Everyone always asks me: “How did you get into selling vintage?”
And honestly… it all started with a $1 box at a local auction. It was the late 1990s. I was at a neighbor’s estate auction—the second one I’d ever attended. I didn’t go in with the plan to resell anything. I was there for shelves and canning jars. But as the crowd thinned and the items stopped selling, I started picking up box lots for a dollar or two—mostly just for personal use. When I got everything home, it was clear we had way more than we needed. So I did what most people wouldn’t even think of at the time: I listed a few of the items on eBay. One of those items was an advertising pencil shaped like a bullet, dating back to the 1940s. Turns out, that was a hot collector’s item—and it sold fast. That was the moment I got hooked.
The Spark That Lit the
Fire From that one sale, I started sourcing more intentionally. I was off to garage sales, thrift stores, and more auctions, hunting for pieces of the past that others overlooked. We turned our garage into a mini warehouse. I figured out how to pack and ship fragile vintage glassware, how to write listings that got attention, and how to keep track of inventory in a home-based business setup. Back then, online selling was still in its early days. People were wary of buying on the internet. There were no credit card processors—just PayPal—and building a website felt like dreaming too big. But I still bought the domain. And I never stopped selling.
Turning a Side Hustle into a Full-Time Life
Over the years, that little side hustle grew into something much more. I built an eCommerce business and expanded onto platforms like Amazon and Etsy. I even went to work for a software company helping other online sellers succeed—while continuing to run my own resale business on the side. Fast forward to 2023: I left the corporate world and officially joined my husband in running BackroadPicking full-time. Since then, we’ve grown across multiple platforms including:
🛒 eBay
🎨 Etsy
🌐 Our Website (Shopify-hosted)
📦 Amazon
📺 Whatnot (Live selling)
👗 Poshmark
🏬 A booth in a local antique mall
Today, we’re doing more than just selling—we’re storytelling. Every vintage item has a history, and so do we.
Want to Learn How to Start Selling Vintage?
I created BackroadPicking on YouTube and TikTok to help YOU get started. Whether you’re trying to make extra income, turn clutter into cash, or build a real reselling business, I’m here to share the tips, tools, and stories that got me here.
✔️ How to ship breakables
✔️ Where to source inventory
✔️ What platforms to use
✔️ How to price items
✔️ How to sell on a budget
✔️ Why vintage matters
✔️ And so much more
I’ve made the mistakes. I’ve figured out what works. Now, I want to help you.
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Let’s hit the backroads together and turn forgotten treasures into fresh starts.