From wicker furniture to informal handmade quilts , these timeless items keep to score for trafficker in secondhand market .
Josh Grubbs | Interior interior designer : Heather Peterson
Spring cleaning is in full vacillation , which stand for you ’re organizing , decease through your closet , and clearing out your junk draftsman — but not everything take to go to the trash or contribution bin . The resale food market offers regular householder an opportunity to make money selling former , undesirable , or unused detail . As the adage goes , one soul ’s methamphetamine hydrochloride is another person ’s gem , ripe ? Whether you turn to Etsy , Facebook Marketplace , or auction , there ’s no shortage of ways to release your pre - loved items into Johnny Cash .
Credit:Josh Grubbs | Interior Designer: Heather Peterson
However , doing so is n’t always easy as posting something online and hope it sells . Like anything , the secondhand market experiences trends , and some items likely wo n’t interest any vendee , no matter how pretty your pic . Doing your inquiry , setting realistic expected value , and have it away what ’s worth betray versus what to donate are all essential steps before you depart listing your items for sale .
With over three decades of experience in antiques , collectibles , ok art , and appraisals worldwide , professional valuator Nora Curl knows a thing or two about valuation and thesecondhand market . She broke down the top six family of token worth the time and exploit to resell this year , plus how much you might expect from each .
Nora Curlis an Accredited Member of the International Society of Appraisers , laminitis of appraiseantiques.com , and a lead antiques and appraisal expert withJustAnswersince 2012 . She make out post - graduate studies at Christie ’s Auction House in London and spent over nine years immersed in the international art world scene in New York City .
Credit:Adam Albright
Adam Albright
1. Vintage Lighting
fit in to Curl , uniquevintage lightingalways sell quickly on the heart-to-heart junior-grade market place .
“ Vintage lamps that do not face like the cooky - cutter , mass - produced expressive style found in big box stores total a particular touch to make a home look curated over meter , ” she says .
As long as they ’re in good condition and workings orderliness , resale values can rate from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand . However , even lighting in non - running status can deal sometimes , especially if it ’s rare , old-fashioned , or custom . You ’ll get a big market of people concerned in these special pieces and willing to gift clip and money to reestablish them .
Credit:Brie Williams
Sell These:
Brie Williams
2. Authentic Wicker Furniture
We ’re not talking about the all - season , resin - based wicker piece of furniture you’re able to find in most every section shop here ( although you’re able to probably resell that too if it ’s in near condition ) . No , we ’re utter about theauthentic rattan wickerfurniture you inherited from your grandparent .
“ Wicker piece of furniture from the later 19th to mid-20th century is now ‘ smart ’ again in insert patio and three - time of year rooms , " Curl says . " It adds an aesthetic of nostalgia and is comparatively lightweight to move when time of year change . "
If your set is in unspoiled condition , you may expect to make a twosome hundred dollar mark . According to Curl , sealed brands can sell for up to $ 1,000 per set , look on the consideration and style .
Credit:Better Homes and Gardens / Jason Donnelly
Better Homes and Gardens / Jason Donnelly
3. Handmade Quilts
Those handmade quilts taking up place in yourlinen closetmay be worth more than you think . Nostalgia sell , and mass increasingly want to impart heat and grapheme to their place with these time of origin and handmade piece .
“ They are evolving as one - of - a - variety rampart decor , to be cling and admired as a patch of artistry , " Curl says . " Quilts , in good condition , can sell for under $ 50 and well into the thousands , depend on the age , style , origin , and design . "
IB_photo / Getty Images
Credit:IB_photo / Getty Images
4. Murano Glass
Murano glass , also known as Venetian glass , is another hot trade good on the secondhand and time of origin securities industry , according to Curl . This delicate , colorful glasswork was a popular collectable in the mid-20th century , found tucked away indisplay cabinets , never really to be used . As a solution , many hoi polloi have Murano glass collections that are in " like fresh " condition . The value can reckon on the case of slice , style , and the year it was made — but on average , Curl order you could have a bun in the oven to get from $ 50 to $ 200 per piece .
5. Vintage Wood Furniture
A few years ago , everythingmidcentury modernwas in demand , particularly vintage furniture . Now , vogue are lean more traditional , with classic , straightlaced - era blueprint come back into favor . Curl points to the popularity ofEastlake furniture : These chunky wood musical composition signaled a shift by from the intricate , high - relief designs of times past and were democratic from the late 1870s to the 1990s .
“ A willing buyer can spend a few hundred to a thousand dollar mark for timber pieces from that earned run average … and you will make a lump of tangible estate infinite back in your home , garage or attic , ” Curl says .
However , do n’t worry if you do n’t have any Rococo furnishings kicking around . While you may not get hundreds or thousands of dollars for more late pieces , vintage furniture is always a flourishing market . As long as your items are in good circumstance , attempt to sell them online is worth a jibe .
Credit: Hector M Sanchez
6. Framed Prints & Original Paintings
“ If the framed photographic print and paintings that you promised yourself you would hang on the wall one Clarence Shepard Day Jr. are still sitting on the floor in stacks , then it is time to relinquish them for sale on the grocery store , " Curl says . " There are always willing buyers for a undecomposed mark by a list artist or optic - catch original house painting . "
What you’re able to expect to make depends on : the print , dash , creative person , inning , and condition of the firearm . Doing your enquiry pays off , and remember that you ’re rarely going to make back what you primitively paid for it ( unless you have a rarefied photographic print or artwork in your possession ) . It ’s good than the spell pick up junk at the back of a water closet , though .
What’s Not Worth Selling in 2025
There are some token that , while sentimental , simply are n’t worth the time and labor to sell . If you happen upon these items during your spring cleaning , the better option is to donate them . Collector ’s platesrank high on this list .
“ You know the ones — perhaps your parents bought them monthly and annually from Bradford Exchange , Knowles , Franklin Mint , etcetera , " Curl says . " At that clock time , they were considered so precious that they remained seal in their original box shoved in a closet , attic , or bin in the cellar . "
Unfortunately , these “ modified variant ” aggregator ’s plate did not apprize in value the means your parent or grandparents expected . According to Curl , this is partly due to the fact that there ’s merely an surplus of them available , with little emptor requirement .
Credit: Erin Kunkel
Similarly , Curl saysfine china dining setsare also difficult to offload on the secondhand market . The way we dine and entertain has changed ( just think of how many multitude you know withformal dining way anymore ! ) , and in 2025 this leaves little room for passe sets and novelties like collectible serveware . For the same reason , dining furniture can also be knotty to sell — peculiarly full sets ( think : a dining table , chairman , sideboard buffet , and display cabinets ) . unluckily , this include that gorgeous vintage dining set your mom go down to you . Homeowners are manage with smaller dining space that act as everyday , multi - function room , which means full dining way readiness are becoming more and more disused .
Lastly , thoseprecious teddy figurinesand 1980s to early-2000sbisque porcelain head collector dollsthat have been sit down in the nook of your Ionic dialect ? Unfortunately , Curl laments they ’re destined for the donation bin .
“ What may have cost your parents a few hundred dollars to make your holidays and puerility milestone scintillation will no longer unhorse up your wallet with the passing of meter , ” she says .
While they may hold peculiar memories for you , there simply is n’t requirement for these form of items on the used market , meaning you ’ll waste cute time and Energy Department trying to sell them . If you ’re rub toclear out your space , the contribution megabucks is the best spot for them — take a few photos before let them go so you do n’t have to interest about forget them .
