The Savvy Picker travels around the Southeast looking for vintage merchandise to stock her brick-and-mortar and online shops. Her spring visit to the North Georgia Mountains brought her to Mildred’s Thrift Store in Cleveland, Georgia. Keep reading to check out her hauls and pick up a few tricks of the trade.
Oh, how we thrifters love the Methodists! One of the highlights of my year is the Methodist Church Bazaar in my hometown, where I pick up loads of vintage inventory to stock my shop in the fall at their “good junk” tent and at their silent auction. Not only do good deals abound at the annual Bazarr, but the folks running it are also cheerful and friendly. Well, Mildred’s Thrift Store meets this shopper’s expectations of shopping with the Methodists.
Housed in a charming clapboard house on the campus of Cleveland United Methodist Church, the shopping experience at Mildred’s is a comfortable one in a homey atmosphere. Shoppers can wander through several rooms and a hallway, all brimming with merchandise priced to sell and re-sell!
I always check out the books in thrift stores because books sell well in my shop, but also because they are a category of vintage items where you can often find the best deals if you know what you are looking for. (I look for older books with cloth covers, vintage botany and bird books, vintage pulp fiction paperbacks with interesting covers, Peanuts paperbacks, Nancy Drew, antique books, leatherbound books, and books that are simply beautiful.)
I was thrilled to find a gorgeous still-in-shrink-wrap-leatherbound edition of Don Quixote at Mildred’s, which I purchased for $2.
Leatherbound books with gilded pages and detailing generally sell for around $30 – $50 each in my shop, as this one did. Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph it before it headed to its new home. But I did remember to capture the images of other great items I purchased, like this adorable folk-art nativity set handcrafted in Mexico. I paid $2 for this as well and expect it to sell for $20 come December.
One thing I loved about this store was how clean everything was! It’s a real boon for a shopper to be able to buy vintage that doesn’t need much cleaning. In fact, at this point in my business, if something needs deep cleaning, I usually pass it up even if I know it is valuable because my time is valuable too! I truly appreciated purchasing beautiful, clean items at this shop. In fact, I had to make multiple trips to get all of them loaded in my car.
The most valuable item I purchased here was this turn-of-the-century dresser set. It has all the pieces, including the hair receiver and hat pin holder, and only cost $12! Each piece has been hand-painted, and it is in beautiful condition. Shoppers should expect to pay over a hundred dollars online for a set this nice.
I do have a tip to share for those planning to stop by Mildred’s: bring cash. The very nice volunteers there cannot accept credit cards.
So save your pennies… and dollars, or stop by the ATM and head on over to Mildred’s with some cash in your pocket. The Savvy Picker bets you’ll find something at Mildred’s Thrift Store to spend it on!
Mildred’s Thrift Store is White County’s oldest non-profit thrift store. It has served as an outreach ministry for Cleveland United Methodist Church for nearly fifty years. Each year it contributes tens of thousands of dollars to help those in need. So, you know your money is well spent when you shop here.
The store is behind the church at 110 East Kytle Street in Cleveland, Georgia. For updated information on merchandise and hours, visit Mildred’s Thrift Store on Facebook.
Who should visit: Shoppers who like friendly people and clean merchandise.
Score of the day: Antique Dresser Set. Predicted profit on Dresser Set: $90.
Re-seller takeaway: Pack the cash and check the books.
The Savvy Picker publishes bi-monthly on Now Habersham. For more great reads and finds, click here. For additional tips on tracking vintage treasures, visit The Savvy Picker website.
