Got a rare hermes scarf for $1.99 at the thrift store, also some belville boots, normally $200+ for $4.99 at the same shop...oh what else, also trashpicked some old Hitchcock chairs out of the dumpster =)

Got lucky with four Paul McCobb Irwin Collection for Calvin dining chairs (two with arms) with dining table and two leaves for $500. They're currently on 1stDibs for over $6000.

I got two authentic 7 Series Chairs from an local office store for $60. They had more but I didn't have enough to buy them. Sadly, the rest were gone when I returned.

I guess that the Terrence Woodgate Sussex credenza for $150 was my best find so far.

I always get great furniture oddly free from the street - from the black cafe chairs that were left out by a closing San Francisco cafe to the little side tables that decorate my patio. All Free! The best 2nd hand purchase was 12 midcentury modern wood Gunlocke chairs for $5 each - my company was getting rid of them.

Here are my best deals:
* two Hermes scarves, brand new, for $2.00 each.
* steel barristers bookcase for $25.00 - now used for storing sweaters.
* steel document cabinet with 30 drawers for $20 - now used for shoes.
* dozens of cashmere sweaters for no more than $5/each.
* Cartier watch for $5.00.
* Collection of copper pots and pans, for no more than $5/each.

I moved back to the US a few years ago, and had to start from scratch, and do it economically. I've got top quality things for very little money. I love to treasure hunt!

My old room mate's ex boyfriend had a yard sale and so I ended up purchasing more than I bargained for. He was selling a Platner coffee table for $10.00, two 1950s chairs for $10.00 and a set of Revere Warf pots for $5.00. Amazing really.
Any advice as to where I can get the Platner table striped back to its original state? Its a little weathered. I'm in Los Angeles.

Mint condition, vintage McGuire dining table for $30.

Found an uber rare Russel Wright snow glass vegetable bowl in near mint condition at a Pasadena thrift store for $6.00 sold it on ebay for
$750......SCORE!
Years ago bought an Eva Zeisel
Riverside carafe marked $15.00,it was half price day so only paid $7.50 sold to a collector in Japan for $250.......SCORE AGAIN.

i need to go to more thrift stores!

I got my vintage (1950's) 60-drawer card catalog for FREE from the university library where I work. They couldn't get anyone to take it because it was so heavy (solid wood). I had always wanted one, and they go for thousands!

I found a Herman Miller Time Life Executive chair with original black leather upholstery at Goodwill for $5!!! It makes me giddy when I see it!

A 1952 Kroehler swivel chair and matching footstool that looked like they must have had plastic covering them for 55 years. Pristeen.

For $8.00

And the Kroehler furniture is upholstered in its original 1950s TURQUOISE.

Dang!

Wow. Everyone got such great deals. I feel inadequate.

Hard to beat a $5 Cartier watch...but my best finds are...

4 Arne Jacobson Ant Chairs for $200.
A Thonet plywood chair in a dump pile.
5 WW2 WPD posters for $60 a piece.
George Nelson Steelframe desk for $200.

My mother-in-law totally beats any of mine! A Picasso pen and ink for $20 at an estate sale

I want to hear the Maserati backstory.

And I'm envious of pigtownstory. Hermes scarves! Cashmere sweaters! A Cartier watch! *sob* I never find good stuff like that.

I scored a Kent Coffey bedroom set (high dresser, low-boy, 2 night stands) in near-perfect condition for $200.

MY velvet 60's Pucci dress from Goodwill for 12 bucks. Countless clothes/shoes/accessories for a dollar. Vintage cocktail shaker with recipes on it for a dollar. Beautiful Probber Dresser with copper pulls for $100 from a friend.

George Neslon Saucer Bubble Lamp (25" Diameter) last Friday at the Habitat Restore. $20.00 - excellent condition.

My best finds: a Milo Baughman leather armchair, delivered for $75 and in perfect condition, and a pair of Knoll bentwood Don Petitt armchairs for $5 each at a local thrift store. Woo hoo!

4 Eames Fiberglass chairs on casters for FREE! Thank you, design office I work for!

If you could see me now, you'd see a slightly (well, truthfully a very) green with envy person wishing that she could find such bargains! (And I have tried!)

A matched pair of Adrian Pearsall lounge chairs for $130 (ebay). The exact pair came up on 1st dibs for -- ta dah! -- $6,000! And four Donghia Anziano chairs for $300 (craigslist) from a NYC architect who was closing his office. These match my Wonk boris table ($250, craigslist) perfectly.

Oooh I got some good ones:
My mom bought me a card catalog while I was still in high school for $15. It sat in the basement for damn near ten years, but I'm glad she had the wherewithall to know that I'd get into jewelry later on.

$15 Gucci bracelet from Goodwill. Yeah.

Also have a pair of Ferragamo Loafers that I scored for $6.

Cole Haan and Dooney purses - most I paid for any of them was $40. Solid sterling dresser set - $28 (flea market), sterling decorative plate, $2.99, sterling footed bowl, $1.99. Hell yeah Goodwill! My apartment would look like crap without you!

PS - I second the backstory on that Maserati! I gotta hear this!

I got two framed, signed Ansel Adams prints for $6 each at a thrift store, and sold them on eBay for just over $6,000. Score! Happy me, and two thrilled buyers. Win, win.

I bought a Noguchi replica table from the 60's for 50$ from a 75 year old lady who was selling her house and found a tulip table for 25$ for my brother in law on Kijiji... I also found a couple of items at Value Villages around my area !

Perfect time to ask -- does anyone have a suggestions for a good deal on Louis Ghost chairs? They're way out of my budget, so I did the if-you're-still-obsessed-with-them-a-few-years-from-now test. And I am.

Told my grandma's friend I loved her archo lamp... told me I could have it for free if I would move it. The base was too heavy for her to lift.

Curtis jere birds in flight sculpture for 15 at a garage sale.

What great deals! BTW - would love to see more pictures of the room above! Dying to see what that dinning room table looks like and that fireplace! :)

An original 1960s Knoll tulip table with mahogany top, for free: someone left it in a dumpster in an empty part of the office building I worked in, so I moved it into my office, and then got permission to take it with me when our team was laid off.

I bought an Eileen Gray glass and chrome side table for $30 at an antique barn.

My favorite recent find was my Le Creuset oval dutch oven in red for $10. No chips, in perfect condition. I've been coveting this item forever, and now it's mine. :) Also got an authentic black leather Coach purse in terrific shape for $1. It was a good yard sale day :)

I got a Gucci skirt and top from their first women's wear offerings from 1961 for $5 at a thrift store.

First Edition "Of Mice and Men" in good condition for $5 at a flea market.

I got a fabulous Dunbar sofa off Craigslist for $100. It does desperately need to be reupholstered, but at least the cushioning is solid as ever. Sprung seat cushions with down over them and all-down back cushions. It's awesome!

I also, long ago, paid $5 for a framed black and white photograph of the restaurant at the LA Airport that sort of looks like a spaceship - if you saw it, you'd know what I'm talking about - at Goodwill. It was obviously taken in the 1960s (cars parked around it all from that era) and it is signed on the mat, but I have no idea what the signature says. It's probably not anything famous or valuable, but it is an exquisite photograph, and such luck to find it.

george smith sofa on cl for $400- woo!

I bought 2 orange Overman chairs from a junk shop for $40. An antiques dealer came in after me (had to go home and empty car to pick them up) and offered $200 a piece. I have seen them on auction sites for $800 and up. they are may favorit pieces. They look like this, http://www.flickr.com/photos/momoderne/2947519299/

I used to have that exact same coffee table as in this photo - an old boyfriend's parents had given it to us because they no longer liked it. Unfortunately, the day we moved into our new apartment, the couch tipped over and shattered all the glass. I should have just replaced the glass but somehow the base became something else...

best find though was a full set of Drexel Heritage Profile dining set - like this: http://www.metroretrofurniture.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?item=8444&cameFrom=0

Some guy had it in a trailer heading for the dump and I saved it. This set sold for $6k on the metro retro site.

I got a set of 5 1960s Domus Danica chairs (like this: http://www.warehouse414.com/seating/domus-danica-danish-modern-dining-chairs-teak/1109) for $25. Total, not each. The wood needed sanding and oiling, but otherwise they are amazing.

Where I'm from (The Netherlands) we have 1 day a year (Queensday) where the entire country turns into one giant fleemarket. Last Queensday I found:
a giant vintage Scheurig vase for €2,- (sells at the local design store for €350)
a NEW Valentino suit for €5, in MY FRIGGING SIZE!! (sells for €1000)
and 3 lamps from the old Amsterdam Library (Amsterdamse School style) for €80 (are worth €1500)

Found LOTS more treasures at thrift stores, fleemarkets and in dumpsters over the years

*Scheurich

Two wishbone chairs for $150 total. Not the $10 deal but it still brings a smile to my face.

Dyrlund rosewood dining table with 2 leafs and 6 Niels Koefoed Eva chairs (rosewood too) in mint condition for 1100$ on Kijiji.

Giant Dresser from when the Victoria Secret near Lincoln Center closed. The whole thing is on casters, has gorgeous lucite pulls, and lucite fronts for each drawer. Came with drawer dividers for bras, but works for ties, socks, jewelry etc...
And it was free, ditched on the street.

These posts are inspiring!

I bought a billboard size "Gone With the Wind" movie poster circa 1950's that is so rare I can't even give it a value because there is nothing to compare it to. The art is completely different from any of the poster variants you usually see -- it has classic scenes from the movie with little captions and is all in warm sepia tones. Anyone know? I love it no matter the value, I'm just curious.

I bought my coffee table from a rug shop that was going out of business 7 years ago. I hassled the guy for almost an hour until he let me have it for $40 instead of $160.... He just wanted to get rid of me. I don't know who made it (it's beyond gorgeous, brass and glass) but I've seen identical ones at high end shops priced between $2K-5K. My father offered me a thousand dollars for it but I truly love it too much to part with it.

My other find was during my early days on Ebay... I used to intentionally misspell things to find auctions that wouldn't get much attention. I found a vintage "opel" (opal) ring, set in gold, from an estate sale that I got for $110. It's been valued at $15,000... the gold alone is worth almost $800 now but the incredible orange mexican fire opal is one of a kind.

Heywood Wakefield dresser and mirror on Craigslist for $60. I knew what it was the minute I saw the photo and ran right out to get it. Sure enough, the mark was in the drawer - but I didn't even look til I got it home, as I didn't want to be obvious!

An Eames DCM chair in blue - FREE because it was going to be thrown away or donated in a huge renovation. (I have another one at my desk waiting to come home too.)

Possibly a Heywood Wakefield end table for $50 at the Sunday flea market, if it's still there this Sunday...

They're not designer quality, but I did find an Ikea Malm dresser, Lack bookcase and an entertainment center - 2 at the dumpster, 1 in my apartment building within a 6 month period. All are perfect and I am very proud of them. Of course all free!

At the bankrupcty dale of an old-line hotel in Peoria, I picked up--for $15--a bolt of 1955 fabric Frank Lloyd Wright designed for Schumacher. A few years later, a few blocks away I found another bolt of the same fabric in a different colorway at the Salvation Army. Eight dollars, this time. But I didn't collect midecentury design, so I gave the stuff to the Art Institute.

And at the Peoria Goodwill, I picked up for $125 a handsome dining set in blonde mahogany, whose designer, in the dark pre-Internet days, I was unable to document, so that I reluctantly left it behind when I moved to Chicago. Since then, I've discovered my original hunch was right: it was a Robsjohn-Gibbings design. Oh, well. Win some, lose some.

2 matching vintage Westnofa Siesta chairs for $30 total!

I got our awesome dining table on ebay for $100--and shipping (from CA!) was $25 on Greyhound. It's beautiful...though I don't know who designed or made it. It had always been associated with a set of Gazelle chairs...my theory is that someone had it made by a local CA craftsman to go with their chairs.

wow, these are impressive stories! i need to step my game up!

just this past weekend I scored a Herman mid-century modern expandable slat bench for $100 from a consignment shop that opened just down the street from me (where they also had a gorgeous pair of Eames chairs that I'm praying will still be there this weekend, after I get paid >_>)

2 vintage original cherner for plycraft armchairs (the pretzel ones) for $50. (by far my favorite chairs and proudest CL moment)

Found an Eileen Gray Side Table at Goodwill for $10.

I got a set of mint in box souvenir Seattle World's Fair tumblers for 99 cents on Ebay (plus shipping, natch). The listing has spelling errors in it so I think it escaped notice. I believe they retail at a store in my neighborhood for something like $150, though that is probably on the spendy side. I love them!

Holy crikey such good finds here. In my town all the shop owners/managers go online first to find out what things are worth, if they are worth anything they go to a silent auction so not much chance of finding anything worth money. Wish I lived in a town where people put things out on the street, nothing at all like that happens in our town.......sadly

On a recent early Saturday morning I went to a favorite thrift store and snatched a fabulous midcentury desk lamp in mint condition. It set me back a wopping $7....made my year! That just doesn't happen as often as it used too!
Goes to show, the early bird usually has a better chance at the bargains!

(2) Ingmar Relling for Westnofa Flex Chairs for FREE - left on the street. I sold them on Craigslist for $500. They were in great condition, but I didn't have room for them.

Also found a DUX teak recliner on the street - I'm currently refinishing the teak and then it will get reupholstered. This one's a keeper. Based on internet research, they seem a bit rare. I think once it's refinished, it will be worth in the $800-1200 range.

Teak credenza Nils Jonsson credenza purchased at Salavation Army thriftshop in Toronto for $39.99, over $2,000 on 1stdibs last year. Now home to a lovely flatscreen and artwork.

mid century rope chair $12.99
handful of mcm dressers $15-$75
mcm side chairs $6-$20
mcm upholstered pink chair $4
vintage dock dolly(coffee table) $15
2 eames fiberglass dining chairs $20
mcm cabinet-$8
2 mcm tv tables $4 each

....i could go on and on...

I've gotten most of my dream kitchen appliances from yard sales, thrift stores, and cl. A VitaMix blender with 2 extra containers for $6, a Simac pasta maker and a Tassimo coffeemaker for $5 each, a brand new Champion juicer for $20, a 4 slice Dualit toaster for $35, and an almost new pumpkin-colored KitchenAid stand mixer for $100.

I bought a pair of vintage General Fireproofing metal barrister bookcases for $75 each through craigslist. I've seen them selling for ten times that. Recently I sold on eBay a vintage enameled saucepan, designed by Finnish designer Seppo Mallat, for $125 to someone in Japan. I paid $5 for it at a thrift shop.

A rare Roseville Pauleo tree vase for $68.00 at the Alemany flea market in SF. I am not particularly into Roseville, and I did not know what it was at the time; I just liked it. I have seen a few (a very few) listed on Ebay and art pottery sites, for like $1,200.

http://images.cloud.worthpoint.com/wpimages/images/images1/1/1206/17/1_5ed6ac94cb2651a564b4f370ac9b1cd3.jpg

Well, I don't know how to post these links, but if you are interested in what it looks like, you can google Roseville Pauleo Tree Worthpoint

My favorite find is an eames fiberglass chair bought from someone's front yard for 5 dollars. They weren't having a yard sale but there was stuff all over the front yard. I love my hometown!
I also bought a great mid century brass tea table for 4 dollars and I have seen my 85 dollar spider leg dining table for 5000 dollars on first dibs. It doesn't have a label, but I don't care.

My best find is a vintage WWII era hope chest in my uncle's attic. I still need to spruce it up. But seriously, I need to troll more thrift stores!

Finding it is half the fun!

I scored a Tell City Chairs dining chair (just one) on Freecycle. beautiful condition and I am sitting on it as I type.
It's Carved Rose #4526 in Mahogany on eBay currently for $143.00

A DUX Folke Ohlsson mid-century modern sofa for $49; a Heywood-Wakefield full-size bedframe-headboard & footboard, and 4 drawer dresser and highboy dresser with desk mid-center drawer for $120 .

I found a Bertoia diamond chair for $5 at a garage sale a few years ago, a little rusty but still in great shape. Also an Iittala Alto vase for $5.

My husband found a Fender Strat for $10 at a San Francisco garage sale, in Pac Heights no less! It works great (evidently) and now he's in love with it. So what if there are 10 other guitars in his office gathering dust -- and they cost more than $10!

estate sale - a swedish blown glass marbro lamp (five feet tall) for $200. later appraised at $2k.

a enormous collection of russell wright at an antique shop, about 50 pieces in all for $80

a le crueset grill pan for $10 at an antique mall

c. jere wall sculpture for $40 bucks on ebay

nelson slat bench on the curb - living in (soon to be designated historical) 50's 'hood in Houston, FTW!

I scored an original Cherner chair out the dumpster behind my apartment. It needs some work but I figure I can get it fixed for less than what a knock-off would cost me. I also picked up a gorgeous teal velvet sofa for $200 at an antique store that was going out of business. Not uber cheap, but I certainly couldn't have found anything with that sort of personality on a student budget.

Question for those of you who have found these great deals: were you in an isolated or rural or (forgive me) less worldly area? I'm in a major urban centre and I can't imagine the shop owners/sellers letting such amazing items sneak out for a song. But maybe I'm just not lucky enough or determined enough!

Free Adrian Pearsall / Craft Associates sofa from an estate sale.
$50 Milo Baughman sofa from Goodwill.
$75 pair of Bertoia Diamond chairs from a front porch.
$175 for four Bertoia Side chairs from craigslist.
$35 Heywood Wakefield M304G Side Table (Mint) from an antique mall.

Yesterday - $20 for four Paul McCobb Perimeter dining chairs that need new caning and some cleanup from the Goodwill.

Mr. Modtomic

Kind of a small thing, but five Heath Ceramics bowls for $5 (usually they are about $30 apiece). Of course now I want an entire Heath set to go with my garage-sale find.

I got a Broyhill Sculptra desk at Salvation Army for $45. Got an offer to buy at $325 on Craigslist.. haven't parted with it yet.

Paid $30 for two eames low side tables on CL, their retail price is about $400 total. not in the best condition, but a little elbow grease and they are looking fine.

I've found lots of clothes, but not so much furniture. I did get an Adrian Pearsall chair (and I didn't know it at the time) for $20. I also got a Pearsall table (still didn't know who he was) for $30.

An Art Deco china cabinet made from a fragrant tropical wood called narra - it's so rare now that it's illegal to cut it down. $100, from a woman who was moving overseas and bitterly regretted not being able to take it with her.

And probably my best-ever ebay score, an antique rose gold opal necklace for $75. It has two honking big black Australian opals that are probably worth $2k each.

My entire house (except for mattresses and pieces of IKEA) came from thrift stores (my wardrobe, too)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/k2yhe/

i paid only $400 for a 6 seater Chinese Chippendale dining suite (including the two carvers), with high quality Sanderson linen upholstery on Australia's eBay. when we picked up the suite, the lady (who'd owned it for near 15 years) begrudgingly told us a few days after the auction, she'd seen the carver chairs in a "designer store" for over $650 each!

one day it's going to be painted...

and i scored a pretty green polkadot Diana ware baking dish (normally goes for more than $80 on eBay) for $6 at the local St Vincent de Paul's.

10 years ago I bought a pretty black and white espresso set at a flea market in Pisa, Italy for about the equivalent of $25 USD. I was eBaying one day and discovered the same set for auction with a high bid of $800. I took some pics and listed mine for $1200 using Buy It Now. It sold about 20 minutes later. I used the money to take another trip to Italy and was hoping to do the lather, rinse, repeat thing but had no such luck. If you ever find a complete set of illy signed, dated and numbered Spirali espresso cups and matching saucers buy them. I've heard that if I had held on to them they would be worth about $2500 now.
My example was just dumb luck. I'm in awe of all of you who find something and know what it is and what the real worth might be when you do. Great job everyone!

Two signed Henry Moore lithographs for ten cents each.

"I bought my coffee table from a rug shop that was going out of business 7 years ago. I hassled the guy for almost an hour until he let me have it for $40 instead of $160.... He just wanted to get rid of me."

Well. That sounds more than a little obnoxious, and is why I refuse to haggle. Seriously, since when is behavior like that something to be proud of?

@_gourmista_: doubt it. I live in Oklahoma City and the stuff people around here have a) paid money for, b) "decorated" their homes with, and c) are now asking actual money for would absolutely horrify you. 99.999% crap, occasionally something good, but not great. You could look every day for YEARS before finding what you want in reasonably decent-looking form.

2 broyhill brassila commodes for 20$ Try and buy them online and youre look at 500!

paigep, good to know! I have a Brasilia dining set that I want to sell when I find something else. I didn't realize it was in such demand.

I found two Eames Eiffel chairs with orange leather covers at a yard sale. I talked them down to 50 dollars. In all places, this was in Talladega, AL on a 4 lane road. I was travelling at 65 plus miles an hour and the orange called out to me, Ha!!

Last summer we bought a Wegner sofa, GE-236 in oak, in excellent original condition for about 100 USD (700 sek). And a couple of years ago I bought a Kay Bojesen oak hippo for about 5 USD. Also in as new condition. Both were goodwill finds.

I bought a 36"inch saarinen table with four chairs for $650 off craigslist.

I got a rolling, foldover tumi bag new for $20 at a garage sale.

I got 4 wool chairs (wish I knew the origin) from Urban Nest on their last day in business. Originally $2400 for the set, I got them for $800.

Oh, and I also snagged a pair of Gucci sunglasses for $2 at an Austin goodwill.

I found my Gucci outfit in Pittsburgh, but my understanding is that the mid-size and smaller cities in the midwest are goldmines. Apparently, all of the vintage furniture sellers make periodic treks there to raid their thrift shops.

found a Jonathan Adler bamboo Chippendale chair for $4 at a Good Will in Denton, Texas!

I bought a queen sized Honduran Mahogany Rice Bed at a divorce sale for $400. My latest purchase was a set of Versace China, a service for 8 with all the serving pieces in the Red Medusa pattern for $1000 on Craigslist. The china would have cost about $6000 at retail.

@_gourmista

i live in brooklyn, new york. "pickin'" is extremely tough out here, and bargains are not easy to come by. usually the further away from the city i get, the better the deal.

also to note, there's a lot of competition out here too... the truly amazing deals on CL are usually gone within the first 15 minutes of the ad being posted.

6 Mahogany Sheildback chairs @ thrift store for $36 total!

I got my hands on 33 zenith parchment color Eames stacking shells for $50 a few years ago. A score of a LIFETIME!

I love this topic. The best scores I've gotten are my expandable Danish Modern slat wood bench (not sure who it is by) for $14, a Heywood-Wakefield side table for $2.98, two huge very nicely framed vintage airbrushed florals from 1939 for $10, a Hermes scarf for 69 cents and probably lots more I can't think of right now. I've also passed up some good stuff too but I don't fret about it anymore.

I scored a Curtis Jere sculpture in a flea market recently for 20 bucks!

I'm going to be a big bragasarous now. After reading this post I realized I just bought a Paul McCobb Planner Group cane back club chair for $35!! It's going for $2,000 on 1st dibs! Eek!
Consignment store in a small town in southern Indiana. Love it. Any suggestions from anyone on appraising and selling it?

Knoll Saarinen executive side arm chair on casters with boucle upholstery. Picked it up on Craigslist for $35. Not sure if it's a real Saarinen because it doesn't have the open back, but in all other respects it looks just like the open-back one and there's a Knoll certificate attached to chair bottom.

My best find was actually my leather style bed which i didn't pay anything for. It was a actually a street find.

http://styledbywolfe.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/house-re-decoration-bedroom/

Louis Ghost chair by Kartell for $5 at St. Vincent's. Makes me happy EVERY time I see it!!!

Roycroft cigarette box at a thrift shop for $8.

wow, what a great post! i loved reading about everyone's excellent finds! so many great ones! i live in pittsburgh and it is definitely true that midwestern cities (and surrounding towns) are a great place for bargains! my best furniture finds:
2 Hans Wegner Papa Bear Chair Ottomans for $5 each from Goodwill (sadly there were no armchairs to be found)
a Milo Baughman chrome & lacquer campaign desk for $60 from Craigslist
a mid-century walnut expandable slat bench for 40 or 50 (can't remember if i talked him down :) ) from Craigslist
and not to one-up co-captain, but also a pristine Kent Coffey walnut "Tableau" bedroom set (tall dresser, mirror, low wide dresser & 2 nightstands) for $100 from the sweetest woman on Craigslist who also filled up my car with other (free!) treasures from her late parents' house to help me furnish my first apartment out of college.

I'm still trippin' off of the $80 radioriot paid for the Eames lounger and ottoman. Am I the only one envious about that? Talk about deal of the century.

A blue wool covered Thonet chair in perfect condition at Goodwill for $8.Later I saw it's twin in need of recovering at the local vintage store for $125.

I haven't been through all 155 comments so this may have already been said. I would have found this post a degree more inspiring if for each great find the location was included.

In what city, state or country, if outside the US, was your great deal found?

I guess I am hoping to find out that great deals still can be had in the NY metro area.

It's one thing bagging a bargain off Ebay, CL, or from Goodwill. Quite another getting stuff off elderly relatives/acquaintances without at least first checking they are aware of the potential value of said items (I'm thinking of the Eames lounger and arco lamp, specifically), and I certainly wouldn't boast about such 'bargains'.

@lolax
the saarinen executive armchair also came in a closed back version, so if it's got the knoll label, it's the real deal

@mewindow
deals are harder to come by in the ny metro area, but they are still out there. just need to have some luck and good timing on your side.

I'm deliriously happy to say that I just purchased the Portica *canopy* bed (in queen!) from Room and Board for only $410 off Boston Craigslist. Seller originally had it at 5, but she had to move soon and deducted the cost of a craiglist mover from the price! I almost lost the bed to other sellers, too! Now off to lovingly polish and christen my new baby...

hmmm i love thrift stores estate and garage sales but I have NO idea what I am buying, everything I buy is deal to me because I love the item I am getting as far as what it is who made it and such I usually have no idea...

I did however get an Oscar de larenta scarf at a church "store" for a dollar
a flat file from an estate sale for 39 dollars metal base with wood drawers (heart love heart!)
at the same sale I got an old wooden ladder for 8 bucks, with beautiful metal fittings on it says ace nicholson pa on the metal fittings.
an old art portfolio that contained 4 pages of news paper (had illustrations on it hence it was saved) from 1893 for free. The articles are amazing to read.
I also scored an old world map with the double globe that looks gilded and is beautifully framed .. for free.
the list goes on and on and on but I am particularly proud of those finds and a hundred more but it's too long to list and I have no idea if they are "worth" anything to anyone other than me simply because I love them and wanted them.

and I am one of those people who find awesome stuff for free a lot .. you just have to know what to look for.

ah and I am from syracuse ny which is upstate ny and no i'm not near NYC it's like 5 hours away

Has anyone here ever purchased anything from 1stDibs? I'm wondering because a LOT of people like to use it as a comp. (I saw one just like mine on 1stDibs for $$$$$) but is it GOOD comp.? A better (though not perfect) comp. is to look at the Completed Listings on eBay. That I think is a little closer to what you're likely to realize if you were to sell your piece. Even then one has to temper their expectations with a dose of reality. Being in St. Louis means that I'm less likely to get Top eBay Dollar for the same item as someone in LA. BTW, you have to have access to an eBay account to look at completed listings. It's the only reason I actually have one.

Mr. Modtomic

The best "you paid WHAT for that?!" second hand scores in my home are a matted, framed and signed artist's proof of Nagel's "Dyansen 57" that I bought from the SE Portland, OR Salvation Army for $5 (it had been $10, I hit a half off sale) and a 1972 Lane nightstand with rosewood handles and inlay on oak burl laminate for $10 at the Goodwill in Seattle's Central District, both items in perfect condition.

It's so inspiring to read about everyone else's thrifted treasures!

These types of things always depress me as I have never been able to score ANYTHING. Once someone gave me a pair of Gucci shoes for free but they were 3 sizes too small for me. Obviously I am the odd man out on this thread.

Found an oc white lamp for $5. Just needs to be rewired.
Mom bought me two Eames eiffel tower shell chairs for $1 each.
Mint condition 19th century oak bushel basket for 25 cents. **Love this basket**
Paul Rand "Thoughts on Design" with original dust jacket for $1.

oh yeah, forgot to mention that I found a pair of Heywood cat-eye chairs on the street that I saved from an oncoming storm. Wanted to keep them but I don't have any room. Sold them on CL for far less than their worth. Also found a Thonet tubular chrome chair on the street that I have considered recovering - but might just sell on ebay. 1stdibs has them listed as $3500/set of 4 but I only have one.

I have been fortunate in occasionally finding cool objects. Some of my interesting finds from flea markets, thrift shops, and just driving around include a unique Georges Braque enamel charger from 1950 for $50.00 that sold for $26,000. A Nadar photograph taken in the Paris Catacombs in 1861 one of the first underground photographs ever made 1 of 6 prints known to exist in the world at the time I bought it at a small local flea market for $2.00., a five piece suite of Warren McArthur furniture from a Thrifty Nickel for $100. A DC-3 1944 double passenger aircraft seat by Warren McArthur off the front porch of a house I drove by one day, ...a pair of 1854 Tommaso Cuccioni albumen panoramas of the Roman Forum each image measuring 66" across- triple mammoth plates at a flea market.....a Robsjohn Gibbings Dining Table free on Craigslist it had been listed for $50.00 for two months and no one in NYC had bought it.. The original entrance desk to the Guggenheim Museum designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for less than $100 trade . there is a lot out there, enjoy the search.

Just yesterday I bought a 6 vinyl cushion Heywood Wakefield sofa off CraigsList for $40! The only thing wrong with it is the straps need to be replaced. I still am yet to find out what year it was made.

I would love to read all of these finds... but i've got to scour craigslist now, and make a run to goodwill. :)

My fav... Adrian Pearsall walnut & glass table for $15 at Goodwill. Talked down from $20!