When a Goodwill has just taken in the contents of someone’s whole house, every thrifter in the county wants to be first through the door. A vintage seller and her partner heard exactly that rumor about their local store in Murray, so they loaded the truck, grabbed two carts and went hunting. One of their pricier buys, a $15 piece, turned out to have a hole in it that nobody noticed until much later.

The couple behind Jami Ray Vintage sell vintage and thrift-flipped home decor, and they opened the trip with a simple goal: stock up on things they can flip for a profit. A friend had told them that someone cleaned out a house and donated it, and the store had been turning up good vintage lately.

Down The Aisles With Two Carts

The prices at this store were mostly in the single digits, and the cart filled quickly. A cutting board went in at $1.99. An older-looking doll in an aged dress came home for $5.99. A large pillow sham-style linen for $3.99, a sparkly tree topper at $14.99 and a set of small trees at $1.99 each also made the cut. A pretty shaker by Napco with a tiny chip was $3.99, and a set of English Meakin plates for $9.99 worked out to about $2.50 a plate, with the bonus of looking lovely on a plate wall. She noted that when she buys for a plate wall, she wants more than a pretty rim. She wants a great design in the middle too.

The partner pointed out that driving the truck is dangerous, since it tempts them into projects too large for the barn. Even so, they came home with a long list of small and medium items: a Pier 1 cookie jar for $3.99, a grape-decorated porcelain wall planter for $5.99, a cast iron rooster on an easel for $2.99, a heart-shaped dish and a hand-painted tray for $3.99. A large wobbly lazy Susan for $5.99 got a pass on price, then a yes after a quick spin proved a tightened bolt would fix it.

Just as interesting was what stayed on the shelf. They passed on a heavy ammo box at $7.99, a pair of resin candlesticks where one was broken and not standing straight, a planter that was not their taste and a big mug at $2.99. They also left a rack with a broken weld, noting that although they own a welder, the effort was not worth it. Walking away is part of the discipline.

The Hole That Got Missed

Back at the studio, the finds were sorted, cleaned and lined up for the upcoming haul video. During that work, one of them noticed a big hole in a piece she had paid $15 for. She had not seen it while shopping and only spotted it while editing the footage. Her verdict was blunt: she should not have paid $15 for something with a hole.

The fix is a good one to remember. Her partner stuffed a wadded paper towel into the hole, then used superglue so it hardened into a base. Air-dry clay went over the top, shaped with a fingernail to look like rough rock. After it dried, he sanded it smooth, painted the repaired area, and dry-brushed gold paint over the entire piece so the patch disappeared. Another item had a much shallower hole, and the same trick took care of that one too.

They also mentioned something that softens the sting of the mistake. The creator said she had seen a similar statue at a bookstore for $180, and that one was plain white porcelain. So while the $15 purchase was a bit of an overpay for a damaged item, a finished repair could make the piece far more valuable than its cost.

A Pioneer Woman butter dish missing its knob got a replacement from their bin of spare knobs, and a Holy Family nativity set was set aside for repair too, with plum and cream paint used on several of the other pieces. The couple plan to sell what they finish.

What To Take From This

If you thrift for resale or just for your own home, this trip offers a few practical rules.

• Inspect every piece in good light. Turn it over, look inside, and run your hand around the base. Damage hides in shadows and under dust. If you are filming or taking photos, check them before you leave the store.
• Know what a repair will cost you. A hole that can be patched with glue, clay and paint is a manageable job. A crack that runs through a heavy piece or a missing part that cannot be replaced may not be.
• Do the math on sets. Dividing a set price by the number of pieces, as with those English plates, shows you whether the deal is real.
• Be ready to pass. If the price feels steep, the piece is broken or it is not your style, leave it. There will be another cart tomorrow.
• Keep a bin of spare parts. Odd knobs, hooks and screws turn up in thrift stores all the time and can rescue a piece with a missing part.
• Ask about donation timing. Staff at many thrift stores can tell you which days new donations hit the floor, which is a good way to catch a house cleanout while it is fresh.

The last word from the couple is hopeful. One of them noted that some of the things the other had passed over turned out great once repaired, and the nativity became one of their favorite pieces they have ever had. That is the thrifting spirit in a nutshell: a bargain is not just what you find, it is what you can make of it.

More Stories You May Like

• Dr Lori Says They Missed It at the Largest Goodwill Store in the World and Shows the Vintage Finds Left Behind
• Fifty Dollar Flea Market Find Changed Her Life Forever and the Story Behind It Will Make You Rethink Every Dusty Booth You Walk Past
• Woman Finds an 1800s Hand Painted German Marriage Cabinet on Facebook Marketplace Ten Minutes From Her House and Says It Might Be Her Favorite Marketplace Find to Date