To supplement my income while I was in college, I went to yard sales, estate sales, and tag sales every Saturday morning. I spent most of my high school years haunting thrift stores and music stores, so I knew what they were looking for and how much they were willing to pay for certain items.
Luckily, I had two major college towns within thirty miles from my home, so there was always some store willing to buy my finds. Here are some of my favorite finds:
- The Honky-Tonk
I found a little bar that was going out of business after forty-five years. The bar had an old jukebox and was selling all the records. They still had the old picture sleeves for most of the 45s (the picture sleeves are actually worth more than the records)! I ending up buying fifty 45s for $10.00. Sold them at various record stores and conventions for well over $300. - The Out-Of-Touch Record Store
One day, I went to an out-of-the-way record store and stumbled upon two sealed Appetite For Destruction LPs for $10 each. They were the original covers (the rape scene, which was banned soon after the album was released (the banned cover was put inside the CDs, LPs, and tapes and was replaced with the cross tattoo)). I ended up keeping one for myself and sold the other for $120. - Dead Men Wear No Clothes
I went to a tag sale of an old man who had recently died. The man had impeccable taste in clothing. I found a H-U-G-E stash of clothes from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. I spent a pretty penny on them (it was an estate sale (which is code for someone died and their heirs are trying to get every little penny for the crap they've had lying around their house collecting dust over the years)). I don't know how much money, if any, I made on this find as I sold the items to thrift stores only as I tired of wearing them. But damn, those clothes were cool.
