Flea markets, thrift stores and garage sales

VacuumLand – Vintage & Modern Vacuum Enthusiasts

Help Support VacuumLand:

Yeah Barry, I know that feeling. I've had that happen to me many times. Last summer, I was visiting my mother and the senior living community where she lives has a little thrift shop that's open a couple of times a month. We went down there and she saw a floor lamp she liked but wasn't completely sure about it. By the time we got back to her apartment, she'd decided she wanted it and sent me back down there with some money to buy it but somebody else had beaten me to it. As they say on 'American Pickers', the time to buy something is when you first see it.

Of course, there are also those times when you go back and the item is still there. That's when you know it's meant to be. I had that happen with a Kirby Gsix one time. It was in beautiful shape and I just couldn't decide whether I really wanted it but I couldn't get it out of my mind so I went back a few hours later and it was still there. A couple was looking at it and as I walked up, the wife decided without plugging it in and properly trying it out that it was "too heavy". What she also didn't realize is when I was there earlier, I'd mischievously left the Tech Drive engaged in the "D" position so she was pushing against that mechanism. As soon as they stepped away from it, I popped it in neutral, wheeled it to the front and didn't look back.
 
The time to buy something is when you first see it

Yeah, I've had that happen to me a few times too. Usually though it was stuff that I wasn't really all that interested in.

Usually what gets me is the first time though, especially at garage/estate sales, and with fans.

Once I drove about 45 minutes because there was a fan in the photos of the ad for an estate sale I was interested in. It was still sitting there when I got there and I walked over to it, and I hear "hey that's not for sale, I'm buying it." So I drove that way for nothing.

At another sale I went to here in town I saw a bunch of fans with some other stuff in the house and one fan was one I'd been looking for, so I picked it up and looked it over. Then I hear a rude guy saying "that's all MY stuff" and he looked at me as if I was from another planet.

Ok, so I'm just magically supposed to know that, huh? No hold table, no nothing for me to know that this is all his stuff. I wanted to tell the guy he didn't need to be a jerk, but I'm not one to do that kind of stuff. Still deep down I wanted to ignore him and walk off with it anyway. Oh well, maybe he didn't have A/C and needed a lot of fans. Let it go.

What I really prefer is when estate sales have a table that you can put the stuff you want on, and there's none of that "hey all that's mine" crap.

At another sale I lucked out. There was too a fan I wanted in the pictures. Get there second day, see it right away and I think "yes, it's here!" Problem was not only was it there but a guy was looking at the price tag. I thought, "oh, no not again!" But he walks off and I ask him if he wanted it, and he said "no, I just wondered why it was written not for sale yet there was a price tag."

So after assuring me he didn't want it, I was able to get a rare fan!
 
So I went to a thrift shop today that I hadn't visited since probably sometime last year and I had both a 'couldn't leave it behind' moment along with a 'gotta think about' it moment. The former was a leaded glass lamp shade, probably contemporary manufacture but a classic design, attractive in its simplicity. Sure, I would have loved something ornate with dagonflies but this one's cool in an arts-and-crafts sort of way. I've got an antique art nouveau lamp base down in the barn that I grabbed from my parents' basement when they were moving four years ago, with the idea of possibly finding such a shade to put on it. I'll post photos once I excavate the base and put the two pieces together. I'm not sure what, if any additional hardware I'll need. A decorative finial, maybe? The nice thing is if I ever find something I like better, the price of this one was cheap enough that I can upgrade without losing any sleep over it.

The latter was a set of Lenox TempurWare dishes in a pattern that matches some I've got that used to be my grandparents'. They're from the '70s and designed to go in the microwave. Ironically, the pieces I'm missing are missing from this set as well—the bowls. There are dinner plates, salad plates, coffee cups and saucers, a creamer and two sugar bowls but no cereal bowls. So for now I've got to do some thinking and come to a decision in the next day or two.
 
It's happened to me as well.

But, there was an antique coffee table in an antique mall. I was looking at this thing for a year!! I went back to find it 'reduced'.
My famous words, "Put it in the car".

Also, 2 yrs ago, in a very nice antique store, I spied a pair of Tiffany & Co. Christmas candle holders. I checked regularly. They sat there for over a year. Last time I went there, I said to a friend who went with me, "I DOUBT they'll still be there. But, IF they are..................."

They WERE!!!!!
Guess what??
They look great on my fireplace mantel.
 
No power nozzle

I've been to three different thrift stores. Today for example; a newer Kenmore bagless cannister no power nozzle, 2000 era Kenmore no power nozzle no bag and needed new filters, early 80s Kenmore straight suction machine.
One of the others had a Kenmore/Panasonic hard floor cleaning brush and straight suction.
I seen about 4 dysons there usually high priced or broken plastic.
If any of the kenmore's had a power nozzle I would have bought in a heart beat.
There open getting better inventory but with my collection I'm becoming picky with what I buy.
Les
 
I've seen next to nothing for vacuums lately. The most interesting one was a Eureka Rally that I saw a couple of weeks ago.

John;

That's great that the items you were undecided about stuck around for so long.
They must have been meant to be yours!
The items I've walked away from lately were gone when I went back; even if it was the next day.

Edgar;

Nice finds!
I did it again. I talked myself out of a very old mixing bowl yesterday. Today, I went back to get it and it was gone. I did find a couple of Fire King bowls. Similar to, but not exactly like the ones I missed out on last time. Even though they weren't exactly what I wanted, I got them. Along with a Nestle sugar bowl to go with our globe mugs. A spare carafe for the 10 cup Braun coffee maker, and a complete 12 cup Braun coffee maker. Unlike my 10 cup, the 12 cup is made in Germany. It's the type with the rocker on/off switch, and a second switch for when you're making three cups or less.
I'm looking forward to playing with it! I certainly didn't need it. But for $4.99, I couldn't pass it up! Then, when I checked out, everything was 30% off.
I may go hit the Salvation Army store tomorrow. I haven't been there in a couple of weeks.


Barry
 
Garage sales suck nowadays. It's all clothes and household items. My mom used to take me to tons of garage sales when I was little. I mean every weekend during the season, maybe 10 to 20 sales in a day. And I mean it was an orchestrated event, she would make an itinerary beforehand and we'd go to them in order of which was closest to the next. I loved looking at other people's junk, but it also set me up to be an antiques collector, because in those days, antiques and vintage items were commonplace - and CHEAP. Like, I could buy stuff on a child's allowance. Now there's ebay and craigslist and offerup. And people see some old crap and think they have a gold mine, so they don't sell them at sales (or really at all with the insane prices people come up with, lol). It's a damn shame.

Also my mom would NOT go to estate sales, because she hated going into other people's houses.

My dad would, on far fewer occasions, take me to the Maxwell street flea market. That was a much different experience as it was mostly just walking around looking at crap. More of a journey vs destination type of thing. And even in those days, antiques were rare. Most of it was new retail items like clothes and small appliances (probably a lot of it that 'fell off a truck'), and the odd random used junk. Of course I did find a few gems there, like my Cadillac upright that I've had since I was about 12.

I will still pop in to sales whenever I see them, and on rare occasion if I happen to hear of one with stuff I might like. A while back, I caught wind of an estate sale with a 1950's TV in a beautiful wood cabinet. I figured they'd have a lot of old stuff, but when I got there, the tv was literally the only thing I was interested in, but not for $80, or thereabouts (which was already a very reasonable price, but I wasn't that interested in the tv). I inquired if they would have half price on sunday, and the guy talked me into buying the tv right then and there for $40. So that was nice. TV is still on my workbench. Maybe halfway done. Those are long-lasting projects. Took me like 5 years on my last vintage tv set.

A few weeks ago, my friend suggested we go out to some far away suburb for an estate sale - tbh, not even sure why, he doesn't really like that kind of thing. I said ok, at least it would be a fun waste of time. All the prices were marked WAY too high on everything. I saw a Hoover Concept One and a little 1970s-ish GE canister vac (with pretty much all the attachments), each marked $50. And really, I wasn't very interested at any price. I found some nice vintage electronics junk and other bits and bobs, and asked the guy about the vacs, I didn't haggle at all, he said $5 each. In fact, the actual prices were all extremely reasonable for estate sales, let alone compared to the ridiculous price stickers. So now I have two vacs that I really didn't need or want lol.
 
When I was a kid we used to run all over town to yard/garage sales as well. I don't usually go to them anymore, unless it's a grouping of them or I happen to pass by one that looks good. A lot as you say have just clothes, and in my experience baby stuff and household knick knacks, etc. But sometimes they have good stuff.

Overall I have better luck at estate sales, but they don't usually have any vintage Hoovers, Eurekas or the sort of vacuums you might expect. Most have newer bagless uprights or newer Kirbys or Rainbows if they have good vacuums.

A few weeks ago I went to one near my house. It was way, way back in the woods (dirt roads and a long trail up to the house). It had two barns of stuff that was pretty interesting, but nothing I wanted. The ad said they had a Wii system. It was only $20 and I got a black console, remote with jacket a few games and all the original manuals. No cables, but I already have those. I figured $20 was a pretty good deal given the remotes go for about $10 and the consoles a little more. So now I have two remotes and some games.
 
Fans

I have had the miss outs happen worst in antique shops! Several years ago I found two brass bladed fans at one (one a 6 wing which are very desirable). They were on sale for 50% off so $75 each which was a bargain. I didn't have enough cash so went back and they were gone. :(

Then more recently at another antique shop was an Emerson 1510 brass blader. Now those go for pretty good money and they only wanted $45. It was gone the next Monday. I figured nobody would buy it since that store gets such low traffic but somebody did.

Now I'll make sure to buy any good priced/desired fan right away.

Oh, and MadMan, can you post pics of your vacuum finds from that sale? I'd like to see the canister especially.
 
I love estate sales!

But, I feel badly when I see 'people' just rummaging through everything. These people are dead, and folks just plow through their once beloved 'stuff', ripping a household apart.
I look at the scene and think, "this could/probably happen when I'm gone". People will just tear through all of the things I worked so hard for, use, and enjoyed.
 
I exercised restraint...

So I went back to the thrift shop where the Lenox Temper Ware dishes were and while I was tempted to buy the whole lot, I exercised extreme restraint and only bought six of the twelve dinner plates and six of the seventeen bread plates. As I was looking at them, I began asking myself what I actually use of the pieces I've got and how much more of it I could reasonably use. I never use the coffee cups and saucers so there was no need to buy more of those, ditto for the two sugar dishes and the creamer. I still want to find some of the cereal bowls, though.
 
Electrolux

I went to our local thrift store and picked up an Electrolux epic 3500 SR And a Electrolux prolux 2000 commercial upright Both are in good condition just needs some cosmetic care. These are my new favorite vacuums. The 3500 SR will be used as my daily driver and I will use the pro lux to clean other peoples homes. ( everybody knows me in the neighborhood so they want me to vacuum their house :) )

turbo360-2020070118584508482_1.jpg
 
@fan-of-fans The GE has most of the attachments. Two floor nozzles, the floor nozzle extension wands, a dusting brush, a little upholstery nozzle, and even a couple extra metal tube things that I can't quite figure out. One of them is meant to be a hose end, but the part that fits in the hose is different than the actual hose ends. The hose is crap, I'll either replace it or cut the bad ends off. Haven't actually powered it up yet. The cloth bag wasn't all that full. It's an odd color. It's also very dirty. I'm sure it'll look nice after a bath. Might have to buff the plastic stuff.

The Hoover seems to run fine, but it needs belts and the power drive will need some kind of work. The lever that 'shifts' the transmission does not move easily. Haven't opened it up yet, I want to record it for youtube, but I don't have my tripod. When I was at the estate sale, I saw some random vacuum hose and attachment - I thought I would use the hose to replace the one on the GE canister. I found out later that I had unknowingly picked up the hose converter for the Hoover lol. It's weird, the Hoover looks very well used, but the hose converter looks legitimately brand new. So I have only the converter, hose, and like one extension. Apparently the tools are weird - they have a locking ring to hold them in place.

Also, I'm not really attached to either of these in case you're interested.

madman-2020070301070008613_1.jpg

madman-2020070301070008613_2.jpg
 
I've shown great restraint too during this time...haha. also cause I have most of what I want....I keep an eye out though for hidden treasures.... love going to estate sales....its the hunt for things right? I got a couple just 3 days ago which I'll post about soon
 
Walked away from an Epic find...

So I went to a thrift shop yesterday and ended up walking away from an Electrolux Epic 3500 upright. It had apparently just been put out on the floor and hadn't yet received a price tag. It seemed to be in nice shape, although a bit dirty. I was sorely tempted to inquire about it but I just couldn't justify it. I've acquired five vacuum cleaners in the past year and I've only parted with one for s 20 percent net increase in inventory. In a way, I'm kind of glad I was able to be strong and resist the temptation but frankly, I don't have anywhere to put another vacuum cleaner.
 
I love going to thrift stores and antique stores and I go quite frequently. Like panning for gold, I am always in search of a Holy Grail for either myself or my ladyfriend. Every now and then I find one. Sometimes I find kind-of-one. Often none at all. During a blue moon in a late-autumn gale, I find many.
The latter happened when an antique store was closing, to be demolished and replaced with apartments. One gal had a lot of vintage fans and she wanted me to get her 'out of the fan business'. And I did help her out a lot - I got 8 or so from her after negotiating a deal back in 2012, many were Emersons. I still enjoy them all!

When at thrift stores, something always follows me home. Much of it being stuff either one of us could enjoy or use. The rest would be nice-but-cheap clearance stuff that would be heading to the landfill or overseas for 'recycling' if not sold. Most of the latter is redonated to places I know will benefit from them or given away to friends if they want them. The rest we keep, despite us running out of room for stuff. It is usually all so cheap, we forget about our lack of space...

I only go to yard sales if I am passing right by and I see something from the road that I might like. Usually I do not get anything, but you never know. It has been years since I was at an estate sale, as I rarely pass by one. (Last one I went to was across the street, at the site of a double homicide..) I also feel a little bad about picking that (now deceased) person's past life apart, but I feel better about saving whatever I do get. I am sure that would have made him or her smile, to carry on a piece or more of their lives. Most remaining stuff is either sold online, donated, or trashed. This will happen when I die, as I will have no survivors if I make it to an older age. My estate will go to a non-profit of my choice. I do hope all my good stuff is saved to be enjoyed by someone else. Keeping it all clean and working will hopefully increase their chances at doing so...

My ladyfriend and I are actually in the process of making a 'dummies-type' book for thrift-storing. The below are some of the main points that are discussed in this thread...

Rule 1 - if you see something and have that gut feeling on wanting it, get it then and there if the price is right. Trust your gut, as most times you will dwell on it, end up going back for it, and it will no longer be there. If it is there, you might be inclined to look around some more and get more stuff you do not need. Consider the fuel and time spent also if you were to go back.

I broke this rule early this year when I saw a pair of nice Rat-Shack Nova 7 speakers at the local Goodwill. There was no price and I did not want a set with rotted foam surrounds. I researched them when I got home and they were well-rated and had rubber surrounds. I went back to get them the next day, but they were gone. Live and learn...

I found a Sunbeam Radiant-Control toaster at another Goodwill a couple years back for 3.95. I actually yelled out over this one and grabbed it immediately. Hated to carry it around but it was worth it. I could have bought it then and put it in the truck if I did not want to carry it for long. I do not use carts as they are a pain to maneuver around and they can be taken or stuff taken from them. I am also a rapid shopper, just quick-scanning everything. If it grabs my eye in a flash, then it might be worth getting. If I go slowly, I will get too much of stuff that I will regret getting later.

Early this year I found a 1970's 12" Pioneer loudspeaker at a thrift store for $80 and it was 75% off furniture day. So for $20 it went home with me and it tested good. Being there was only one, I resold it (easily) for $100. If there was a pair or could not get my price, I would have kept them or this one.
It is better to get something you think you want then miss it and regret it. At worst case you can clean it up and fix it and sell it, redonate it (hopefully to a known-good place), give to a friend, or pass it on to a collector.

Rule 2 - Do not avoid certain stores just because you did not find anything good the last time, or things looked 'dirty' or disorganized, or you did not like their prices. It is a true treasure hunt and stock changes daily. After a month or two, there should be an almost all-new selection at thrift stores. Most of them get rid of stuff after a certain time - note the use of tag colors or date codes or week numbers on tags.
Pricing will often be done be different people, and if things do not sell after x amount of weeks, they may get reduced.
Learn the sale protocols for each store and use them to your advantage. Most base them on the date the stuff comes in. Also there may be big sales during holidays or weekends. Some have 'half-price Wednesdays' or similar sales. However, if you really want something particular, it might be better to get it then while it is available. Vintage stuff is really hit or miss, some near un-obtainium.

Rule 3 - look past the surface dirt, grime, and dust. Often a good cleaning will make old stuff look new again. Most people 'gross-out' when they see something dirty and that is what sends most old stuff to the dump. Also understand that some things may not work 100%. If you are handy, have some fun and fix it. Many problems are minor. Some items are so cool-looking that even if I cannot get them to work, they are still worth keeping just to look at.

Most of all, have fun!!
 
There have been estate and garage sales happening here and there. The thing is estate sales often start on Thursday or Friday and then run through Saturday or Sunday. Usually they don't start until 8 AM so I'm already at work. So by Saturday when I can go they're either already open for at minimum a day.

Last weekend I went to one and there was literally nothing left except some free items outside. It was a neat mid century house to see though. A lot of the sales I just like to go to see the houses if nothing else.

Sometimes I get over to sales on my lunch break if they're close enough. Other times it would be too far to be worth it.

My old job used to start at 9AM so many times I could go to the sales before work if they happened to be on the way there.

Yard/garage sales I don't bother much with unless I happen to be passing by, and even then I often won't stop if I don't see much. But there could be a hidden gem under a table.

Overall I don't find much at estate/garage sales as far as vintage vacs go. They either have newer bagless stuff or just things that don't interest me. I wish it was easier to find old metal Hoovers, Eurekas, Kenmores, GEs, etc. But they just don't seem to be around, even out in the garages or barns. And they rarely if ever turn up in thrifts these days.

It's starting to get back into the flea market season though, so we'll see. I might make a stop at the one here tomorrow and see if there's much there. At least it's outdoors so I don't think coronavirus will be a hinderance hopefully this year.
 
I've had a really dry summer finding vacuums this summer. But usually when I do not find a vacuum, I usually find random packages of belts and bags, so that helps anyway.

I need to start digging around the dumpsters of local vacuum shops just before trash pickup and see what they toss out.
 
Make friends with the owners of your local vac shop---then you don't have to paw thru the dumpster for goodies.Just tell the shop operator what you are looking for and the shop will save it for you!This works well for the place I go to-and he even saves sewing machines,too!Sometimes-as with out here vac shops share dumpsters with other places-the vac shop here shares the dumpster with a pizza place.I am sure you wouldn't want a vacuum covered in stale pizza fixings!And for my light collection got a MH wallpack light that was replaced with a LED light.The light I got needs a capacitor for the ballast to make it work right.Bulb wasn't going to full wattage-bad cap.
 
Same. I used to be friendly with some of the shops and get some of their old junk. Haven't been to a shop in Vegas yet though. 


 


Nice name by the way, huskyvacs. Hah 
 
oh funny coincidence :D back at ya!

and yeah the shops here i just seen on google street view from 2019, i missed last year they put a bunch of vacs in their alley with a "free" sign on them.
 
I haven't seen many vacuums at the thrift stores here lately (mostly just modern cheapos if any).

This morning I saw a sign for an estate sale. There were three uprights, a green Eureka Optima, a yellow bagless Eureka, and a Fantom Fury.

They said make an offer and the Fantom was tempting because I never really see them here (I think this is the fourth one I've EVER seen in person). But it was rather scuffed and dusty and it looked like all the tools were missing.

I kind of wanted it, but I have too many uprights right now and various projects so I don't really have anywhere to put it.
 
Can't Save Them All...

fan-of-fans wrote:
I kind of wanted it, but I have too many uprights right now and various projects so I don't really have anywhere to put it.

I reply:
I found myself in that same position today. I walked through a thrift shop where I'd found a Kirby G6 a couple of weeks ago and they had a somewhat forlorn looking Kirby Sentria for $10. It was missing the N/D pedal, needed a belt, and the bag was torn. It had an absolutely full bag that felt just solid. It looked like it had been used to clean up sawdust. My heart really did go out to it and I really wanted to take it home with me and make it better but I've got 13 Kirbys right now, two of which I've just recently acquired. I just couldn't justify it, even with my 10 percent educator discount, which would have brought the cost down to $9. Under different circumstances, I would have felt lucky to have rescued it but today was not that day.
 
Same here. Although I have really backed out of acquiring any more vacuums. It's been somewhat easy because there haven't been any of interest in the thrift stores. Not only that, but for some reason there just haven't been a lot of garage or estate sales here lately. There were quite a lot last year and this past spring, but this summer was kind of a dud.

I'm still hoping to have my own home someday so my collection can have its proper space. But for various reasons that has had to go on hold.

I did get quite a few more vacuums this past year however than I usually would, so that has also gotten things kind of out of hand. I have a Hoover Convertible I got late last year or early this year that I haven't gotten around to finishing up either, despite buying a new fan for it.
 
i dont have the 'bug' like i used to have for vacs and its kinda good....b/c from what I've noticed in my estate sale and thrift store and even FB marketplace hunting....everything is much more expensive or just nothing that lights my fire. I'm glad I got everything in the past 3 years!
 
Back
Top