Host Bex Scott lets you in on her process for going through her local Value Village thrift store in this episode. She explains the layout of the store section by section, how they’re stocked, and what to look for in each. She explains where the good stuff is on the shelf, how to check items for damage, and where some of the hot items are hidden. If Value Village is new to you or you find it overwhelming, this episode will break it down into understandable sections and help you scour for the perfect vintage score that you’re seeking.
Host Bex Scott lets you in on her process for going through her local Value Village thrift store in this episode. She explains the layout of the store section by section, how they’re stocked, and what to look for in each. She explains where the good stuff is on the shelf, how to check items for damage, and where some of the hot items are hidden. If Value Village is new to you or you find it overwhelming, this episode will break it down into understandable sections and help you scour for the perfect vintage score that you’re seeking.
Bex also shares some key tips for collectors and resellers. Did you know that some of the best items are on the very bottom shelves in Value Village? Don’t be afraid to get on the floor and look down there. Where do they hide the salt and pepper shakers? Should you skip the book section? If you arrive at the store first thing in the morning, is sneaking into the middle of the queue a good idea? Bex answers all these questions and more in this episode. Listen in then share your thoughts and tips with Bex on Instagram @PyrexWithBex.
Resources discussed in this episode:
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Contact Rebecca Scott | Pyrex With Bex:
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Transcript
Bex Scott: [00:00:02] Hey everybody, it's Bex Scott and welcome to the Pyrex with Bex podcast, where you guessed it, I talk about vintage Pyrex, but also all things vintage housewares. I'll take you on my latest thrifting adventures, talk about reselling, chat with other enthusiasts about their collections, and learn about a bunch of really awesome items from the past. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you love listening to podcasts so you don't miss a beat. Hey everybody, this is Bex Scott and you are listening to the Pyrex with Bex podcast. On today's episode, I want to take you through my process for shopping at Value Village. Now, where I live in Alberta, we have quite a few different thrift shops, antique shops, but I find that the one that I have the most success at right now is actually the Value Village in Red Deer. So for those of you who live in this area, I would be interested to see if you kind of have the same process as me for going through the store. Now, I know that everybody has their own sections that they really love to hit up first. I know that when I used to go thrifting every day before we had our daughter, I used to show up way before the store opened and line up at the Value Village, this was in Calgary, not where we live now, but you would see the same people there all the time. The same person was always first, and you would get to know the people who were shopping there, which was kind of fun.
Bex Scott: [00:01:38] And you would watch as people who weren't regulars came around the corner and they thought they could sneak into the line or try and create another line to get into the store before you did. And these people were having none of it. So one thing to know for sure is to never mess with a die-hard thrifter or reseller because they stake claim to their spot in that line and they will not move from it. So back when I used to go to Value Village in Calgary, my first stop was always the Pyrex section because there were a lot of other people who went there first. You wanted to be the first one to get the fresh Pyrex that they put out. A lot of times that's how I got my full sets. And you do have to kind of fight people for different things because you can tell, right? As you guys both lock eyes on the same set, it's like whoever is closest to that, you grab it. So you put your hand on it and you just have to be assertive, which is something that I'm not good at. I've learned to be a little more assertive since I've been thrifting for a bit longer now, but it's definitely not in my personality to fight with somebody over something. It's not worth it in my opinion.
Bex Scott: [00:02:58] If somebody is going to fight with me over a set of Pyrex, I will gladly give it to them because I'm just, I don't like conflict. I will miss out on a great opportunity just to avoid the conflict with a stranger. But some other people who are there that you get to know, there was one lady, I called her the Teacup Lady because she went and cleared out the full section of teacups at Value Village every single morning, and I would kind of creep to look at what was in her cart. I have no clue about teacups at all. Nothing. No knowledge about china, any of that stuff. So it was fascinating to me to see what she was buying. And I'm sure she was a reseller, because nobody can store that many teacups in their house. Well, that might be a lie because I have that much Pyrex. But anyway, there was also a guy that would go and buy vintage books and then somebody else who would buy video games and electronics. So those were the usuals who would line up with me on at the Value Village. So since I've moved out of the city, I frequent Goodwill, Sally-Ann, Value Village, and then a few of the smaller thrift and antique stores in our town. And Value Village is definitely a big store to search through. It goes in huge cycles of being amazing and just being totally crap for what's in there.
Bex Scott: [00:04:33] A lot of it goes with the seasons, which makes sense. So right now it's not too bad because people are clearing out after the holidays. Christmas is over, they have more time. So they're focusing more on clearing out, maybe getting ready to sell their houses in the spring/summer. So there's been a lot of good vintage in the stores recently, but before Christmas, it was all Christmas. That's all you would find there. Everything else was kind of junky stuff. And then right after Christmas, it went through a phase where the shelves were, like, completely bare, except for a few things. So now if, now is February, if you're getting into thrifting or reselling, now is a great time, in my opinion, to start stocking up on your inventory and looking through things before the big garage sale season comes up, which I'm extremely excited about.
Bex Scott: [00:05:33] Okay, so I avoid a lot of sections in Value Village when I look for my inventory. That is mainly because it's not my area of specialty. I don't know a lot about it, and I can't buy from every single category, or I would probably be kicked out of my house. Just kidding. But it would, it wouldn't work. So right when you walk into our Value Village, on the right, there's DVDs and board games. Now, I know a lot of people who resell DVDs and resell vintage, and not even vintage, just modern contemporary games, and they do extremely well.
Bex Scott: [00:06:12] So I would love to get somebody on the podcast as a guest to talk about just board games, DVDs, music, that kind of stuff, because that is a section that I avoid. The first section that I do go to is the book section. I am a massive reader. I read every day. Right now my goal is to try and read six books a month. I did that for January. We'll see for February. But I have a problem with buying books for myself, never mind books to resell and to collect. But when I do buy them for my collection, it's the Little Golden Books. I love vintage Little Golden Books. Some of the newer ones are cute too, but I buy them for the illustrations and the artwork in them, and this might hurt a lot of people to hear, but I repurposed some of the pages in crafting, so I've been making little coasters and journals, covering journals with like Disney pictures and just really nice old vintage artwork, which I know is terrible to do to cut a book up. But I try to only cut the ones up that are really damaged. I don't ever touch a brand new pristine condition book. So I collect those for myself and to read to my daughter. So I'm trying to collect as many Little Golden Books for her as I can to pass down to her. I also have had great success selling the Little Golden Books.
Bex Scott: [00:07:50] So if you can find them for like $0.25 each or a dollar each, they usually resell for like $3 to $4. So not a huge profit there. But if you get enough of them, you can sell them in bulk, you can sell them as a collection. And you might be able to find some good money in that section. Next, I always buy vintage Baby-Sitters Club books and Sweet Valley High, so right now those ones are really popular. I've sold quite a few Baby-Sitters Club books, and they did release, I think it was on Netflix, a Baby-Sitters Club TV show, which is actually pretty good, I'm not going to lie. So it did make a little bit of a comeback, but people are trying to complete their collections that they had growing up. So I always try and grab those books, especially the older Baby-Sitters Club ones. Next is Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. There are some extremely die-hard collectors here, and I know I've talked about this in a previous podcast episode. There are different types of the Nancy Drew, different time frames that they were released with different covers, artwork, that kind of thing. So keep that in mind when you are buying them if you were trying to complete a collection or you're trying to resell, that different ones will have different values just because of the time they were released and the type of cover that they have.
Bex Scott: [00:09:25] Okay, so once you leave the book section in my Value Village, you go to this extremely overwhelming vase section where they've just crammed every single vase that has ever been donated from a florist shop. So you'll see a bajillion of them. They all look the same. They're all in there. I don't know why, but the same two vases could have two different prices. It drives me insane. But this is where I have had the most luck finding swung vases. And you need to be quick on these. Like this, when I walk in, I scan that section first to see if they've put anything really tall on the top shelf, because that's where they usually are. If I don't see any, I head to the books, but I've found quite a few amazing vases in this section. This is also where you want to look for pottery. Anything marked, I find is great to buy if you look it up with Google Lens. A lot of the potters marks are very hard to discern. So this is an area that I don't know a lot about, but I have lots of friends who have made great money selling especially German pottery. So if you can get to know some of the German pottery names, then this is the section you want to look for them in.
Bex Scott: [00:10:47] Kitschy planters. Everybody loves a good kitschy planter. These ones can be from maybe it was like a vase that somebody got their baby shower gift from. They have the cute little lambs and the balloons and the blue and pinks. Lots of Easter around Easter time. So little chicks and rabbits, that kind of thing. So I always pick up the kitschy planters if they're in good condition. Make sure you touch every inch of them. Same with the vases. These sections are terrible for broken items. I don't know if they just don't catch them when they sort them or if they sell them regardless, but I've been so excited about finding something that I just grab it, throw it in my cart, and I get home and I secretly cry in my office because now I have to do something with this broken vase. Another thing that I often forget to look at are brass vases. So a lot of these are made in India and they're beautiful. These ones are always great to resell. They're also great in displays because they are so pretty. But keep an eye out for brass vases. Make sure you get them at a good price, though, because Value Village has caught on that these are valuable items and they have been jacking the prices of them. So next to the vase section is what I call the weird wood section. This is like a catch-all for anything wood that comes into the store. A lot of times there are broken shelves here, little knickknack things, but the things that I like to look for are the wooden knickknack boxes or jewelry boxes.
Bex Scott: [00:12:35] A lot of them have really nice ornate carvings in them. Sometimes people's names on them. I really like these for storing knickknacks and jewelry, but also for reselling because they are a hot item. People love wooden boxes. Next would be wooden or carved animals. A lot of these things look like they might not have any value, but depending on the wood they're made out of, if you go home and research them, or you do a quick Google Lens in the store, it is definitely worth while. A lot of the wood is very valuable and the carvings have been done. There's lots from Africa or Mexico or places like that by the Indigenous people in the area, and they are very beautiful and great for collections, but also for reselling as well. Next up would be look for the little wooden knickknack shelves. These can be like the letterpress drawers or little mug holders that you put on your wall with the little pegs. Like the peg - peg, what's the word I'm going for? - The peg, the peg holder shelf thingies. Somebody, if you know what the actual word is, let me know. Not enough coffee today. But yes, look for those. I have seen some beautiful displays at Christmas where you have the accordion, peg hanger and you put Christmas decorations on them.That is a goal of mine one year to do with my vintage Christmas balls.
Bex Scott: [00:14:09] Okay, so we've gone from the weird wood section now. I'm skipping over the strange candle, votive, school supply aisle. There's very rarely anything in there. Maybe sometimes old vintage photo albums. That is a good thing to always grab if they're in good condition. And always look for photos in them, because sometimes Value Village doesn't take them out, which is a really big score, but I usually skip this weird section, come back to it at the very end if I have time. Next is the plastic stuff. So this is your typical, I bought this plastic water bottle and now I'm donating it, and Value Village now has 10,000 of them, so avoid those ones. I find it kind of gross anyway to buy an old reused plastic water bottle, but that's just me. Some of you might love that section. What is good in this section though, is Starbucks to go mugs. If they are in near brand new condition or they haven't been used and abused, they will resell. Starbucks always resells. I've had amazing luck with it. Just be sure to open it because you never know what's inside. Still in this section, this is where you find your vintage Tupperware. Do not sleep on this section. People will donate their vintage Tupperware. Always do, this is so gross, but always do the sniff test. I have opened some in Value Village and there have been spiders and bugs and weird smells in there.
Bex Scott: [00:15:47] To me, it's not worth it to take those home and clean them because I am creeped out by that. And it's, yeah, I would rather just leave that there for somebody else, which might be mean, but I would definitely check the condition and make sure somebody hasn't had spaghetti in it for a bajillion years, because that stuff stains. Look for utensil marks, make sure they're not totally torn to shreds and that they haven't been warped in the dishwasher or the microwave. So make sure the lids are nice and flat and that somebody also hasn't written their name on it in Sharpie. There may be a way to get it off, but just be cognizant of that when you're looking at the Tupperware section. Okay. Next we get into dishware. I love the dishware section. This is where I have found some amazing vintage Denby dishes. I'm not going to pronounce this right, but Le Creuset. I have found five Le Creuset mugs for 4.99. They are amazing to resell because they are just so valuable and expensive. Look for any Japan stoneware plates, Corelle dishes, those still resell like the butterfly gold that goes with the Pyrex. What else? Just keep an eye out. Start researching your dishware and just look at the bottom of everything, because you will be surprised at how many things you can miss just because you think it might be cheap.
Bex Scott: [00:17:25] There's been a lot of Dollar Store or Walmart dishes that I think look like Le Creuset, and then I flip them over and they're not, and vice versa. So just keep an eye open. In the same aisle we have the teacup section. So I know that this can be a gold mine. This is one that I do skip over because I have such limited knowledge in it. So if you are a teacup collector, I would definitely check this section out. Look for chips. Look for gold that's been rubbed off. A lot of the vintage teacups, they do have a gold rim or a gold handle, and it's always the first to rub off. So just make sure you keep that in mind when you're looking through teacups. If, sometimes they put teapots in this section as well. Teapots can be very gross and stained on the inside, but if you put a dishwasher pod inside of them and let it soak, it will clean out all of that tea staining. On the other side of this aisle is the glassware. Another one of one of my favorites, because you never know what you're going to find here. So I look for vintage Libby. So if you flip it over, you'll see the little script L on the bottom. A lot of these dishes or glasses are the ones with the gorgeous designs. They can have sometimes metallic on them, gold
Bex Scott: [00:18:53] Just make sure again that the gold isn't rubbing off. But they have the groovy flowers and the amazing patterns that you see in all the vintage catalogs. So this is a great section to look for that in. And try to find them in sets like four, eight, that always sells better. I've bought a lot of single glasses, which are definitely harder to resell. Sets of three are harder to resell as well, so you might get people asking to buy two of them and then you're stuck with one. But just keep that in mind when you're looking in the glasses. This is also where you're going to find the Dorothy Thorpe. So there's a lot of look alikes. So this is where there's the silver fade, like the roly poly glasses. I always buy those. They became very popular after Mad Men came out, the roly polys with the silver rim. Those are gorgeous. So I would recommend buying those. But always take a look at the silver. If it has scratches, if it's coming off, if it's fading. Because that will really hurt your resale value. Okay. We're still in the same aisle. This is a very good aisle. We are at the coffee mugs now and this section is usually a disaster. You have to dig. I have broken quite a few mugs in this section, because you're trying to reach around and get the good stuff at the back, so just be careful when you're moving things around, because I definitely need help in this section.
Bex Scott: [00:20:26] This is where you're going to find your milk glass, so don't do just a cursory glance. You might want to walk down the aisle in one direction and walk back. I often get on the floor and look in the bottom shelf just because it's so easy to miss things. But Federal glass mugs, what else do we have in this section? Fire King, we have the Pyrex mugs. We have, what else, stoneware. Made in Japan stoneware and English stoneware. I always buy those mugs. Also pottery, makers mugs, that kind of thing. So look to see if they have a pottery studio signature on the bottom. And Disney. Disney and Starbucks, always buy the Disney and Starbucks if it is in good condition, do not leave them. I know it's not vintage, but people love them. You can oftentimes find really rare or not in production Disney and Starbucks mugs and those sell really well, especially on Marketplace. Okay. The next aisle is the random junk aisle. This aisle drives me crazy because most of the time everything is broken in it. It's pieces and parts of things that they didn't know what they were, so they just threw them in there. But it's still worth it to dig through. This is where you'll find your trivets. A lot of times they have nice Lucite ones with flowers pressed in, really nice brass trivets, some wooden ones.
Bex Scott: [00:21:58] Placemats are here in the boxes. This is where I usually get my salt and pepper shakers, but make sure they are not chipped. It is so hard to find salt and pepper shakers that aren't chipped at Value Village. What else is good to keep an eye out? Marble rolling pins. I found quite a few marble rolling pins that do very well for resale, and I've kept a few of them because they are amazing to bake with. Recipe boxes. This is where I find the awesome recipe boxes from the 60s and 70s with the gross recipes in there. Those are always really fun to look through. After the random junk section, you have the serving dishes, and this is kind of a catch-all for anything glass. Lots of juice jugs, Pyrex percolators are here. But the best part of this section is the uranium glass that people don't realize is in there. So always bring your black light, because this is a section where it's usually stuffed in the bottom of the shelf at the very back. And it's the uranium glass platters, the milk and sugars, anything like that. Little bowls and dishes and trinket dishes. Make sure you look for anything that stands out as green. Stoneware serving platters. I found some beautiful floral print stoneware platters here and in my shop, weirdly enough, this is where the staff like to hide the valuable electronics.
Bex Scott: [00:23:34] So I have laid on my stomach in the floor multiple times. Because if you go towards the end of the day when the store is going to be closing soon, they like to hide Playstation games, Game Boy games. I've had some Wii controllers and just some really amazing stuff hidden in this section at the back. So pro tip, get on the floor, don't care what people think about you, just look for that gold mine of stuff that people are hiding because it does happen. My most favorite section, the Pyrex section, it is dwindling these days. There's not a lot out there. Mostly what I find is super beat up, dishwasher damaged to the point where it's not recognizable anymore. It's really sad. When I started thrifting, there was definitely a lot more, but I am now in a population that is a lot smaller than where I used to live too. But every once in a while you find a good, a good score of Pyrex. They're usually on the top shelf, which is easy to spot. Other things you can find in the section are Wilton cake pans. I've had great success selling Wilton cake pans. You just have to make sure that they are a low enough price. I would avoid cornflower CorningWare. It, 3 or 4 years ago, it was a hot item. It was hard to keep it in stock, for me at least. And now it is a struggle to sell it.
Bex Scott: [00:25:12] So spice of life, blue cornflower, any of that stuff. If you have success selling it still, go for it. But for me, I pass over that stuff now just because I found that it's not worth it. Jello molds. I love jello molds. These are the tin, usually rose gold or copper looking ones. They're so cute and a whole bunch of different sizes. I always grab those ones because they are fun in displays, to collect, and to resell as well. Okay, so now we are in to the strange bathroom section. My Value Village has a section where they sell hair clips, curling irons, what else do they sell there? Just weird random laundry baskets. But this section is amazing for vintage garbage cans. Also vintage jewelry boxes. So don't pass this section up if you have it in your store. This is where I find a lot of my velvet covered snap shut jewelry boxes, the smaller ones that fit little rings or necklaces. Those ones sell really well, especially if they are in good condition. If not, you can also recover them. I have a friend who does amazing and beautiful work recovering vintage jewelry boxes with new velvet, new insides, cleans up the little feet. So if you're interested in taking on a project like that, this is a great spot to look for them.
Bex Scott: [00:26:46] Next up is the linen section. I could spend a whole day in this section. It starts off with aprons, dishcloths tea towels, and then it goes into fabric, sheets, duvets and blankets, and then pillows. So this is all a lot of personal preference when you're buying linens, what you like to look for. But I like to look for the groovy floral sheets, anything with like a bold retro pattern. Chenille duvets. Pillowcases with flowers. What else? Really cool tea towels with graphics. Those all seem to resell really well. Especially the retro groovy looking sheets. Just make sure that you inspect them for holes, stains, anything suspicious because they do sneak in there. I find a lot of, like, duvets and bedspreads that I really like, but our Value Village is ridiculous for prices and they can be upwards of $20, so to me that is not really worth it. If you're looking through pillows, look for anything that is latch hook. I found an amazing latch hook mushroom pillow the other day. Um, crocheted pillows do really well. Anything with florals. The funky, groovy patterns again. And if it's a seasonal item, Christmas pillows, Halloween pillows, pillowcases and covers from the fancy stores, like the modern stores like Urban Barn, Pier One, anything like that. Even Indigo/Chapters, they get a lot of those in there. Those are great for reselling as well. On the right hand side of the linen section is the sewing section in our store. Now, I don't buy sewing patterns from Value Village because I find that $2 to $3 each is what I can sell them for, and that's the same price that Value Village sells them for.
Bex Scott: [00:28:56] So unless it's something really amazing, like a Barbie pattern, I always grab Barbie clothes patterns, Barbie furniture patterns, those ones resell at a higher price. Sometimes you can get about $10 or more for a pattern that is Barbie. But this is where I find my latch hook patterns, my cruels, my needlepoint, my cross stitch. They've had some amazing kits in this section, and you do have to dig through, because this is where they also put the baby diapers and the feminine products that are donated. So you have to dig a little bit, but they are in there. Next up we have the kids section. The kids toys and clothes. I have dug through the toys before to find Cabbage Patch Kids, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, vintage Barbie. This is a section you really need to spend time, like, come to the store just to look at the toys, because you need to dig through broken toys that aren't working anymore and just really spend time to decipher if it's vintage, if it's modern. I don't buy clothes when I go to the thrift store because that's a whole other thing. I wish I had the had the time and the patience to search through clothes and photograph them and all that fun stuff, but I mostly stick to the hard goods.
Bex Scott: [00:30:22] Next is purses. Purses and accessories I do like to look through because I buy the nice sequined beaded clutches, little handbags. Those do really well for resale and they're really pretty too. If you just want to dress up and go out for your own fun. So I do look through those. Sometimes you can find some good designer bags. I've found some Betsey Johnson, some Coach, but most of the time they separate those out in the Value Village and put them in the locked case. Next would be oversize items. This is usually where electronics, big furniture is in our store, and it's actually one that a lot of people I find skip because they think everything in there is too big. But there's been some really good finds in this section. I went with my friend not too long ago and we found, I think it was three lawn chairs with retro patterns on them. They were really cool. I found some awesome dressers, bookshelves, just really nice MCM looking furniture. Stools. And this is where they put lamps too. So you can find some awesome vintage lamps in this section to refurbish. Wine racks, couches. If you're really interested in refurbishing or cleaning something out like that, but make sure you take a look, just a quick walkthrough of the section because you can find some pretty awesome stuff.
Bex Scott: [00:31:49] And last but not least, this section is so fun to look through. It is the jewelry section. It's almost like a game for me now, where I know that they've gone through and looked through the signed pieces, and most of the time they're pretty good at it, they know what they're looking for, but there are some awesome gems you can find in here. I would love to find a find a Sherman. That would be crazy if they left a Sherman on the wall of jewelry. But I've found quite a bit of Sarah Coventry. Butler. Vendome. What else has there been? Just a lot of random signed pieces that have been skipped over. I mostly look for brooches. Anything with a nice rhinestone, even if it's vintage and unsigned, I buy it. And anything floral. So the nice, what's it called? The coated flowers. I've lost the word for it now, but they're the metal flowers that are usually a brooch or an earring. People love to make arrangements with those and frame them in a shadow box. Anything that has a really nice old clasp that might have some faux pearls and lockets. I love to look for lockets. So this section, you could probably spend a half day just looking through the wall of jewelry there. And sometimes the prices are great, sometimes not so much. But if you can find anything that they've missed that says 14 karat gold on it, anything that's sterling silver or, what else is there, even you might even find some real pearls you don't know. So this is a good section to spend a good chunk of time in looking through.
Bex Scott: [00:33:27] And last but not least, I think I already said that about the jewelry, but this is kind of an extension, would be the locked cabinet that they have. So that's where they keep what they consider the really good jewelry, the electronics, sometimes there's designer shoes in there. I don't spend a lot of time in that section because it is mostly overpriced and to me, not as fun to look through, but because there's a lot of people, I'm sure, like me, who don't go to it, you could find some amazing scores. So that is a quick walk through of my Value Village store. I'm sure that they vary a little bit with quality of goods, the layout, that kind of thing. But that is a typical thrifting restock run for me, where I'll go in and go through my process and hopefully find some goodies. So check out the show notes for my social media platforms. Find me. I am on Instagram at Pyrex with Bex. I live sell on Whatnot at Pyrex with Bex as well. I have regular shows on that platform and there are some really amazing Canadian sellers on there. We all sell vintage of some variety. So feel free to find us there and message me if you'd like to reach out and chat. Thanks so much everybody.
Bex Scott: [00:00:02] Hey everybody, it's Bex Scott and welcome to the Pyrex with Bex podcast, where you guessed it, I talk about vintage Pyrex, but also all things vintage housewares. I'll take you on my latest thrifting adventures, talk about reselling, chat with other enthusiasts about their collections, and learn about a bunch of really awesome items from the past. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you love listening to podcasts so you don't miss a beat. Hey everybody, this is Bex Scott and you are listening to the Pyrex with Bex podcast. On today's episode, I want to take you through my process for shopping at Value Village. Now, where I live in Alberta, we have quite a few different thrift shops, antique shops, but I find that the one that I have the most success at right now is actually the Value Village in Red Deer. So for those of you who live in this area, I would be interested to see if you kind of have the same process as me for going through the store. Now, I know that everybody has their own sections that they really love to hit up first. I know that when I used to go thrifting every day before we had our daughter, I used to show up way before the store opened and line up at the Value Village, this was in Calgary, not where we live now, but you would see the same people there all the time. The same person was always first, and you would get to know the people who were shopping there, which was kind of fun.
Bex Scott: [00:01:38] And you would watch as people who weren't regulars came around the corner and they thought they could sneak into the line or try and create another line to get into the store before you did. And these people were having none of it. So one thing to know for sure is to never mess with a die-hard thrifter or reseller because they stake claim to their spot in that line and they will not move from it. So back when I used to go to Value Village in Calgary, my first stop was always the Pyrex section because there were a lot of other people who went there first. You wanted to be the first one to get the fresh Pyrex that they put out. A lot of times that's how I got my full sets. And you do have to kind of fight people for different things because you can tell, right? As you guys both lock eyes on the same set, it's like whoever is closest to that, you grab it. So you put your hand on it and you just have to be assertive, which is something that I'm not good at. I've learned to be a little more assertive since I've been thrifting for a bit longer now, but it's definitely not in my personality to fight with somebody over something. It's not worth it in my opinion.
Bex Scott: [00:02:58] If somebody is going to fight with me over a set of Pyrex, I will gladly give it to them because I'm just, I don't like conflict. I will miss out on a great opportunity just to avoid the conflict with a stranger. But some other people who are there that you get to know, there was one lady, I called her the Teacup Lady because she went and cleared out the full section of teacups at Value Village every single morning, and I would kind of creep to look at what was in her cart. I have no clue about teacups at all. Nothing. No knowledge about china, any of that stuff. So it was fascinating to me to see what she was buying. And I'm sure she was a reseller, because nobody can store that many teacups in their house. Well, that might be a lie because I have that much Pyrex. But anyway, there was also a guy that would go and buy vintage books and then somebody else who would buy video games and electronics. So those were the usuals who would line up with me on at the Value Village. So since I've moved out of the city, I frequent Goodwill, Sally-Ann, Value Village, and then a few of the smaller thrift and antique stores in our town. And Value Village is definitely a big store to search through. It goes in huge cycles of being amazing and just being totally crap for what's in there.
Bex Scott: [00:04:33] A lot of it goes with the seasons, which makes sense. So right now it's not too bad because people are clearing out after the holidays. Christmas is over, they have more time. So they're focusing more on clearing out, maybe getting ready to sell their houses in the spring/summer. So there's been a lot of good vintage in the stores recently, but before Christmas, it was all Christmas. That's all you would find there. Everything else was kind of junky stuff. And then right after Christmas, it went through a phase where the shelves were, like, completely bare, except for a few things. So now if, now is February, if you're getting into thrifting or reselling, now is a great time, in my opinion, to start stocking up on your inventory and looking through things before the big garage sale season comes up, which I'm extremely excited about.
Bex Scott: [00:05:33] Okay, so I avoid a lot of sections in Value Village when I look for my inventory. That is mainly because it's not my area of specialty. I don't know a lot about it, and I can't buy from every single category, or I would probably be kicked out of my house. Just kidding. But it would, it wouldn't work. So right when you walk into our Value Village, on the right, there's DVDs and board games. Now, I know a lot of people who resell DVDs and resell vintage, and not even vintage, just modern contemporary games, and they do extremely well.
Bex Scott: [00:06:12] So I would love to get somebody on the podcast as a guest to talk about just board games, DVDs, music, that kind of stuff, because that is a section that I avoid. The first section that I do go to is the book section. I am a massive reader. I read every day. Right now my goal is to try and read six books a month. I did that for January. We'll see for February. But I have a problem with buying books for myself, never mind books to resell and to collect. But when I do buy them for my collection, it's the Little Golden Books. I love vintage Little Golden Books. Some of the newer ones are cute too, but I buy them for the illustrations and the artwork in them, and this might hurt a lot of people to hear, but I repurposed some of the pages in crafting, so I've been making little coasters and journals, covering journals with like Disney pictures and just really nice old vintage artwork, which I know is terrible to do to cut a book up. But I try to only cut the ones up that are really damaged. I don't ever touch a brand new pristine condition book. So I collect those for myself and to read to my daughter. So I'm trying to collect as many Little Golden Books for her as I can to pass down to her. I also have had great success selling the Little Golden Books.
Bex Scott: [00:07:50] So if you can find them for like $0.25 each or a dollar each, they usually resell for like $3 to $4. So not a huge profit there. But if you get enough of them, you can sell them in bulk, you can sell them as a collection. And you might be able to find some good money in that section. Next, I always buy vintage Baby-Sitters Club books and Sweet Valley High, so right now those ones are really popular. I've sold quite a few Baby-Sitters Club books, and they did release, I think it was on Netflix, a Baby-Sitters Club TV show, which is actually pretty good, I'm not going to lie. So it did make a little bit of a comeback, but people are trying to complete their collections that they had growing up. So I always try and grab those books, especially the older Baby-Sitters Club ones. Next is Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. There are some extremely die-hard collectors here, and I know I've talked about this in a previous podcast episode. There are different types of the Nancy Drew, different time frames that they were released with different covers, artwork, that kind of thing. So keep that in mind when you are buying them if you were trying to complete a collection or you're trying to resell, that different ones will have different values just because of the time they were released and the type of cover that they have.
Bex Scott: [00:09:25] Okay, so once you leave the book section in my Value Village, you go to this extremely overwhelming vase section where they've just crammed every single vase that has ever been donated from a florist shop. So you'll see a bajillion of them. They all look the same. They're all in there. I don't know why, but the same two vases could have two different prices. It drives me insane. But this is where I have had the most luck finding swung vases. And you need to be quick on these. Like this, when I walk in, I scan that section first to see if they've put anything really tall on the top shelf, because that's where they usually are. If I don't see any, I head to the books, but I've found quite a few amazing vases in this section. This is also where you want to look for pottery. Anything marked, I find is great to buy if you look it up with Google Lens. A lot of the potters marks are very hard to discern. So this is an area that I don't know a lot about, but I have lots of friends who have made great money selling especially German pottery. So if you can get to know some of the German pottery names, then this is the section you want to look for them in.
Bex Scott: [00:10:47] Kitschy planters. Everybody loves a good kitschy planter. These ones can be from maybe it was like a vase that somebody got their baby shower gift from. They have the cute little lambs and the balloons and the blue and pinks. Lots of Easter around Easter time. So little chicks and rabbits, that kind of thing. So I always pick up the kitschy planters if they're in good condition. Make sure you touch every inch of them. Same with the vases. These sections are terrible for broken items. I don't know if they just don't catch them when they sort them or if they sell them regardless, but I've been so excited about finding something that I just grab it, throw it in my cart, and I get home and I secretly cry in my office because now I have to do something with this broken vase. Another thing that I often forget to look at are brass vases. So a lot of these are made in India and they're beautiful. These ones are always great to resell. They're also great in displays because they are so pretty. But keep an eye out for brass vases. Make sure you get them at a good price, though, because Value Village has caught on that these are valuable items and they have been jacking the prices of them. So next to the vase section is what I call the weird wood section. This is like a catch-all for anything wood that comes into the store. A lot of times there are broken shelves here, little knickknack things, but the things that I like to look for are the wooden knickknack boxes or jewelry boxes.
Bex Scott: [00:12:35] A lot of them have really nice ornate carvings in them. Sometimes people's names on them. I really like these for storing knickknacks and jewelry, but also for reselling because they are a hot item. People love wooden boxes. Next would be wooden or carved animals. A lot of these things look like they might not have any value, but depending on the wood they're made out of, if you go home and research them, or you do a quick Google Lens in the store, it is definitely worth while. A lot of the wood is very valuable and the carvings have been done. There's lots from Africa or Mexico or places like that by the Indigenous people in the area, and they are very beautiful and great for collections, but also for reselling as well. Next up would be look for the little wooden knickknack shelves. These can be like the letterpress drawers or little mug holders that you put on your wall with the little pegs. Like the peg - peg, what's the word I'm going for? - The peg, the peg holder shelf thingies. Somebody, if you know what the actual word is, let me know. Not enough coffee today. But yes, look for those. I have seen some beautiful displays at Christmas where you have the accordion, peg hanger and you put Christmas decorations on them.That is a goal of mine one year to do with my vintage Christmas balls.
Bex Scott: [00:14:09] Okay, so we've gone from the weird wood section now. I'm skipping over the strange candle, votive, school supply aisle. There's very rarely anything in there. Maybe sometimes old vintage photo albums. That is a good thing to always grab if they're in good condition. And always look for photos in them, because sometimes Value Village doesn't take them out, which is a really big score, but I usually skip this weird section, come back to it at the very end if I have time. Next is the plastic stuff. So this is your typical, I bought this plastic water bottle and now I'm donating it, and Value Village now has 10,000 of them, so avoid those ones. I find it kind of gross anyway to buy an old reused plastic water bottle, but that's just me. Some of you might love that section. What is good in this section though, is Starbucks to go mugs. If they are in near brand new condition or they haven't been used and abused, they will resell. Starbucks always resells. I've had amazing luck with it. Just be sure to open it because you never know what's inside. Still in this section, this is where you find your vintage Tupperware. Do not sleep on this section. People will donate their vintage Tupperware. Always do, this is so gross, but always do the sniff test. I have opened some in Value Village and there have been spiders and bugs and weird smells in there.
Bex Scott: [00:15:47] To me, it's not worth it to take those home and clean them because I am creeped out by that. And it's, yeah, I would rather just leave that there for somebody else, which might be mean, but I would definitely check the condition and make sure somebody hasn't had spaghetti in it for a bajillion years, because that stuff stains. Look for utensil marks, make sure they're not totally torn to shreds and that they haven't been warped in the dishwasher or the microwave. So make sure the lids are nice and flat and that somebody also hasn't written their name on it in Sharpie. There may be a way to get it off, but just be cognizant of that when you're looking at the Tupperware section. Okay. Next we get into dishware. I love the dishware section. This is where I have found some amazing vintage Denby dishes. I'm not going to pronounce this right, but Le Creuset. I have found five Le Creuset mugs for 4.99. They are amazing to resell because they are just so valuable and expensive. Look for any Japan stoneware plates, Corelle dishes, those still resell like the butterfly gold that goes with the Pyrex. What else? Just keep an eye out. Start researching your dishware and just look at the bottom of everything, because you will be surprised at how many things you can miss just because you think it might be cheap.
Bex Scott: [00:17:25] There's been a lot of Dollar Store or Walmart dishes that I think look like Le Creuset, and then I flip them over and they're not, and vice versa. So just keep an eye open. In the same aisle we have the teacup section. So I know that this can be a gold mine. This is one that I do skip over because I have such limited knowledge in it. So if you are a teacup collector, I would definitely check this section out. Look for chips. Look for gold that's been rubbed off. A lot of the vintage teacups, they do have a gold rim or a gold handle, and it's always the first to rub off. So just make sure you keep that in mind when you're looking through teacups. If, sometimes they put teapots in this section as well. Teapots can be very gross and stained on the inside, but if you put a dishwasher pod inside of them and let it soak, it will clean out all of that tea staining. On the other side of this aisle is the glassware. Another one of one of my favorites, because you never know what you're going to find here. So I look for vintage Libby. So if you flip it over, you'll see the little script L on the bottom. A lot of these dishes or glasses are the ones with the gorgeous designs. They can have sometimes metallic on them, gold
Bex Scott: [00:18:53] Just make sure again that the gold isn't rubbing off. But they have the groovy flowers and the amazing patterns that you see in all the vintage catalogs. So this is a great section to look for that in. And try to find them in sets like four, eight, that always sells better. I've bought a lot of single glasses, which are definitely harder to resell. Sets of three are harder to resell as well, so you might get people asking to buy two of them and then you're stuck with one. But just keep that in mind when you're looking in the glasses. This is also where you're going to find the Dorothy Thorpe. So there's a lot of look alikes. So this is where there's the silver fade, like the roly poly glasses. I always buy those. They became very popular after Mad Men came out, the roly polys with the silver rim. Those are gorgeous. So I would recommend buying those. But always take a look at the silver. If it has scratches, if it's coming off, if it's fading. Because that will really hurt your resale value. Okay. We're still in the same aisle. This is a very good aisle. We are at the coffee mugs now and this section is usually a disaster. You have to dig. I have broken quite a few mugs in this section, because you're trying to reach around and get the good stuff at the back, so just be careful when you're moving things around, because I definitely need help in this section.
Bex Scott: [00:20:26] This is where you're going to find your milk glass, so don't do just a cursory glance. You might want to walk down the aisle in one direction and walk back. I often get on the floor and look in the bottom shelf just because it's so easy to miss things. But Federal glass mugs, what else do we have in this section? Fire King, we have the Pyrex mugs. We have, what else, stoneware. Made in Japan stoneware and English stoneware. I always buy those mugs. Also pottery, makers mugs, that kind of thing. So look to see if they have a pottery studio signature on the bottom. And Disney. Disney and Starbucks, always buy the Disney and Starbucks if it is in good condition, do not leave them. I know it's not vintage, but people love them. You can oftentimes find really rare or not in production Disney and Starbucks mugs and those sell really well, especially on Marketplace. Okay. The next aisle is the random junk aisle. This aisle drives me crazy because most of the time everything is broken in it. It's pieces and parts of things that they didn't know what they were, so they just threw them in there. But it's still worth it to dig through. This is where you'll find your trivets. A lot of times they have nice Lucite ones with flowers pressed in, really nice brass trivets, some wooden ones.
Bex Scott: [00:21:58] Placemats are here in the boxes. This is where I usually get my salt and pepper shakers, but make sure they are not chipped. It is so hard to find salt and pepper shakers that aren't chipped at Value Village. What else is good to keep an eye out? Marble rolling pins. I found quite a few marble rolling pins that do very well for resale, and I've kept a few of them because they are amazing to bake with. Recipe boxes. This is where I find the awesome recipe boxes from the 60s and 70s with the gross recipes in there. Those are always really fun to look through. After the random junk section, you have the serving dishes, and this is kind of a catch-all for anything glass. Lots of juice jugs, Pyrex percolators are here. But the best part of this section is the uranium glass that people don't realize is in there. So always bring your black light, because this is a section where it's usually stuffed in the bottom of the shelf at the very back. And it's the uranium glass platters, the milk and sugars, anything like that. Little bowls and dishes and trinket dishes. Make sure you look for anything that stands out as green. Stoneware serving platters. I found some beautiful floral print stoneware platters here and in my shop, weirdly enough, this is where the staff like to hide the valuable electronics.
Bex Scott: [00:23:34] So I have laid on my stomach in the floor multiple times. Because if you go towards the end of the day when the store is going to be closing soon, they like to hide Playstation games, Game Boy games. I've had some Wii controllers and just some really amazing stuff hidden in this section at the back. So pro tip, get on the floor, don't care what people think about you, just look for that gold mine of stuff that people are hiding because it does happen. My most favorite section, the Pyrex section, it is dwindling these days. There's not a lot out there. Mostly what I find is super beat up, dishwasher damaged to the point where it's not recognizable anymore. It's really sad. When I started thrifting, there was definitely a lot more, but I am now in a population that is a lot smaller than where I used to live too. But every once in a while you find a good, a good score of Pyrex. They're usually on the top shelf, which is easy to spot. Other things you can find in the section are Wilton cake pans. I've had great success selling Wilton cake pans. You just have to make sure that they are a low enough price. I would avoid cornflower CorningWare. It, 3 or 4 years ago, it was a hot item. It was hard to keep it in stock, for me at least. And now it is a struggle to sell it.
Bex Scott: [00:25:12] So spice of life, blue cornflower, any of that stuff. If you have success selling it still, go for it. But for me, I pass over that stuff now just because I found that it's not worth it. Jello molds. I love jello molds. These are the tin, usually rose gold or copper looking ones. They're so cute and a whole bunch of different sizes. I always grab those ones because they are fun in displays, to collect, and to resell as well. Okay, so now we are in to the strange bathroom section. My Value Village has a section where they sell hair clips, curling irons, what else do they sell there? Just weird random laundry baskets. But this section is amazing for vintage garbage cans. Also vintage jewelry boxes. So don't pass this section up if you have it in your store. This is where I find a lot of my velvet covered snap shut jewelry boxes, the smaller ones that fit little rings or necklaces. Those ones sell really well, especially if they are in good condition. If not, you can also recover them. I have a friend who does amazing and beautiful work recovering vintage jewelry boxes with new velvet, new insides, cleans up the little feet. So if you're interested in taking on a project like that, this is a great spot to look for them.
Bex Scott: [00:26:46] Next up is the linen section. I could spend a whole day in this section. It starts off with aprons, dishcloths tea towels, and then it goes into fabric, sheets, duvets and blankets, and then pillows. So this is all a lot of personal preference when you're buying linens, what you like to look for. But I like to look for the groovy floral sheets, anything with like a bold retro pattern. Chenille duvets. Pillowcases with flowers. What else? Really cool tea towels with graphics. Those all seem to resell really well. Especially the retro groovy looking sheets. Just make sure that you inspect them for holes, stains, anything suspicious because they do sneak in there. I find a lot of, like, duvets and bedspreads that I really like, but our Value Village is ridiculous for prices and they can be upwards of $20, so to me that is not really worth it. If you're looking through pillows, look for anything that is latch hook. I found an amazing latch hook mushroom pillow the other day. Um, crocheted pillows do really well. Anything with florals. The funky, groovy patterns again. And if it's a seasonal item, Christmas pillows, Halloween pillows, pillowcases and covers from the fancy stores, like the modern stores like Urban Barn, Pier One, anything like that. Even Indigo/Chapters, they get a lot of those in there. Those are great for reselling as well. On the right hand side of the linen section is the sewing section in our store. Now, I don't buy sewing patterns from Value Village because I find that $2 to $3 each is what I can sell them for, and that's the same price that Value Village sells them for.
Bex Scott: [00:28:56] So unless it's something really amazing, like a Barbie pattern, I always grab Barbie clothes patterns, Barbie furniture patterns, those ones resell at a higher price. Sometimes you can get about $10 or more for a pattern that is Barbie. But this is where I find my latch hook patterns, my cruels, my needlepoint, my cross stitch. They've had some amazing kits in this section, and you do have to dig through, because this is where they also put the baby diapers and the feminine products that are donated. So you have to dig a little bit, but they are in there. Next up we have the kids section. The kids toys and clothes. I have dug through the toys before to find Cabbage Patch Kids, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, vintage Barbie. This is a section you really need to spend time, like, come to the store just to look at the toys, because you need to dig through broken toys that aren't working anymore and just really spend time to decipher if it's vintage, if it's modern. I don't buy clothes when I go to the thrift store because that's a whole other thing. I wish I had the had the time and the patience to search through clothes and photograph them and all that fun stuff, but I mostly stick to the hard goods.
Bex Scott: [00:30:22] Next is purses. Purses and accessories I do like to look through because I buy the nice sequined beaded clutches, little handbags. Those do really well for resale and they're really pretty too. If you just want to dress up and go out for your own fun. So I do look through those. Sometimes you can find some good designer bags. I've found some Betsey Johnson, some Coach, but most of the time they separate those out in the Value Village and put them in the locked case. Next would be oversize items. This is usually where electronics, big furniture is in our store, and it's actually one that a lot of people I find skip because they think everything in there is too big. But there's been some really good finds in this section. I went with my friend not too long ago and we found, I think it was three lawn chairs with retro patterns on them. They were really cool. I found some awesome dressers, bookshelves, just really nice MCM looking furniture. Stools. And this is where they put lamps too. So you can find some awesome vintage lamps in this section to refurbish. Wine racks, couches. If you're really interested in refurbishing or cleaning something out like that, but make sure you take a look, just a quick walkthrough of the section because you can find some pretty awesome stuff.
Bex Scott: [00:31:49] And last but not least, this section is so fun to look through. It is the jewelry section. It's almost like a game for me now, where I know that they've gone through and looked through the signed pieces, and most of the time they're pretty good at it, they know what they're looking for, but there are some awesome gems you can find in here. I would love to find a find a Sherman. That would be crazy if they left a Sherman on the wall of jewelry. But I've found quite a bit of Sarah Coventry. Butler. Vendome. What else has there been? Just a lot of random signed pieces that have been skipped over. I mostly look for brooches. Anything with a nice rhinestone, even if it's vintage and unsigned, I buy it. And anything floral. So the nice, what's it called? The coated flowers. I've lost the word for it now, but they're the metal flowers that are usually a brooch or an earring. People love to make arrangements with those and frame them in a shadow box. Anything that has a really nice old clasp that might have some faux pearls and lockets. I love to look for lockets. So this section, you could probably spend a half day just looking through the wall of jewelry there. And sometimes the prices are great, sometimes not so much. But if you can find anything that they've missed that says 14 karat gold on it, anything that's sterling silver or, what else is there, even you might even find some real pearls you don't know. So this is a good section to spend a good chunk of time in looking through.
Bex Scott: [00:33:27] And last but not least, I think I already said that about the jewelry, but this is kind of an extension, would be the locked cabinet that they have. So that's where they keep what they consider the really good jewelry, the electronics, sometimes there's designer shoes in there. I don't spend a lot of time in that section because it is mostly overpriced and to me, not as fun to look through, but because there's a lot of people, I'm sure, like me, who don't go to it, you could find some amazing scores. So that is a quick walk through of my Value Village store. I'm sure that they vary a little bit with quality of goods, the layout, that kind of thing. But that is a typical thrifting restock run for me, where I'll go in and go through my process and hopefully find some goodies. So check out the show notes for my social media platforms. Find me. I am on Instagram at Pyrex with Bex. I live sell on Whatnot at Pyrex with Bex as well. I have regular shows on that platform and there are some really amazing Canadian sellers on there. We all sell vintage of some variety. So feel free to find us there and message me if you'd like to reach out and chat. Thanks so much everybody.