Anthony Harper, the school's lead researcher, says the key to getting meaningful survey results that antique and vintage businesses can actually use to help plan their inventory and buying strategies for the upcoming year is based on receiving actual sales data, alongside item-specific requests from buyers, which can then be used to indicate interest within a particular collecting genre. ​

​New York - Thrift stores, flea markets, second-hand stores, and garage sales have long been known as treasure troves for those seeking valuable and unique items. Despite the perception from many that these places only offer worn-out and past-their-prime goods, they often contain hidden gems that can hold considerable value, especially as baby boomers continue to divest themselves of goods and chattels in larger and larger numbers. For those in the antique and vintage business, many of these locations have long been a staple of supply when it comes to stocking up on their inventory. However, for an increasing number of dealers, 'recent finds' have made the trek to many of these venues all the more worthwhile, with some claiming multiple once-in-a-lifetime scores now happening on a far more frequent basis than in the past.

For Karen Dowd, who works as a realtor in an upmarket rural area just outside of Boston, part of her business involves estate liquidations that can be required in order to finalize sale conditions for a home. Dowd says that over the past few years she's seen an incredible uptick in the number of baby-boomers who want to downsize quickly, with as little 'muss-and-fuss' as possible. "They're often in a rush to get into something smaller," she says, "and that can sometimes lead to them disposing of items en mass without a lot of consideration for what they're letting go of..." Dowd says that she helps as many of her clients as possible to keep family heirlooms from her exit-sales, but laments that many of them just want to be rid of the extraneous baggage, while others are simply 'okay' with whatever she can get for the goods. While Dowd acknowledges that she's no expert in antique and vintage items, and that her sales are just an added feature she offers her clients to help expedite their move, she also knows that plenty of undervalued items have slipped through the cracks. "I've sold numerous jewelry box-lots at sales that I'm sure probably had some legitimate gems in them, but like anything else, it just comes down to time," she says, "especially with so many boomers now listing and selling their homes." Dowd believes that for every sale she conducts today, almost half are probably not vetted as thoroughly as she'd like. "Five years ago we would have labelled and priced every single item, today, I'm lucky to do three-quarters of that - people are getting deals, there's no question about it." 

In order to understand why many in the decorative arts industry are claiming witness to the rising prevalence of undiscovered treasures in second-hand locales, you need look no further than the current data and history behind it, says Terry Wolmack, a leading analyst for online Estate Sale Listing companies. "It's important to understand the demographics behind the boomer phenomenon," he says, "this generation still constitutes a significant portion of the population, and as they enter their retirement years or downsize their homes, many are finding themselves overwhelmed with the task of decluttering and divesting possessions accumulated over their lifetime. This process often leads them to donate or sell items that may hold hidden value." As a result, says Wolmack, second-hand stores, flea markets, thrift stores, and garage sales have once again become prime hunting grounds for dealers not only seeking out more common inventory, but also for those rare and unique items that may have gone unnoticed by those presenting the sale. Wolmack noted that the main complaint he now gets most frequently on his quarterly survey-questionnaire to estate sale liquidators, is that they simply can't cope with the volume of goods they're having to divest, and the sorting process that goes along with it - especially when it's a boomer sale. Wolmack says that a lot of clients who use estate sale service websites as part of their business are acutely aware of the fact that it's also not just a capacity issue when it comes to understanding the fine print, but a knowledge issue as well. "If you don't have a good working background in antique and vintage items, then steals-and-deals are going to happen," says Wolmack, "it's just a function of how the marketplace works."​ 

Carla Neal, a dealer and reseller on Etsy and OfferUp, believes that technological advancements are also playing a crucial role in the increasing prevalence of hitting the jackpot at many of these venues. "The advent of online platforms, such as eBay, Craigslist, and other online marketplaces, has revolutionized the way people buy and sell used goods," says Neal. "Baby-boomers, who are typically less tech-savvy than younger generations, often rely on more traditional methods of selling their belongings. Consequently, valuable items that could find a massive market online may end up at local thrift stores or garage sales instead." Neal says this creates an opportunity for astute buyers to uncover significant treasures that may have gone unnoticed by other sellers or enthusiasts. "I tend to scour the older boomer neighborhoods for garage and estate liquidation sales," she confides, "it's where I've made some truly outstanding finds." Neal says that on one particular outing recently, she came across a mid-century home that was heading to market, with the owners wanting to dispose of the chattels in a rushed curbside sale. "It was all the original furnishings and decorations from the mid-50s," she says, "I literally bought them out of house-and-home." However, Neal also believes that another factor influencing the greater number of 'super-finds' now occurring within the market is simply related to age. "The older people get, the less concerned they seem to be with possessions - it's of less value to them than time - and consequently they're often willing to let things go for far less than market value," she says.

Sometimes it's just first-hand experience that leads to this conclusion, as Darla Hendricks discovered, when visiting her parents while helping them transition into a retirement home across the pond in England. "I'm actually in the antique business," said Hendricks, "so finding out that my parents, who were both prolific collectors of Art Nouveau throughout their lifetimes, were going to just give away most of their collection to charity stores came as a bit of a surprise to me." Hendricks says that she arrived just in time to stop the pick-up, and that while she couldn't afford the cost to ship the entire collection back to the States for herself, she was able to wrangle a deal with a number of local antique dealers for many of the better pieces. "They weren't being taken advantage of," she says, "it's just that they couldn't be bothered at their age with a complicated disposal process." Hendricks also recounted that many of the English antique dealers that she spoke with were also of the mind that a lot of good examples from long-held collections were starting to come onto the market. "I'm not sure if it's just the last generation of baby-boomers relinquishing their collections, or something else," said Hendricks, "but you definitely had the sense that many of these dealers were looking to buy entire collections, and were willing to pay top-dollar (or Pound) for them."

For many in the industry, the baby-boomer generation is often seen as possessing items from periods that are considered retro or vintage by younger individuals. These items not only carry historical value but also represent a cultural and sentimental connection to the past. Younger generations, seeking to decorate their living spaces with unique and distinctive pieces, are drawn to these venues in the hopes of stumbling upon hidden gems that hold not only a personal nostalgia, but that can also lead to a substantial collectors value. Terry Wolmack perhaps best summarizes the theory by noting that, "It's understood that remaining boomer's are likely to have the choicest decorative arts collections in the world, so it's only natural that in those attic spaces and garage-wall storage shelves, you're also likely going to come across some of the best 'finds' in the world as well." 

- A.I.A. Staff Writers
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