The Art Of The Find

Thrifting, treasure hunting, flipping, or reselling. Whatever you wanna call the game it usually entails buying low and selling high or shopping for your own personal collection. This week I decided to go out for a good ‘ol treasure hunt at my local thrift store, just to see what I could find. I usually find some kind of interesting item, maybe a pink vintage champagne glass or chic side table. This time I really stumbled upon an actual treasure! The kind of find you dream about. Ones that happen only very rarely! Below I will be sharing the art of the find and how I found it.

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Treasure Hunting

These days, everyone and their mother is out looking for a good flip. “Sharks” I call them! There are actual professionals out and about. They also make a good living doing it. Antique store owners and such. I’ve seen them many times in different thrift stores, especially around Newport Beach, Ca. I have witnessed Tiffany crystal and Chanel handbags being nabbed up so quickly you can’t even blink. There is a true art of the find, mainly you just have to keep your eyes open and look for certain markings and quality of things. If it feels expensive it probably was at one time.

Some of these thrift stores get really great stuff. Others are very slim picking. The more wealthy the neighborhood the better from my experience. It certainly is exciting to find an item you know you can flip for more, especially if it’s worth quite a bit. If it is signed, engraved or has a serial number it just may be a treasure! If it has a designer label it may be an authentic item that was over looked by the staff. Most of these types of items are well known and authenticated then put up for auction by the thrift store itself. They are then bid on and often go up for more than it’s actually even worth at times.

How it Started

I have been “treasure hunting” for fun since I was about 20 years old. Im 43 now so it’s been a while! I have found my share of terrible finds that I have been stuck with and lost money on but it sure is a fun hobby. It really is kind of exciting but there have been many times when I don’t find a thing I can flip for months on end.

I first got my thrifting bug at a garage sale I accidentally stumbled upon. It was early in the morning while I was on a walk around my block. There was an older couple sitting in their front yard eager to make a sell. I felt bad not buying something. Looking around I didn’t see anything I needed so I thought how about just a collectable. I grabbed the oldest dirtiest toy there. It was a Snoopy box. When I handed it to the lady, she said “10 cents please”. I gave here a quarter and said keep the change.

Didn’t think much about it until I was really board one day. I was cleaning my house, found it again and thought maybe it’s a collectible, maybe it will sell. I know, I’ll put it on a ebay auction and see what happens. 7 days later the auction was ending with hundreds of bids from all over the world. Australia, Japan, Germany you name it. I was shocked to see the bids up to $299. That was it, I was hooked. I became addicted to finding things. It was a rush. Years later I ended up opening my very own consignment store specializing in designer handbags but that’s a whole other story!

The Art Of The Find

Call it luck. Yesterday was different! In fact the first aisle I went down at the Goodwill was a picture frame assortment. Lo and behold there it was! Gleaming at me! “Christofle” it read.. Sterling! I picked it up and noticed the marking on the back and the engraved stamp on the top. Sterling Silver. I used my handy Google camera tool on my iPhone. (My newly found treasure hunting helper). Immediately I see there is one selling for $900! To my shock, the Goodwill tag was priced at $3.99. (Thinking to myself) wow this is a real treasure! Laughing to myself all the way to the cashier!

These are the fun times. I love thrifting and finding something so expensive I would never buy for myself. Better yet, I don’t NEED a sterling picture frame so I will be reselling it for a profit. Not retail of course, but enough to make someone else happy at a much lower price than retail and still enough for me to make a little money. Food has really gotten expensive and I have a 16 year old boy to feed! Let’s get real here. lol

Researching The Find

After getting home and doing more research on google and platforms like ebay, I found out this type of beautiful picture frame sells mostly at Neiman Marcus or Harrods retail (my favorite department stores of course). Although it does have a tiny dent on the side, It’s still a definite treasure being Sterling Silver and all. The large sterling silver plaque on the back was a real help in knowing it was a valuable piece.

Tip: Always check your item for clues or marks because it will help you find the value in your item.

I’ll be listing this sterling silver Christofle picture frame in my Poshmark and Mecari store this week. I’m hoping it will sell for around $350! Not bad for a $3.99 investment.

Always check out your local thrift store because you never know when someones trash will be your treasure! I hope you enjoyed reading “the art of the find post” it is my hope that maybe it will inspire you to find a little treasure to brighten your day too!

Stay fancy y’all!

Check out my other article about buying vintage handbags.