Who would want these specialized coffee filters? Someone did!
#2 Bed springs
#3 Hair ribbon~5 colors…this surprised me.
#4 Do you know what this is? Just checking to see if you read this far….
#5 Do you know what this one is? Leave me a comment if you know!
So these are my top ten things I look for at yard sales. But what sells for me may not sell for you. Everything takes time! Hope you enjoyed the tour!
Florence
Latest posts by Florence (see all)
- The Latest Vintage Hauls - February 10, 2020
- A Vintage Fall Haul - November 3, 2019
- September Sales on Etsy and My New Antique Booth - September 30, 2019
- Camping Trip Thrift Store Haul - August 2, 2019
I would guess the mystery item is some sort of gadget for clipping dog’s claws or for manicure pedicure. The other item with about 10 of the same appears to be thimbles.
Nooo, gonna see if anybody else knows before I do the big reveal.
Looks like finger rubbers that you use when counting paper or. Mail items. So they dont stick together while counting out
You’re so right Gina! Thanks for your comment!
Used daily for 36 years of letter carrying. Are called “Thumb Stalls”.
Thanks Lee! That’s a new one!
That’s it, called finger cots
Or paper money.
A flag holder
A small 5 flag holder! Have one by my front door and always have my flags flying!
Ah, thank you!
No. 5 looks like a pipe holder.
The first are rubber thumbs.
It’s the thing that held the poles for a clothes dryer/ hanger
The thimble looking package are rubber fingertips used to flip papers quickly without licking fingers. The coffee filters are for a percolator
The last one is a flag holder.
It holds 5 flag poles
I would repurpose the bed springs into Christmas trees.😁
I think it is missing it’s wooden handle and is a potato shredder to make hash browned potatoes.
#5 is a multi small flag holder to be mounted on a larger pole
Number 5 if a flag holder for smaller flags. It is attached to the wall and the flags are placed in the slots.
Number 5 , I believe it had dowels for dish towel to dry, if the little finger things goes up. if not maybe for flags then
I believe number 5 is for a flag display on your porch rail. The finger covers are for flipping paper pages.
Lots of office jobs used to have them…….long time ago LOL
Good list! I totally agree, but didn’t know about the mail sorters.
#4 looks like rubble thimbles? #5 — not a clue!
Yes, one of those things I thought I would try not really expecting much, but they went quickly. I’ll tell what the mystery item is later.
This is a fun list Florence, it is always interesting to see what sells for others 😉 Blessings, Cecilia
Thanks Cecilia! Yes, it’s a fascinating topic to me!
Florence, the first picture is those thumb or finger things (I don’t know what the official name is) that help you sort through paper without the paper sticking together. I don’t know what the other picture is though!
You’re so right Becky! Would you call them “paper collators”?
Sounds like a good name to me! 🙂
rubber fingers to turn pagesb
The second mystery item — I think is a flag holder for the front of a bike. ??
You’re right Julie! It is a flag holder for 5 flags! I didn’t know it was for a bike though. Assumed it was to mount on a house….
Florence yes I read till the bottom and as far as I can tell #4 is those things we put on our fingers to keep them moist. What were they used for? I love those vintagy handbags.
Yes, things to help you get a grip on papers as you’re sorting through them. I couldn’t believe how quickly they sold! Figured they wouldn’t sell at all, so just goes to show you people will buy anything…LOL.
I wish I still had my Ginny Dollar and Barbie. What about ash trays, are they collectible? I knew about the things for your finger when filing but not the flag holder. Fun post
Yes, I wish I had my Barbie too. I sold her a few years ago on Ebay…probably could get more now. Oh well. Ash trays…I need to do a post on those some time. I sold one recently that was vintage and a spin top. The others that do well are mid century mod designs. I have another one in my Etsy shop that is dead in the water, so design matters.
I would certainly have bought the little finger things! I use them when slicing okra pods so I don’t cut my thumb with the knife!!
What a repurposed use Carlene! Would never have thought of that! Wonder if they would work shelling peas? Used to turn my fingers black & sooner or later the quick on fingers was punctured from shelling.
Love to see what people have on their list to look for at yard sales. You gave me a few new ideas. #4 is rubber fingertips for quickly going through stacks of papers. I was an accountant for 40 years and I had a couple in my desk the day I retired. lol
Funny, how people who were/are office workers all know what those are! To me, as a nurse, we had something similar looking but they were called “finger cots.” So in my mind, that’s what they are, but it’s not what they were used for. Just think, Sharon, you could have brought those home from your desk drawer & sold them!
So I had no idea what the mystery items were, but I shared your post on FB and one lady said she knew immediately! 🙂
Thanks for sharing Kim! Ha…surprised that there’s been so much interest in the mystery items!
Such a fun post, Florence–you surprised me with some of your categories. Ceramic Christmas trees and safety razors, for instance. I’ve never tried to sell either, but perhaps now I’ll give them a try 🙂 Thanks for linking up your post with us at Vintage Charm. Sharon’s featuring your post tomorrow at the party–
Thanks Diana! It’s my pleasure to be featured on Vintage Charm!
Found you via the vintage charm link up! I’ll definitely be following along 🙂
Thank you Melissa! Glad you stopped by!
Florence, what a great list. Now I have a few new things to watch for! I have a vintage German dollhouse that I want to pass on to my niece. I have the original dolls but their clothing is disintegrating. I’m always hoping to find similar dolls in better condition – or just clothes for the ones I have. And hunting for them is half the fun.
Oooo, I would love to dee your dollhouse and the dolls! Good luck on finding what you are looking for. I agree, the hunt is the fun part!
I never thought about safety razors before. The find that my husband loves the most (and he’s REALLY not into vintage stuff) was when I found one of the ceramic Christmas trees at a thrift store. I thought he’d think it was ugly, but his mom used to have one, so now he insists that I put it out each year.
Oh yes, that’s the nostalgic factor at work! People love what they had from the past.
Florence, this is a great list of things to look for at yard sales! Those recipe boxes are so cute, and who wouldn’t want a rotary phone?! So cool! My husband has some of those old razors from his great uncle, pretty neat! I remember my teachers using those finger grippy things when grading papers. All great finds! Happy hunting to you!
Thanks Keri! Interesting to see what people like from this list. Lots of people are surprised about the razors. Glad to hear you like the phone! You as a young person too! Saw a cute video on FB recently about little kids trying to figure out what a rotary phone was! It was hilarious.
So glad I subscribed to your blog. Love it already.
Marie, your comment makes my day! Thank you!
The flag thing is mounted on a house, perhaps on a porch rail or porch post, so you can stick smaller flags in the holders and the result is a fan of flags which looks very pretty if you have these mounted at different areas on the house. Along with some larger flags or bunting, they would make a gorgeous display on a Victorian front porch. I also knew the paper collators were to count money and they grab the paper…..old stuff is so much fun to look through. I still have some flat wooden sock shapers — you’d wash the child’s socks and put them on the wooden forms to dry in that shape. Also a noise maker crank thingie my Mom said they used on Halloween to make noise with. They use the same type of item on the Jewish holiday of Purim. I also have a wooden rectangle with different width grooves in it. It held rows of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars. This belonged to my grandfather who was a butcher and had a market stand. This is how his change was stored at the market. All sorts of old fun items I can think of that I have….This was a fun blog post!
Hi Virginia! Long-time-no-see! Glad you dropped in! I agree with you…old stuff is so much fun to look through! And I usually come home with some of it! I didn’t know what the flag holder was when I first saw it. Someone told me it was for mounting on a bicycle, but I think your idea is more accurate. I would like to see all those things you have from your grandfather! Fascinating objects from the past & that gives me an idea for a blog post!
No 4 are “finger cots”, secretaries used them to get traction on their fingers to sort paperwork, etc. Not sure what No 5 is, thanks, Judy Montague
Thanks for your comment Judy! #5 is a flag holder to hold 5 flags on a house. Someone suggested it was for a bicycle, so I guess that’s a possibility too. Lots of people knew about the finger cots too. In fact, we used to have these in the nursing field, but they were used for something else.
The only thing I can think of about moving too often is getting rid of wonderful old things which inspire memories and conversations. Luckily still have old photos from Mom’s family and my Dad’s family also. Then photos of parents with families before my brother and I came along, etc. Have lugged those photos all over this country, not letting go of those memories. Have lots of photos of my kids from birth, etc. My parents were avid picture takers.
Sadly were lots more photos had to let go while taking care of Mom’s place in El Cajon, CA after she had some bad health problems, she never got to go home again. I was there from MT so had no way to transport all those photos from way back, doggoned it. At the time didn’t know Mom wouldn’t be going back to her place. Had I known would have put photos in storage somewhere in El Cajon. Made it harder when I didn’t live in CA anymore. Had to leave paintings my Dad had done, don’t have one of them which makes me very sad. Our youngest ended up clearing out Mom’s place and had to dispose of things as she could.
You sure do find some interesting things, recognized rubber finger cots right away since am 76. You must come across some crazy things and some to remind you of memories in your own life. Was glad I clicked on your post and got to see some of what you do. Hope you 2 are enjoying your weekend
Jane, you are so right about keeping things vs getting rid of them when you move or any other time. I always tell myself “you can’t keep everything.” But those pictures of your dad’s sound really special, and I can see why you would have wanted to hang onto something of his. Now photos are really precious holding many memories….I can see why you would want those too. I’ve got a lot of the really old ones, some my mother wrote on so I would know who the person was, but I always think about who’s going to get all my stuff b/c we don’t have kids. Probably some estate sale somewhere down the line. Seems that everyone recognized the finger cots! We used to have something similar when I worked as a nurse, but it was used for different purposes. That’s what we called them too….my first exposure to “finger cots”! I enjoyed reading your comment & thanks for taking the time to leave one!
You can still buy the rubber finger tips at Stapples.
Good to know. I felt sure they were still being sold somewhere b/c they are so useful still!
Such an interesting post Florence. I have bought a few things at our local auction here in the UK and resold them – mainly paper based items as they are easy to post. I always keep an eye out for anything to do with golf as I have always done well with those items! Didn’t know what #5 was until I read the other comments 🙂
Thank you Sarah! I didn’t know golf things sold well! That’s a nice tip. Of course, I know NOTHING about golf! Several people were confused about #5, including me!
Hey I am so delighted I found your weblog, I really found
you by mistake, while I was searching on Digg for something else,
Regardless I am here now and would just like to say kudos for a remarkable post and a all round enjoyable blog (I also love
the theme/design), I don’t have time to read
through it all at the minute but I have bookmarked it and also added your
RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to
read more, Please do keep up the great work.
Thank you so much Heather! Glad you enjoyed it!
Glad I found you. Two years ago we down-sized, bought a condo and loved it. Had to get rid of a lot of things quickly. Sadly, now wish I had lot of things that went bye-bye…..old pictures,furniture,etc.
Dorothy, I’m glad you found me too! That’s what I’m facing now myself…having to get rid of a lot of stuff so we can move to a smaller home. It’s very hard! Don’t you know it’s true…the very thing you get rid of is what you need back right after it goes out the door!
thanks for the ideas
Interesting. I have some lovely vintage purses you might be interested in.All designer purses. Would love to sell some.
Florence great blog and I do love to sale as a friend of mine calls it. Do you ever have any luck with the old match boxes that they would put the box of matches in to and hang on the wall. I find them and always buy them so I now have about 7 or 8 of them in different colors. Thanks for the post
Thank you so much Joanne! Glad you enjoy the blog. I’ve sold a few of the match boxes you’re talking about, but I don’t see them very often. They’re a great collectible though.
I was interested in what you identified that five hole item as. It surely could hold flags but it originally was a clothes drier with wooden dowels sticking out. I know this because I am old and when I was a child my mother had one on our kitchen wall.
Really? I never thought of that as a use for it! About how long would the dowels have been?
Holds flags?
Indeed it is Kim! Thanks for your comment!
Very interesting reading. Thank you.
The metal thing is a whip holder for ( driving horses) their storage when in a tack room!
Sure had me fooled!
I enjoyed reading the comments about odd finds and even odder sales. One of my oddest came when I bought a shoebox of knitting needles and crochet hooks for $3. It had some that I wanted for a project, and I figured I could sell the rest. When I went through the box, I found an old bandage tin stuffed full of garters cut from old girdles and garter belts! I almost tossed them out, but then I decided to put them on eBay (minus the tin). They sold for $23! There’s a market for almost everything.
What an awesome find Lou! I can just picture the whole thing. Congrats on selling those! I’ve noticed that anything to do with girdles and garter belts often sells. That was such a lucky find!