Estate Sale Entrepreneur Shows How to Diversify for Profits Year Round

In recognition of the hard work and dedication it takes to become a successful estate sale entrepreneur, Estate Sale Service Atlanta.com is proud to recognize Pete Wilson, Owner of North End Thrift of Cape May as our first Estate Sale Entrepreneur of the Year.

My Small Biz: North End Thrift

Business: North End Thrift

Owner: Pete Wilson, 43, of Cape May, NJ

Location: 901 Bayshore Road, Villas, Lower Township

Started: 2011

 Employees: 2 full time, up to 4 part time

 Phone: 609-770-8790

 Owner Pete Wilson speaks about the business:

North End Thrift buys and sells almost anything.

We specialize in house clean outs.

We do estate sales, we do moving services.

  

I started more with antiques, but with the economy the way it is, it's kind of turned into functional items.

I sell musical instruments and fishing rods, and furniture, antiques and collectibles.

The shop is about 5,000 square feet, so it's a pretty large store.

We keep all the items in categories, teapots with teapots, all the Hess trucks together.

  

We have sports collectibles such as NASCAR and signed baseballs and sports figurines.

  

We have vintage records, from the early 1900s to vintage rock 'n' roll.

We have a complete library, which has rare, vintage and new books and all types of magazines, from comic books to old Life magazines.

We also have a lot of used tools, from hand tools to power tools. 

We carry hunting and fishing items, including bows, rods, freshwater to deep-sea fishing gear.

Our last room, considered our dining room, has china cabinets, glassware, plates and pottery.

I have an advertising company, basically looking to buy stuff and sell stuff.

  

I have people come in here with truckloads or one item for sale.

  

I also go to people's homes and either buy one item or the contents of the house.

  

We've done three houses today and brought in boxes of stuff to sell.

  

A lot of times when people have to clean out a house, they don't know what to do with it.

I have a 14 foot box truck, as well as a pickup and trailers, and a large storage facility.

  

Thrift shopping has turned into a craze.

  

Someone will come in, as they did today, with a box full of bayonets and old knives.

  

Yesterday I bought a banjo.

  

Entry: I used to be a commercial fisherman.

My grandmother died about six years ago and my relatives called me after they got everything out of the house they wanted.

I rented a small space at a local antique shop and started selling out of there.

A year later I started here in the Villas.

The future: We had a location in Cape May that we recently closed.

  

I'm looking for a second location in Middle Township, and would like to incorporate an auction and outdoor vendors.

  

Business editor Kevin Post

Thanks for reading. Post a Comment to ask me anything about estate sales!

Thanks for reading. Post a Comment to ask me anything about estate sales!

Reprinted by Tonza Borden from Atlanta, Georgia:  Hi, I'm estate liquidator of EstateSaleServiceAtlanta.com, and publisher of Secret Of Estate Sales Marketing Success: REAL Estate Sale Techniques & Templates To Go From Beginner To Getting An Endless Stream Of Estate Sale Clients. I help people find the resources they need to succeed in estate liquidation, worldwide.