Saying we love vintage furniture is an understatement. Vintage furniture has history and quality that new pieces simply cannot replicate. Adding vintage pieces to your decor creates a rich layered exciting space full of interest and unique character. Aside from all the aesthetic advantages, vintage shopping is a fabulous sustainable way to furnish and decorate your home and support small business owners.

Oh yeah did we mention it’s fun? Well it is, no other shopping compares to the thrill of an old fashioned treasure hunt!

In an ideal world you would source vintage goods locally, but when that is not an option there are amazing resources online to explore.

So what are the secrets to finding awesome vintage wares? Well unfortunately there are no real “secrets”, but we do have some great suggestions to source vintage treasures and some tips for successful shopping.

Local Thrift Shops

Well you may know this already, but there really is no better place to scope for affordable vintage finds than local thrift shops. The things that people discard and donate are incredible and the prices are unbeatable. Best of all most thrift store support local charities.

The key to shopping at local thrift store is frequency, if you do not shop often someone else will be. And yes there will be times you go out and find nothing but then there are those magical days when the stars align and you are the one who lands the amazing deal on an incredible piece.

While you can find just about everything for your home thrifting, it is a particularly great way to collect items that you would otherwise not be able to invest in. Such as building a serving or bar ware collection. It is also a great way to find items to up cycle.

Flea Markets

If you are lucky enough to have an awesome local flea market, it is of course and amazing place to discover vintage goods. Depending on the city you live, flea markets can be quite affordable. The most exciting part of a great flea market is the dig. Even better it is often possible to negotiate with sellers on prices. So don’t be afraid to make an offer because you never know if you don’t ask.

Estate Sales

Estate sales are an incredible way to find lovely vintage goods. You can find local sales in the paper and online, a great online resource to find sales is estatesales.net. You can search sales by area code and even better you can also subscribe to alerts for certain key words if you really have your eye out for something. So say you are on the hunt for “mid century” goods you will get alerted to any local sales that mention that in the description.

As vintage decor has become more popular and more resale shops have cropped up, estate sales have become increasingly competitive in certain markets as independent dealers are shopping them too. As popularity has increased so have prices, so estate sales are not quite what they used to be.

The key to snagging the most exciting vintage finds at the sales is to show up really early. If you can’t make it early, have no fear, you would be surprised at the special pieces other people overlook. Oftentimes towards the end of sales pieces begin to get marked down and the ability to negotiate increases.

Local Antique or Vintage Shops

Recall competing with the pros estate sales? Well those amazing finds you missed are in their lovely shops or booths at antique malls. But of course sourcing vintage goods at local shops is a great way to support small businesses in your area. Shopping locally also means those items do not need to be shipped so it is a win win.

Like all vintage shopping you have to frequent shops as the assortment is constantly changing. The best part of shopping locally is forming a relationship with shop owners who will often let you know if a special piece you have been searching for becomes available.

EBTH.com

EBTH is short for Everything But The House, an online destination for auction style estate sales. The sales are local to cities offering local pickup but oftentimes shipping is available especially for smaller items. The best part about EBTH is the auction platform, so depending on the level of competition and bids of others it’s possible to score amazing deals on super unique pieces.

EBTH ranges from the accessible to the high end, with some sales being notable collections of furniture and antiques from around the country. You can choose to shop by sale or select specific categories you are interested in. To be successful in bidding it is best to watch items and set a limit of what you will pay. But beware because watching sales and placing bids can be a little addicting!

Chairish.com

Chairish is another online destination for vintage and antique goods. Chairish allows sellers from all over the country to sell in one place. You can narrow your search to local dealers with a local pickup option, but luckily you are not limited to only searching your area because all items can be shipped with some offering white glove delivery.

The site is very well organized and allows you to tailor your search much like a traditional shopping site. There is also a vast range of price points so there is truly something for anyone looking to add vintage touches to their home.

To be successful in your hunt on Chairish it is key to try many approaches to your searches, sometimes the best treasures are found on the site with the most unlikely keywords. But again beware because perusing the amazing assortment available can make hours disappear.

1stDibs

1stDibs is another online destination for vintage and antique pieces. At the high end of vintage and antique shopping 1stDibs offers an amazing collection of pieces from dealers all around the world. If you are looking for a specific vintage designer piece, 1stDibs would be a likely destination to find it.

Like most other online options shipping is available for items and searching on the platform is very well organized and easy to navigate. But beware prices are often elevated to offset the high cost of selling on the site. Pieces can often be found elsewhere online for less and it is important to know an items value before making a sizable investment. But the selection overall is truly astounding for any design enthusiast.

Etsy.com

Etsy is another way to connect with independent sellers of antiques and vintage wares. Much like the other sources Etsy takes a bit of digging and clever searches to find what you are looking for. Like local dealers, if you frequent an Etsy sellers shop and form a relationship it is possible they will notify you if a special item you are hunting becomes available. Etsy can also be a great way to peruse the offerings of local dealers online without even leaving your house.

Pro Tips:

If you are on the hunt and plan to make a significant investment in a piece, do you research before buying at a shop or online. It is important to know the items value and how to authenticate it. Even in reputable shops and sites fakes are sometimes overlooked and marketed as the real deal.
When shopping online try a variety of search terms, things are not always easily discovered.
If you’re really into the hunt frequent garage sales, you never know what someone may be getting rid of.