The dealers know. Most shoppers walk right past the good stuff.
Antique stores and flea markets are full of things that look like junk to the untrained eye and are actually worth buying at the prices marked. Experienced pickers — the people who buy to resell — know exactly what these things are and buy them whenever they appear at the right price. Here is an education in what to look for.
Old Cast Iron Cornbread Pans
In unusual configurations — especially the ones shaped like ears of corn or small fish — are worth buying when you find them at reasonable prices. A Wagner or Griswold cornbread pan in a rare pattern can be resold for $100 to $400.
Vintage Pyrex in Unusual Colors and Patterns
Still turns up at antique stores and estate sales at prices below what they sell for on eBay. The key is knowing the patterns — Gooseberry, Lucky Clover, Balloons, and Friendship are among the most valuable. A Lucky Clover mixing bowl bought for twenty dollars at an antique store can resell for $80 to $200.
Old Leather Briefcases and Bags
From quality manufacturers in genuine leather with brass hardware are worth buying at antique store prices and reselling. A quality old leather briefcase from a known maker in good condition can be resold for $150 to $600. The vintage leather goods market is active and growing.
Vintage Thermometers With Advertising
Are consistently underpriced at antique stores run by generalists who do not specialize in advertising memorabilia. A metal thermometer with pre-1960 advertising from a well-known brand bought for ten dollars can resell for $80 to $250 in the right marketplace.
Old Wooden Toolboxes With Original Patina
Sell far better than most antique store owners realize. A beautifully worn wooden toolbox with original hardware and a good patina sells for $80 to $300 to home decorators and craftspeople. They are often priced at garage sale prices by sellers who do not understand the market.
Unusual Scientific Glass
Old laboratory flasks, apothecary bottles, and chemical apparatus in unusual shapes — is underpriced at most antique stores and sells well to collectors who use it for decor and to prop makers and photographers. Old apothecary bottles with ground glass stoppers sell for $30 to $200 each.
Early Plastic Objects in Unusual Colors
Particularly Bakelite and early Catalin plastic items in marbled patterns — are consistently underpriced by sellers who do not recognize the material. A Bakelite radio in a working condition in a rare color bought at an antique store price can be resold for $300 to $1,500.
Vintage Maps in Frames
Are often sold at prices that reflect the frame rather than the map. A hand-colored 19th century map of an American state or territory is worth $100 to $500 for the map alone. Antique stores often price these based on the frame and overlook the value of the document inside it.
Old Wooden Levels and Measuring Tools
With brass fittings from quality American makers are consistently undervalued at general antique stores and overvalued at specialist tool dealers. The arbitrage opportunity between a general antique store and a tool collector marketplace is real.
Foreign Coins and Currency
In accumulations are often sold for close to face value or as curiosity items at antique stores. But within any accumulation of old foreign coins there may be genuinely valuable coins from defunct nations, silver coins worth their metal content, and rare issues worth significant sums to the right collector.
Vintage Children’s Books With Original Illustrations
From the late 1800s and early 1900s are consistently underpriced at antique stores that price them as decorative objects rather than as literary artifacts. A first edition children’s book from a known illustrator bought for a few dollars at an antique store can resell for $100 to $1,000.
Look at antique stores with picker’s eyes. The good stuff is right there if you know what you are looking at.
