The best thrift finds often hide in plain sight, tucked into the back of the stuffed animal bin where most shoppers never dig. That is exactly where the host of ThriftSchool spotted a small unicorn out of the corner of an eye, took a closer look, and said it looked like Lisa Frank. It was. The tag read “The Wonderful World of Lisa Frank,” and the price was under $2.
It was a midweek trip to Goodwill, and the color of the week was yellow, which means yellow-tag items were half off. The host figured there would not be much yellow that day. But a lot of little yellow tags were sticking out of the racks, so the digging began.
By the end of the trip the cart was full, and so was a stack of lessons for anyone who sells secondhand finds.
The Lisa Frank Score
The unicorn was a little dirty, but the host says it can be cleaned up, and Lisa Frank stuff is super hot right now. Then came a second surprise: another one, a lollipop design, also priced at $1.99. That made two vintage pieces at under $2 each. The host says a Lisa Frank coloring book sold quickly in their nostalgia booth, and expects the same here. “If I had to guess, these got to be at least $15 to $20 each, maybe more, maybe less,” the host says, adding that they are vintage.
The trip did not stop there. Nearby was a brand new plush called Plushes Pets, with tags still attached, which the half-off yellow tag brought down to $1. It looks vintage but is not, and the host figures that even at $5 in the booth it would make somebody happy.
The Plush Worth Real Money
Hiding in the same bin was a little face with a tag, a plush the host calls a jelly. “I have never found a jelly at a thrift store ever in my entire life,” the host says. Those retail for $40 to $50, this one was brand new, and the price was $4. It is headed for the booth as well.
Not everything makes the cut. A vintage Applause-brand Mickey Mouse hand puppet from what looks like the 1980s was only $2, but the host looked it up and says it only sells for about $10. It stayed on the shelf, front and center, for the next shopper. That is a good habit to copy: a cheap price is not a deal unless the profit is there.
Electronics, Media and a Table for the Basement
In the electronics aisle, hiding behind a printer, was an Instax Mini 7S instant camera for $5. The host has sold a bunch of these in the past and put it in the cart. In the media section, most of the shelf looked the same as the previous visit, but one sealed MGM DVD stood out: The Fabulous Baker Boys, for $2. Looked up afterward, it sells really well, at over $20.
The furniture section is new at this store, and it held a personal buy. A tall, stomach-height table was $15, and each of the chairs was $13. After a bit of counting out loud, the host landed on $42 for the set, which will go in the basement bar area.
A few other things came home for fun. A $3 American history book reminded the host of childhood, especially the ones with cross sections of ships and the Titanic. A complete Eternals Monopoly game was $1.99 and goes toward a planned whatnot stream featuring 100 different Monopoly games, each starting at $5. The host also admired a Big Top Cupcake from an old infomercial but left it, since nobody needs it.
Weights and the One That Got Away
On the bottom of a rack were two barbell plates, 15 pounds each, marked $5 and half off, so $2.50 each. The host called that very good money for 30 pounds and said you could flip them locally, but passed because they already own a bunch of 15s. Sealed Farkle games were also on the shelf, but they are not valuable enough to bother with.
The Free Books and a Spawn Surprise
Back at the host’s warehouse, which is really a garage behind the house, are piles of books. One small batch came from a thrift store a long time ago at 99 cents each. Everything else came free from the side of the road. They are mostly sci-fi and fantasy, with some horror, Dungeons and Dragons titles, Halo and Sin City books. One is signed by actor Chris Elliott. Another, Stephen Erikson’s House of Chains, is a $40 to $50 book.
The host plans to pre-list everything at $2 each on a whatnot stream in about two weeks, because the books were free and fast turnover frees up space. Then came a big surprise: a comic in one of the boxes turned out to be the first appearance of Spawn. A commenter pointed it out on the last video. In this condition, with a bend and a sticker on the back, the host does not expect the full price, but it can go for over $300.
The lesson is the same one thrifters keep relearning. Check the stuffed animal bin, look up anything that catches your eye, and leave behind the things that will not make a profit. Sometimes it is the item you almost passed on that pays for the whole trip.
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