Everything new is actually old. Here’s how I shop for originals online.
The exact sites, search terms, and brand names I use to find vintage pieces.
Helloooo Geezers,
You can see it everywhere right now: wicker, florals, pleated shades, patterned ceramics, dark wood, scallops, mushrooms, decorative baskets and all the other stuff that falls somewhere between 1970s rec room, cottage core and kitsch maximalism.
But I’m talking about the aisles of Target, Walmart, Five Below, Marshalls, HomeGoods, H&M Home, and Zara Home. And listen, I like a lot of it! This is not me standing outside of HomeGoods with a picket sign that says YOU SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT THAT LAMP IN 1976; LOSER ENERGY!!!!
PS. ICYMI, you can shop all of our codes in one place!
But there is now an entire category of brand-new STUFF whose main job is to look as though it has already lived a life. A mass-produced floral tray that looks like it came out of somebody’s grandmother’s kitchen, or like, a wicker basket that almost looks like it’s going to fall apart, sitting on a shelf of other wicker baskets that almost look like they’re going to fall apart in the same exact way (dystopian! Truly!).
Big-box stores have gotten extremely good at selling us the aesthetic of age. Which is insane because the old stuff STILL EXISTS! AND IT WAS MADE BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TO LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO IT’S STILL AROUND!!!! FOR YOU TO FIND!!!!!!!!!!! AND PUT IN YOUR HOUSE!!!!!
This is one of the things I have started noticing more and more as I thrift multiple times a week: a lot of what we call a “home decor trend” is really retail rediscovering objects that have cycled out a few generations just sitting in basements and attics waiting for the algorithm to decide we wanted them again. And often, the new reproduction is not even cheaper even though it’s made cheaper.
So if the thing you like about something at World Market is specifically that it looks old, I think there is one additional step worth taking before you buy it new:
See if you can find the actual old thing.
You can obviously do this IRL at Goodwill, Savers, estate sales, etc., but the internet has one enormous advantage: you can get reallllll specific.
The trick is knowing what to type, because it is not “vintage cottage core floral tray.” The more current trend words you put into your search, the more likely you are to end up shopping from someone who knows exactly why you’re there and has priced accordingly. The more likely it is you buy junk.
Here is where I vintage shop online, and the exact search terms I’ve been using lately.
Where to search
Let’s get into ten sites I am scouring when I can’t go shopping IRL. (Also! The more curated a site the more likely the prices are to reflect that. But remember, you can always just use what you find online to make your treasure list of what you’ll be searching for next time you pop into Goodwill or Savers.)
HiBid — probably the closest thing to a giant network of local auction houses online. You can find antiques, housewares, furniture, pottery, glass, baskets, lamps, etc., and the photography/titles are often gloriously bad. That can work in your favor.
eBay — my first stop, always! I love to lowball on eBay. Out of all of these, this and Facebook Marketplace are the best places for lowball success.
EstateSales.net — very good for actual estate sale inventory, both local sales and online marketplace/auction listings. You can also track down estate sales in your area (they are usually on the weekends). Hot tip: download the app!
Wait, a note: New annual subscribers can get 20% off premium right now, but only until Friday 8/21. If you’ve been liking the thrifting series, this is exactly what I’m doing today for paid subscribers: the actual search terms, sites, brands, tricks and rabbit holes that make this stuff much easier to find!
Those are three places I check constantly, but there are six more below, including the one I use to shop cheap thrift store inventory from all over the country.
But honestly, where you search is only half of this. The real trick is knowing what to type into the search bar.
Because “vintage floral tray” is not the search. Those little ceramic vases you keep seeing hanging on walls have an actual name, and once you know it, suddenly there are hundreds of them.
Below: seven more sites for shopping vintage (and why Etsy isn’t one of them) and the exact search terms, old brand names and weird little vocabulary words I use to find the good stuff.