For years my favourite store has been Value Village - though I'm sure any thrift store would do, but this happens to be the one that exists in Ottawa. I used to go once or twice a month, but ever since I got a car I don't think a week has gone by that I haven't gone. I never usually go for very long, and most time I'm not looking for anything in particular - I'm just looking.
The thrill of the hunt is what makes it so enjoyable. I never have any idea what I'll find. I've had a lot of fun finds over the years - comic books, a barber's chair, board games, and the occasional kitchen utensil. When I moved into my first apartment alone in Kingston, I furnished a lot of it with furniture from Value Village - though I think none of it has survived.
A few years ago Robin got me interested in the 1,001 book challenge, and while I had bought the occasional book at VV before, I had never really spent much time really looking. The 1,001 book list gave me a purpose, and that was my main reason for going to VV, and it is a goal that Robin and I have not yet achieved, and so will continue to serve as a incentive to keep going. One day we will own all 1,001 and less than 5% will likely have been purchased new.
That is where the thrifting of this all started - I essentially was already going to VV often just for fun, just to see what they had. As for the selling of things, that started at the end of high school. Chris and I were off to University, my parents were downsizing and selling the house. My parents were going to throw away all our old toys, including bins of Lego, K'NEX and Playmobil. Chris and I were aghast, but had no use for it. At the time I knew about eBay, and it always appealed to me, but had never used it. Chris and I spent hours sorting and collecting our toy pieces and listed them for auction, and over the summer before we left for University we sold off parts of our childhood. And we made good money doing it. If memory serves me correctly, we made abotu $600 profit, split evenly between the two of us. That is when I realized that you could make good money selling things on eBay - and more importantly that toys and vintage items had value. Over the years I've kept my eye out for large lego lots, but never found enough at a cheap enough cost to every justify buying it.
So, the bug to sell was still there, but I didn't have the means to fill it. A few years ago when I was working in IT at a law firm, we upgraded all the Dictaphones to digital ones. We had over 200 of them sitting around, and they were being boxed up to be sent off to an electronic recycling plant. I had an idea, and asked my boss to let me try and sell them online and I would keep 10% of the profits, giving the other 90% back to the company. It was essentially win-win for everyone. I was taking what the firm had deemed trash and was making money off it. I ended up selling them all, and in little time too.
Ever since then I've occasionally come across something that I will list on eBay, whether it is a rare comic I found that I didn't want, or something caught my eye at VV or a garage sale.
Earlier this summer I was at VV, and I was walking along the toy section when I saw something familair. It was a Meccano box. I hadn't seen one in years, not since I was a kid, but I had a vague recollection of reading something about them being around for decades and old ones having some value. This combined with my personal first-hand experience that building toys had value, I decided to grab it. It felt heavy. The box was in decent condition, and I could see that it had the instruction manual. So I bought it, took it home, sorted it, and listed it on eBay, and waited. I listed it for a 7-day auction, and there was an early bid, and then some last minute snipping. In the end it sold for $50, and the taste for flipping was ignited. Over the last month, I have been increasing my trips to VV, reading lots online about flipping, and expanding my scope.
As far as I see it, it is fun hobby that I enjoy and has potential to make money. I am not sure how long it will last, but hopefully I will have some fun along the way, and maybe even make some money.
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