Behind the glass at a thrift store sat four iPhone 12s priced at $40 each. A record seller from Loose Hooks knew they usually resell for $100 to $140, depending on condition and storage size. He also knew a catch that could turn every one of them into a paperweight.

“If you don’t sign out of iCloud on a phone and then you buy that phone, you cannot use it. You have to get the original owner to sign out, otherwise it is literally just a brick.”

While he was sorting that out, a clerk wheeled out a cart full of records, and the day took a very different turn.

The Phones Would Not Power On, So He Plugged Them In

He struck out on clothes, then checked the showcase. The clerk brought out the four phones, and he learned they were iPhone 12s.

None would power on at first. He got a charger and plugged them in, since it takes a while for a phone to get enough juice to boot. Even then, he was still unsure whether the phones had been fully reset or whether the iCloud account had been signed out, and that question decides everything.

While he asked the manager where the phones came from, another clerk pushed out a cart of records.

A Cart Of Records At $2 Each

Only three times has he been at a thrift store when a cart of records rolls out, and this was one of them. Some records, headed for the showcase, were priced high, such as an AC/DC album at $30. He checked it on eBay and says it was an $11 to $15 record, so the $30 price puzzled him.

Others carried $7 and $10 tags. But the majority were $2 each, and he says he walked out with more than 50 in a giant bag.

The spot was good enough that he asked a clerk to fetch a shopping cart. The staff counted records at the end of the month, so they wrote down his numbers as he sorted.

Not everything made the cut. He found some of the vinyl too rough even for $2, with serious scratches, major scuffs and weak jackets, and he left those behind. “I definitely took all the good ones,” he says.

Why Sleeve Position Told Him The Records Were Mint

He shares a trick. Whenever he sees the record sleeve opening facing the top at a thrift store, he knows the record is probably in good shape.

It paid off. A Carly Simon record was still in shrink with a hype sticker, and he rates it near mint minus. A sealed Gordon Lightfoot copy from Kmart, with a $1 sale sticker, was never opened.

An Alan Parsons Project album was a club copy on Arista with a gatefold and great jacket. A Yes album was technically unplayed, with its shrink still over the opening. The David Bowie Ziggy Stardust motion picture album looked pristine, as if it had never been played.

$2 Records That Sell For $10 To $20 In His Shop

He sells at a local vintage shop called Lost in the Old Market district of Omaha, at 1125 Jackson Street. He says he can sell many of these records for $10 to $20 each, so paying $2 is “a business deal” he cannot get more excited about.

Other records from the cart included Fog Hat on Bearsville, the Knack, Ambrosia, Santana, the Police and Journey. He passed on some Rod Stewart records because the condition was not good enough, though he figures they would sell for five to eight dollars each. He left some behind on purpose.

The haul also included Allman Brothers Band, Heart, Head East, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings double LP and a Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks with a hype sticker, all for $2 apiece.

The Priced-Up Records Were Still Good Deals

The records priced higher also had value. The Beatles Let It Be cost $7 with a rough jacket but near mint vinyl, which he calls “an easy $20 record.” A second Let It Be copy also cost $7.

Rush 2112 in pristine condition cost $8. A Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album with VG Plus vinyl cost $8, which he suspects was a little too much, though it should bring $15 or more at the shop.

A Def Leppard High and Dry cost $10, and he decided to keep it because he used to listen to it as a kid.

How To Hunt Vinyl At Thrift Stores

He closes with an invitation to follow him for more finds. His own routine is to check eBay on his phone, visit estate sales and take leads from people who call with records for sale.

Anyone can use his approach on their own trips.

• Check prices online before buying. A $30 sticker does not mean a $30 record.
• Look for sleeves with the opening at the top, a sign that records were stored carefully.
• Skip records with serious scratches or scuffs, even at $2.
• Ask the clerk to bring out items from the showcase and look closely.
• Ask about electronics. A phone locked to someone’s iCloud account may be a brick.

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