Local thrift shops strike gold on eBay

By Natalie Singer
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Suzanne Philen, coordinator for the Mercer Island Thrift Shop, holds a book written and signed by Amelia Earhart that will be listed on eBay. Behind her is the "eBay cabinet" where high-end donations are stored.

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When Suzanne Philen spotted the author's name on a slim brown book dropped off at the Mercer Island Thrift Shop recently, her stomach jumped. When she opened the cover and saw the signature inside, she lost her breath. Amelia Earhart.

Philen, the coordinator for the nonprofit, knew this donation could be one of the big ones. She got a local bookseller to authenticate the work, and tomorrow will cross her fingers and place the first-edition print on the online auction site eBay.

The 1932 book, which could bring in $750 or more, is just the latest in a collection of high-end donations that are spelling pay dirt for local thrift shops now turning to online along with traditional in-house sales.

In many cases, the shift is in response to a growing threat: As the popularity of eBay soars, individual collectors are scouring thrift shops for valuable, underpriced items, buying them for next to nothing and then selling them on eBay for a big profit.

"There are things that go through here that we weren't seizing the opportunity on," Philen said. "Why should dealers make the money instead?"

View the book To view the Mercer Island Thrift Shop's signed copy of Amelia Earhart's "The Fun of It" starting tomorrow, or to bid for items from Seattle Goodwill, visit www.ebay.com

For nonprofit thrift shops, which often deal in 50-cent sugar bowls and $3 shoes, raising hundreds and even thousands of dollars on a single item is like landing a row of cherries on the slot machine. For example, recent eBay sales of local thrift-shop donations include:

• An antique sewing machine for $400.

• A Franklin Mint Monopoly game, with silver and gold houses and hotels, for $500.

• A home-theater projector system for $2,500.

Seattle Goodwill hired an eBay coordinator last year to make sure that valuable finds made their way online. It now has an eBay store where a few dozen items are posted for sale at any given time, said spokeswoman Alice Braverman.

"It's an opportunity to maximize revenue in a way we weren't always able to before in our stores," Braverman said. "Shoppers have become more sophisticated and we want to match that."

Seattle Goodwill also holds live auctions several times a year to target niche buyers. Other shops send jewelry to consignment shops and seek out private collectors on the Internet.

But, increasingly, shops are experimenting with eBay.

Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center's Redmond thrift store has begun using eBay to research items and estimate their value. Manager Tina McKimson then provides the research to in-store customers and gives them a chance to buy the items first.

The technique has helped her reap $171 for a Royal Doulton figurine, $1,200 for a heavy silver serving piece, and $10,000 for a 122-year-old quilt signed by President Rutherford B. Hayes, who died in 1893.

Thrift-shop managers say the stories behind the donations vary: Some high-end items are dropped off without any special notice from donors, leaving employees and volunteers to recognize — or overlook — their value. Other times, benefactors make special appointments to hand over treasures.

On Mercer Island, Philen, a former REI retail manager who oversees the thrift store, has been the driving force behind the eBay evolution. Three years ago she noticed a Quetzal vase that had been donated.

"We were just sorting through things and saw that it was signed and numbered," she said.

Curious, she decided to research the vase's value on eBay, even though she had no experience with the online seller. The result: the store got a whopping $2,000 for the vase.

Since then, Philen has taken a computer class and has brought the store, which brings in about $500,000 annually for city youth and family services, a long way. It is now computerized, and any of the 60 or so volunteers can research items on the Internet.

They're trying to recruit additional volunteers with expertise in fabrics, electronics, art and other areas to help spot potential windfalls.

In the back room, amid towering racks of donated electronic equipment, shadeless lamps and other overstock, is the tall metal "eBay cabinet." Philen, in her burgundy apron and plastic nametag, keeps the key by her side.

This week the cabinet housed an antique wood clock, a boxy metal camera, a set of gold-rimmed Limoges china with delicate pink flowers and a pair of Diesel Jeans with the $125 price tag still dangling from the hip.

Like most area thrift shops, the Mercer Island store doesn't yet keep a separate accounting of revenue generated from eBay.

But Philen, and her bosses, see it as a growing part of their business.

"It has a ton of potential. It's just so exciting," said Philen yesterday afternoon, just before rushing off to prepare the Earhart book for its big eBay debut.

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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