The Ultimate Guide to Thrifting in Baltimore

People who are into thrift shopping are really into it. But it can be a little intimidating to roll up to a yard sale or consignment shop without a plan. What should you look for? How much should you pay? When’s the best time to shop? If you think you’ve got an inner Thriftie inside you just waiting to come out, look no further. I gathered some inveterate thrifters—some pros, some dedicated amateurs—and asked them to share their best tips.

It’s 7:14 a.m. on a sweltering summer Saturday, and I’m sitting in the Vintage Van, aka thrifting pro Liz Riggieri’s silver Toyota minivan, in the driveway of her Catonsville home. As the air conditioning cools us down, Riggieri lets me in on the day’s plans.

“We’re going to look for sleeper sales first,” she says. These are yard sales that haven’t been well-advertised. And if not a lot of people know about them, there’s a better chance for “pickers,” as thrifting experts are sometimes known, to find treasures. “If you want to get the best items, you want to be first,” Riggieri explains.

Usually, she arrives 45 minutes before the sale even starts so she can be the first one, scrolling on her phone while she waits. (And some people even let her take an early peek at the sale items.) But here’s the catch: If that first sale is a “no go”—meaning it has nothing worth buying—she’s already late to the next one.

Such is the strangely competitive world of thrifting. But the risk is part of the fun.

Riggieri has been doing some variation of this every weekend for more than a decade—yard sales in the warm months and estate sales in the colder ones. “I’ll go to anything anytime.”

As we head to the first sleeper sale, Riggieri tells me how she made a list of sales be forehand by scouring everything from Craigslist to EstateSales.NET and using the yard sale app on her phone. Because Catonsville didn’t show any great sales, we’re heading to nearby Linthicum, where we’re hoping to find treasures in abundance.

Although Riggieri didn’t start professionally thrifting until she left the educational field to be a stay-at-home mom, her dad, Ron Check, has been buying and selling antiques for more than 50 years.

“I did like the things my dad brought home. I always thought they were really cool. He would have a shoebox full of strange little objects that he would teach me about,” says Riggieri. “I just never thought about doing it myself because I didn’t think that I knew enough to do it. I didn’t realize that you just have to start and try and fail and learn as you go.”

At the first yard sale of the day, Riggieri, sporting a light sleeveless black dress over animal-print leggings, immediately goes to work. (When I ask if the leggings pattern is leopard or cheetah, in true picker fashion, she replies, “I don’t know. But I got them at a thrift store for $8, and they’re Athleta—new they would’ve been about $90.”)

In the time it takes me to scope out what’s on the nearest folding table, Riggieri has found two watches, a Medici dish that matches a set she has at home that belonged to her great-grandmother, a 1950s tin she’s never seen before, a piece of hollowed-out driftwood, and a Tommy Bahama bag on wheels.

“One thing I do is make a pile. I’m going to ask the sellers to watch it for me, so my hands are free again,” she says.

Her crossbody purse and her strapped-on GoPro camera, which she uses to film items for her YouTube channel, FlippinLizzie, also keep her hands free. When I ask why she bought the driftwood, she says, “People love those for decorating.”

So, she’ll put it in one of the four booths she rents at the Antique Depot in Elliott City or in her Etsy store, Tiger Oak Vintage, to sell. She estimates that about 80 percent of what she buys is for resale.

Riggieri says she can tell a lot about the yard sale just by seeing how the merchandise is displayed. “If things aren’t priced, they’re going to be inexpensive,” she says. “But if you go to a really nice, neat yard sale, and it looks better than a store, you’re in trouble.”

She always waits for the seller to throw out a price for her pile. “I will not make an offer. I can’t. It would be like going to your favorite amazing steak restaurant, and they say, ‘How much do you want to pay for filet mignon?’” says Riggieri.

Today, the seller asked for $60, Riggieri countered with $50, and they settled on $55 for her entire stash.

If you’re looking for furniture, she says, yard sales and flea markets may not be your best bet—although it doesn’t mean you’ll never find those items. (I can attest, as decades ago I found a gorgeous acorn table at a flea market for only $40.)

Instead, Riggieri says that yard sales are the way to go for smaller home items and clothing. “You have motivated sellers, low prices, and a wide assortment of stuff,” she says.

When it comes to thrifting furniture, Melissa Garcia is an expert. For more than 17 years, she and her sister Lisa Hovis have coowned The Shabby Button, a consignment shop in Kingsville.

“People are looking for quality furniture—so they like older furniture because it was made better,” Garcia says.

Some shoppers thrifting for furniture know what clues to look for in quality pieces, such as a dovetail, considered the strongest type of joint. And Garcia suggests always opening the drawers.

“Make sure they’re on the track and not falling off. Sometimes older furniture has veneer on it. Be sure it’s not coming off unless you know how to repair it. Wobble the piece of furniture back and forth to see if it’s sturdy.” And don’t assume that just because a piece of furniture is heavy it’s first-rate. “Some furniture from the ’60s and ’70s is heavy, but it’s almost like particle board with a laminate top,” she says.

When buying second-hand furniture, Garcia stresses the one word all furniture shop pers need to live by—measure.

“You have to measure your space—know before you go. Even take pictures of the space where you want to put it,” she says.

You also need to act fast if you like a piece, as vintage has become more and more popular. Because if you wait, it will likely be gone when you return.

With older pottery, crystal, and china, Garcia says to check the condition of the item and look for any chips or flaws. “But if you love it, and it speaks to you, buy it.”

Garcia notes that there are trends in vintage furniture just like there are trends in contemporary furniture.

“[Right now,] a lot of people are buying mirrors that are in gilded frames,” she says. Then they are either keeping the original gold or painting it black or some other fun color.

But be warned, these aren’t Target mirrors. “Check the weight of it because if it’s heavy, you may need to hang it with anchors.”

“Look on the back of the piece or pull out one of the drawers. Sometimes [a stamp or written ticket] will be on the back of the drawer or on the inside front left or right—it usually lists the maker and the year it was made.”

While Riggieri and Garcia are professional thrifters, Edgewood’s Terri Knachel-Warner thrifts for fun—but that doesn’t mean she takes the task any less seriously. Her go-to spots for furniture are Ryan’s Relics and Metzger’s Auction Service.

“I have a thing for 1920s and 1940s furniture,” she says. “I check if it’s good construction. A lot of times, older pieces are stamped, or they have a written ticket. Look on the back of the piece or pull out one of the drawers. Sometimes this will be on the back of the drawer or on the inside front left or right—it usually lists the maker and the year it was made.”

Knachel-Warner loves thrifting for many reasons. “It’s definitely pocket-friendly, especially in this economy. Plus, you find stuff that is better made and has lasted so long.”

Pieces like that are worth saving, she says, “If you’ve got a good base, you can always paint it or change it up a bit.”

Roland Park resident Amy Giggey has been thrifting since she was a teen shopping for clothes at Value Village and Veterans Warehouse. And while she still does her fair share of in-person furniture buying at local consignment stores, these days, a lot of her purchases are made online at places like Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor, and even auctions.

If an online auction sounds intimidating, Giggey is here to assuage your fears. She points out that local auctioneer Alex Cooper has something called a Railroad Crossing Discovery Auction where items can start as low as $20.

Some of her scores include a dining room table from the 1800s for $200, some A. Aubrey Bodine photographs, and a shaving mirror from the Potthast Brothers of Baltimore.

Giggey stresses that you should go into an auction knowing how much you’re willing to spend on any given item. “Because it can get very competitive,” she says. She also suggests that if you buy something through Facebook Marketplace or Nextdoor, you should actually talk with the people who are selling. Not just to assure that they’re legit, but because sometimes the conversation can lead to an unexpected windfall.

A few years ago, Giggey was purchasing outdoor furniture from a woman who was moving to a condo. The woman mentioned in passing that she had all this antique furniture that she couldn’t sell because no one wanted it. She ended up giving it to Giggey and her husband—at no charge.

“That’s part of the fun of it all—getting the deal,” says Giggey. “I love getting beautiful items for such a great price.”

And sometimes that even means for free.

Eighteen Great Local Spots to Get Your Thrift On

2ND AVENUE THRIFT SUPERSTORE
Columbia, Middle River, and more locations

ANTIQUE DEPOT
Ellicott City

CONSIGN BY DESIGN
Timonium

CORNERSTONE ANTIQUES, CONSIGNMENTS & NEW HOME FURNISHINGS
Timonium

EDGEWOOD PRIME THRIFT STORE
Edgewood

GREAT FINDS & DESIGN
Timonium

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY RESTORES
Various locations

METZGER’S AUCTION SERVICE
Joppatowne

PIPPIN’S NEW AND USED THRIFT SHOP
Hampstead

RYAN’S RELICS
Nottingham

SAVERS
Various locations

SAVVY CONSIGNMENT
Severna Park

SECOND CHANCE
South Baltimore

THE SHABBY BUTTON
Kingsville

SHOPS AT HOME AGAIN FURNITURE
Timonium

TABITHA’S HOUSE
Fallston

THIS & THAT CONSIGNMENTS & GIFTS
Edgewood

WISHBONE RESERVE
Hampden