MOST EXPENSIVE ITEM EVER DONATED TO GOODWILL
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.พ. 2024
- It's insane how much this Goodwill donation sells for on ebay! Check out our finds out at the thrift store. What are some of the most valuable items ever donated to Goodwill and other thrifts? From Lego to Picasso and Watercolor paintings to classic retro Nintendo games, the answer is mind-blowing!
#reseller #thrifting #goodwill #thriftwithme
I am a reseller based out of the greater Dayton, Ohio area. Subscribe and turn on the bell notifications to stay up to date with all my picking and flipping content! Also, please consider liking the video as it helps me out a ton! Thanks for watching!
eBay store: www.ebay.com/str/buckeyetreas...
Instagram: @propickerohio
/ propickerohio
For a list of items I use or are similar to items I use for ebay and TH-cam everyday check out my Amazon Storefront:
www.amazon.com/shop/propicker
For mail:
Pro Picker
PO Box 1762
Miamisburg, OH 45343
Your Goodwill still has reasonable prices. Our local Goodwills have gotten quite expensive.
Low income People can no longer afford our Goodwills.
They are more expensive than Ross, & TJ Maxx for clothes & table ware.
Dollar store items are marked up 😂
@@luvjesuslee2033probably because their costs are up but they don't have the nest reputation as far as having top heavy admin salaries. Salvation army was typically better at directing donations to the needy.
BTW You could always ask for a lower price at thrift shops. Some will give a break especially if it isn't apparently a reseller.
My best buy was at a yard sale. I walked by one place setting of willow ware from England priced at $25, so I thought. Then I overheard the people giving the yard sale say they couldn't believe it hasn't sold yet. Maybe they should put the rest of the boxes on the table. I got them all place settings for 12 still in their boxes for $25. I was thrilled!
Nice!
Great video. My most valuable single item found at a thrift store was a Chanel coat i sold for $1,250, I did pay up a bit at $75. I also bought a huge box a Bumkins baby bibs for $20. If I remember correctly there were around 300 in the box. I sold them for $10 each. I also sold a 1992 Versace bondage collection vest for $735. I paid $10 for it. That was years ago and today it is worth many thousands.
Those are some awesome flips!!
WOW!! All of that is wonderful!! I'm so happy for you!! I just recently started my journey as an eBay reseller. About a month ago I was out in my grain bin just looking to see what all I had stored in there from years past that I had forgotten about and found a tool that is used to take huge nuts off of bolts or take the nuts off of tractor tires to change or repair. I got it out of the dumpster at the wind farm I used to work at as a security guard. They threw away so many expensive tools! Anyhoo, I about fell over when I looked it up to find its price, I got $900 for it!! I'm still singing hallelujah to God and thanking Him!
I found a 100 percent cashmere coat
My highest valued buy from goodwill was just about 2 months ago. It was a huge bag of Gi joes that were all completely taken apart. Almost like it was a collectors collection getting ready to replace the O rings. It weighed about 8-10 lbs. It was double bagged as well so it was really cloudy. I honestly thought it was knock of Joe's or newer 2000s era ones......I figured either way it was 4.99. When I got home I was in for a shock. It contained almost every joe from 1983-1989. Including 3 or 4 rare variations, and some mail ins. It took me over a week to get them all put together. About half of them were complete with thier weapons, and accessories. I had tons of extra pieces which leads me to think there was another bag. Total sales so far is a little over 3k
That's a dream find right there!
@propicker honestly it didn't hit me until I got home, and was realizing that every single piece was there. No missing limbs or anything. Started comping a few, and we'll yea then I was definitely like wow okay not bad lol I was really close to keeping them for real....only 4.99, and chances of ever seeing those together like that again is not gonna happen lol I honestly don't know why I didn't keep em.....idk I guess getting older you lose the hardcore interest in certain things. I collected retro video games from 95 up until 2019. Sold everything to a guy in Pennsylvania for 60k. He got a killer deal though.....it hurt at first but it wasn't so bad now that I look back
@propicker Wish I could post a picture on here. I made a post in a fb group the next day GI joes R US buy sell trade
@@DrewM86 I felt this way Barbie I sold for $100 profit. I don’t collect Barbie’s, but she was so beautiful and sold so fast. I probably undervalued a bit but mostly I legitimately missed her and if I ever find one for that price again (unlikely) I will keep
Best thrift for me was a David Yurman platinum ring. Bought it for $25 & sold for $1675.00
That's an awesome flip!
Sometimes a pan without the copper bottom is actually the top pan of a double boiler. My SIL bought a book at a thrift store for $1 and it turned out to be a first edition of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and sold it on eBay via auction for thousands of dollars.
That's a wild book find!
My sisters ultimate ‘want’ item of all time- wish I could have found that for her- she even named her only son/child - “Atticus” - what a lucky find!
Accidentally found a yard sale last year, no advertising anywhere, just 1 sign in the front yard "Old Toys". Guy was selling his wife and Brother-in-laws childhood toys. First gen Transformers, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica figures, Planet of the Apes, everything was complete. Almost everything was in the original box. Filled the back of my car up for $47. Jist hit $3000 in sales with a few pieces left.
That's awesome!
I made a video of a Faberge 'Bowl for $2.99 at the local Goodwill and yes it sold for well over 1k+ (The gold LEGO piece was from one of our local Goodwill stores...I'm in Central Pennsylvania.)
That's a wild find!
Found some Polaroid film several years ago when it was really expensive. Paid $1 each for 18 packs. Could have got $900 but took a quick $750.
That's wild. I'll have to keep an eye out!
I bought a polo p wing hoodie for $4 and sold it for $850. A 1995 NIN tee purchased for $4 and sold for $525. A Lee union made in the USA Bandana purchased for .50 and sold for $125. Those are my top 3.
That's awesome! I'd love to find a nine inch nails shirt.
Funny enough that lego piece sold from the goodwill i thrift every week 😂😂
My best Goodwill find was a vintage Austin air purifier that I bought for $15. I sold it a little over a week later for $385. My best sale finds was at a church sale. I found some Sherwood scuba gear that I picked up for $20. I sold it a little over a week later for $600. My best yard sale find was at someone’s house in my neighborhood. They had a 1985 GI Joe USS Flagg Aircraft Carrier in their attic that they were just going to donate/throw away. They just gave it to me and refused to let me pay them for it despite my begging. It’s about 60-70% complete, but I was able to sell one part of it for $210 and another for $90. I have the rest listed on marketplace for $780 with 4 saves on the listing so far. It’s a little warped and worn, but still easily around $1,000 in value. Complete sets sell for around $4,000 on eBay, so I was mind blown when they just wanted to give it to me!
That's awesome! Love finding older gi joe stuff!
Love this format, very organized and easy to enjoy! I do remember a doll similar to the ones in boxes you posted. Mine had a spoonful of cherries or peas and the doll “ate” them (then you pushed a button and they popped back onto the spoon). Love the memory lane trip. I enjoy flips of bamboo pjs for kids. You can buy $5-$15 and flip for $20-$50 at times! Super fun.
I remember that doll too. I think the commercial was on TV a lot for that one!
My best thrift find as far as ROI goes, was an electric typewriter that was in like new condition with instruction manual (without the box). Sold it for $180, plus around $50 shipping (only paid about $25 to ship it). I paid $12 for it.
Nice flip!
Go Jessica. Great finds ❤❤❤❤
I paid $10 for a storage unit full of fireplaces and fireplace accesssories. Sold $10k worth online and locally then just sold the rest of the lot for $3k to clear space.
That's awesome!
There was an article recently in Virginia where a woman bought a vase for 3.99 and sold it for over 103k
That's wild!
Yep! That was in my neck of the woods: Richmond, VA!
Not sure which Goodwill (we have several...). Stuff DOES show up!
You can search Google for the article. Wasn't very long ago...
Ok, my best score was $400 Escada rainbow zebra striped white jeans for $11 and I freaking wore them. lol
Glad that after show many videos i have learned many things from dustin like always is a score to find patagonia or carhartt shirts and jeans also women Miss denim is an ez score and of course the retro prestigious 90's SINGLE STITCH t shirt's are so precious and go for crazy money all that thanks to Dustin vids!
Thanks for watching!!
I feel really dumb on the names of styles. I am a retired nurse & although I often got compliments on my after work clothes, I am so brainless when it come to style names what sells - HELP😳 I am thinking of specializing in men’s clothing.
Best thrift store find for me was a backpacking tent I bought for $8 and sold for $400
Nice flip!
Love her Yosemite sweatshirt! My favorite place on earth!
About 8 months ago I went to a little second hand store and found about 80 super nintendo games in there box. But the shape of the boxes where flawless almost half where still sealed I paid around 500 for everything I took em home and started checking ebay. I looked into Facebook groups and was told I had many of the rarest super nintendo games in the world. I sent about 40 games into gradeing and got 9.0+ plus on almost everyone so far I've sold 60k worth on ebay and kept the best games as investments for futures. My biggest game was a sealed superario world
That's amazing! Congrats!
My most expensive Goodwill flip was a vintage 1982 GI Joe kids game - it was one of those games where you hang the target on the wall and have essentially ping pong balls covered in velcro that you throw at the targets. Anyway, it was new sealed in the package, and this piece turned out to be extremely rare, there was only one I could even find a mention of online. Sold it in 2 days for $500 to the same guy who owned the only other one I could find. I paid $2.99 for it.
2.99 into $500 is awesome!
I've been selling on eBay since Halloween..I've been more successful than imagined. My bread and butter are video games (thus far..yard sale season hasn't started) everything I know about selling video games I've learned from You and Rod from Picking and punching..maybe soon you could do a quick video, perhaps on your flipping channel, on what the best video game Bolo's..I had no idea about the Need for Speed most wanted..I've already picked 1 up for the PS2.. keep em coming!!!
Yeah, I'm super stoked for yard sale season as well. That's where I make most of my game finds. I could see doing a video game bolo video in the future. I do have a huge backlog of order pulls I need to edit first though 😅
Regards if you give away the secrets or not..still appreciate the education and entertainment. Good luck!
I found rare 90's vintage Viper Room shirt for $1.50 and sold it for $352 on grailed!
Great flip!
While not a thrift store find, I snagged an amazing find at an estate sale. Paid Just over $200 for 2 signed Keith Haring hand done artworks. Both pieces were valued at $3-$5k a piece in 2017 on Antiques Roadshow with the man whose estate it was. I am keeping them though for a bit. lol
Nice find!
My best flip was a portable respirator sold in 2 mins for $3,500.00 got it sitting next to a dumpster
Nice!
Zelda is my all time favorite! Still playing BOTW 😁 but definitely have a nostalgia for the retro Zelda and that’s insane price for that!
I am so happy for you both it’s amazing what you can find in goodwill. I have seen really nice things I have found in goodwill and other thrift stores in my area. I hear many people donate their expensive items , but don’t know what they are worth. I guess they don’t look to see because they don’t want to. You did very well and Jessica did also . Congratulations 🎉🎊🎈 on your picking this day. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💜
What's so amazing? I go in goodwill every week and pretty much find absolutely nothing, anything good from goodwill is on their online bidding site
Thanks Susan!
I once went to goodwill and as a collector of sims I ended up finding a limited edition version of the sims 3 showtime for the pc still in the case with the papers you normally see in the case for myself. I already had the basic showtime but I couldn't pass up on a copy that was limited edition for $2. my oldest of my 3 brothers gets me my little pony since I also collect that. He found a 2ft tall working animatronic twilight sparkle toy for $5 at goodwill. It's $200 brand new, $100 if in working condition missing all the accessories. i already had this pony in my collection from when it used to be $30 brand new through amazon so a second one was really nice to have. Keep your eye out for a 2ft tall animatronic my little pony toy and if it's cheap get it.
Love to see more videos in this style. Great job!
The best item that I ever found is.......wait,LOL I live in Los Angeles and we will NEVER find anything nice because everything here is insanely overpriced. NO JOKE! I watch your videos and I swear I think you bring these things in and put a sticker on them and put them in your cart (to give us great content.) The things that you find, would never, ever, ever ever, happen here. At least, I get to live vicariously through you 😂 good luck 👍
Sorry to hear the finds aren't so good there, but I appreciate you watching!!
@@propicker love cheering you on. All my best.
Where does everyone get these chap goodwills it’s insane prices in the Seattle area?
Yeah it sucks in Washington too
I can't believe some of the rare collectibles that get donated to GW, recently a 1959 #1 Ponytail Barbie sold on auction for $6,000. I have even seen items on their auction site SOLD for higher than what it could had been bought for on eBay for BIN for a lower price.
I live in a rural area that is half poor and the other half mega rich summer homes. You can find really expensive things I once was thinking of buying this huge tribal drum. Could have sworn the tag said $250 on it but it was $2500. It didn’t stay there very long
Wow, a $2500 tribal drum on the sales floor is pretty wild.
@@propicker yeah it flipped me out if they thought the methheads here could get money out of it they would have had it on lockdown.
@propicker
I'm totally confused!!!
Was the price actually $25.00 and the decimal was omitted?
Was it $2500 on the thrift store floor?
@@cheryldavis8776 no I think my mind could not comprehend it being $2500 so I initially thought it was $250 thinking the decimal was left out. I went back to try and buy it for a store display for the place I was working at the time and was shocked it was so much more.
I enjoy watching this thrift great pick and interesting stuffs. 😮💯👍
Awesome Jessica! You did great! ❤
Most valuable items I found were two 19th century oil paintings w/original gilded frames they looked rough and were overlooked 2.49 each! Sold for at auction $387
Nice flip!
Oh and last week I also found a lady selling her husband’s and her father in-laws golf stuff to make room in the condo garage. $20 for the 2 bags and everything in them. And boy were they full, 46 clubs altogether, maybe 50 balls, and tons of nice extras, like the fluffy protector tops, and everything were top brands and even some cool vintage clubs from 70s and 80s. Only did a little research so far, but every club I look up is sold on eBay for $20-$30 minimum, and there was a driver that sells for $80, and the 2 bags alone are leather and really cool, prob $50-$100 on each.
Nice, I love finding solid golf club sets like that out in the wild!
Loved this video! It was awesome! Thanks for the great entertainment!!
Thanks for watching!
Nice job on this video. The format was wild and fun.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome love it great as always love the channel big love and respect from Scotland ❤
Thank you!
My brother in law bought a pilot’s helmet in Fort Worth, TX at a Goodwill for $5, and sold it for $600.
That's a great return!
My niche is vintage audio. I used to find a lot of it thrifting. But almost never find it at all anymore....and definitely no vintage twin power HKs for $9.99 in 2024. Not. A. Chance. Around here! I used to hit my thrift route a few times a week and filled up a storage shed with vintage audio. Now I might find like 5 cool vintage audio things all year. The Goodwills around here would auction it and it would never see the shelf. And if those were in any thrift store around here, they'd be priced at least 200-300 each. You're like in a whole other dimension or timeline or something 😂
Nice video! Go Jess with the awesome score flying solo!
Thank you!
Great seeing you guys, nice pickups 😊. You gi Jess
Thanks Kim!
You are lucky with your prices there. Our Goodwills here in Texas are incredibly high. Items in there are retail level. And they must check selling sites as the good items are double. Popz the other day 15.00.
Love watching you guys!
Thank you!
I once sold a bionicle mask for $80 and thought that was impressive. $18000 for one is mind boggling lol
Yeah, it's crazy what some stuff will go for!
she shoots she scoooooores!!! awesome pickup Jess!!! Ive been watching a guy "resale mania" out of Montana and he gave you a nice shout out about the way you store golf clubs. referred people to your channel if they wanted to use your link to the rack club holder. thought it was pretty awesome!! said your one of his favorite reseller/youtubers so he obviously knows his stuff:)
I've heard of him, I'll have to check his videos out!
As usual Jess Rocks!!!!
I found some beautiful pottery plates at Goodwill and they turned out to be Catalina Island. $50 a plate on eBay. I made $300. They costed $3.49. 👍
That's awesome!
Great video and find for Jessica!
Thanks! She did great!
the sewing machine thingy you picked up is a serger. it's a bit tricky to thread and see if it's working. i didnt catch the brand but if you want any help seeing if she works, im local. i don't sell or anything. i happen to thrift and sew for fun. awesome finds on the embroidery stuff! lightweight to ship and they don't go out of use as fast as say the old cricut cartridges did.
I believe the sewing machine is a husqvarna as well. I know we've sold units like this before, so hopefully it does work. Thanks for the info!!
Excellent vid guys, thanks!
Thank you!!
I watch you from across the pond in Ireland and LOVE your channel and also Rad Resells, best 2 youtube channels !!
Thank you!
You did a great job on this video!
Thank you!!
Excellent video guys 🎉
Great finds and hustle
Thank you!
You go girl awesome find love from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺🌹
Verry nice video, hello from 🇧🇪
Bike was pretty awesome. new watcher here...always fun to watch other thrifters! Nice video. Great Carts...
Thanks! Glad you found the channel!
a few years back I bought a suitcase full of Atari games and not knowing a tremendous amount about Atari I figured I'd offer her a buck a game and could likely break even at least and learn a thing or two. We ended up at $90 for the case, 110 games in it. About a dozen were still in box and 3 of those were branded Spectravideo and sold them for $1750 on eBay. Rare as hens teeth the buyer said.
Nice!
The prices at Goodwill here in Massachusetts have become just as expensive, if not more on certain items, as the new stuff at the retail stores.
I part out everything I can. I mean everything 😂. If I get a brand new iPhone and the parts sell for more than the phone I’ll take it out of the box and part it out for example. Lol
Wow, Need For Speed on Xbox has gone way up from the last time I looked it up! Been awhile since I've looked it up last, but good to know! Thanks for the video!
Thanks for watching! Keep up the great videos on your channel!
@@propicker thank you so much!
Check the price on the egg poacher. I bought new a few years ago and they are expensive. Around $50. I did get one at an estate sale that was from Williams Sonoma. Paid $15 but it retails for over $100. 6 egg poacher.
Oh yeah, there can be some good egg poachers out there. Nice find on the willliams sonoma
My best was a rare gold Colman lantern that I bought for $6 at the goodwill and sold for $1725! It actually sold to a buyer overseas two weeks after shipment I received a email from eBay informing me the item couldn’t be delivered because of some sort of restrictions. To make it more unbelievable I was told the buyer was to be refunded and I could keep the sale the lantern was never to be seen again. Very strange
That's odd. Did ebay eat the refund?
Well yes but they had a 1700 dollar lantern to resell
Dr Lori said this is a problem with overseas shipping sometimes they can claim they didnt get it and you have your refund, and I think the USPS insurance doesn’t pay because once it’s through customs it shows delivered on this side…they don’t track it further? It’s good ebay refunds!
Buyers paying way to much for Patagonia clothing.David Linton painting in San Diego paid 20 USD Sold 600 USD! Helped bought hung on wall he Died SOLD!
Found your channel by accident snd i really enjoyed it. I usually watch and they sell vintage and antique items. I never thought of selling clothing & electronics was so informative. I did subscribe to your channel
Looking forward to your next video.
Thank you! I'm glad you found the channel!
I was doing a Saturday overtime clean out of a large bio/pharma research lab that had relocated. Grabbed a ton of stuff to bring home and resell but by far the best was a smallish box with a handle on it. Turned out it was an Avtron Load Bank and after getting it for free I sold it for $2250!
That's a wild find! Good stuff!
Best find ever was a pair of McIntosh speakers for $20 at a little thrift shop (friperie) south of Quebec City.
Nice!
That was a very valuable pc sold for over )400,000 at a auction 😮
Great video, thanks! :)
Thanks for watching!!
Awesome video!!!
I paid 100$ for a real full body mount Bengal tiger 30 years ago. We found out from a taxidermist that it was worth around 25,000$. We waited too long and the laws made it illegal to sell or even give away our tiger or we would go to prison. We should have sold it before the law changed. It’s so big in our house too but it’s a great conversation piece.
That's wild! What an interesting find!
I cant use copper bottom R.W. on my smooth top stove but the aluminum bottoms work great.
I saw Jess pass on that corelle bowl and plate set. They do sell especially if by the set.
Oh yeah, there can be some good value on those.
My best find from goodwill was lot of GI joe and transformers and redline hot wheels and payed 25 and sold everything for 900 dollar
Great flip! Love finding retro toys!
Pikachu has red cheeks and Pichu has pink cheeks. They're different. Sabrina Griffin ❤
Epic finds awesome job
Hey pro picker. What’s the best way to ship those golf bags? Ty. Keep up the picking!
12x12x36 is the box we use and we ship ups ground.
My best find was my Sansui 9090DB (actually listening to your video through it now) for $10.25 at a Goodwill in 2018. They thought it didn't work, but it was just missing jumpers. Its a $1800-$2500 receiver. I couldn't sell it though. I sell the smaller stuff
That's a great pick up!
Also, just yesterday I bought a 1000 count box of .400 bullets from an estate sale for $10, the daughter of an older guy who loved guns and other stuff she knew nothing about and wanted gone asap. It was open so a few may be missing, but it looks 95% full. I think it’s worth $300 easily, maybe more.
I would like to see the water color painting
I love the Irish ☘️ clothes!! Go Irish!!
The best flip I ever had was finding a Fine grade copy of NYX issue 3 the first appearance of X23 for fifty cents. Ended up selling it for $250
Nice one!
Your Goodwills are bigger and better supplied then ours here in STL.
I have sold several Ethan Allen chairs from $500-$700. Sold an unopened box of sports cards for $700. I can’t remember if they were baseball or football ?? Those were the biggest
Some really solid flips!
I do audio only… buy sell repair. The one you flashed on the screen was in premium condition and had been updated “recapped”. A parts unit is probably 1/3 to 1/2 the price… depending on function/condition. That’s a good find nonetheless.
Yeah, we're probably going to get it fixed up. I don't know what a recap would cost us, but it does need the lights fixed on the station selector, which is something I didn't notice until after publishing the video.
Man, how do you have 0 competition, thrift stores around me are swarming with folks
And the stores are packed with stuff! And the prices are still like pre 2020 prices!
I worked at a Good will i seen how thay ran when people brought in the good stuff thay didnt want sale to anyone thay wood ship to other Goodvwill that im come on it doesnt matter who gets it just sale So im superised where your at thay put out the good stuff Out for everyone u got some good finds😊
I found a Kenny Scharf serigraph at GW for $8.88 and the same print is still selling on an official site for about $1200. I have a bit of research to do on it to fully validate it or make sure it wasn't licensed out for reproduction(it's not pencil signed/editioned which bothers me a bit) but it is without a doubt a five color serigraph through my loupe. My mother once found a Mario Lopez Torres lamp at a GW for $7.00 which currently still lists for $1450. Granted, these are 'finds' and not 'flips' yet we're always on the scope working the circuits. Note: as some have mentioned here already, prices have gone up at the GWs...locally I've noticed an $.11 cent increase on most items and some items seem to be blatantly twice or thrice what they used to be. But they still seem to conveniently underprice here and there still...thankfully lol.
Cool finds!
I wish I could find revere ware copper clad with the lid for $1.99! Around here a 1 qt. With no lid would be 3.99 at the cheapest
Yeah, it was a really good price on it.
About 20 some years ago We took in two 20 dollar bills at the arcade we owned. They were dated in the 1920s One sold for $60 on ebay which was good. To our total surprise The next one sold for $1400.00 It turned out to be a star note and was very desired to collectors. Thank God, because we needed the money at the time. God is Good!
That's a cool story! I'll have to check all my 20 dollar bills from now on!
Great job
Thank you!
I'm new at selling on eBay and want to ask you a question. When you cross list on eBay and say Poshmark, what did you do if you wake up one morning and the same item has sold on eBay and Poshmark?
Before I started selling, I gave away so many nice things and items that sell for quite a bit of money on eBay just to get rid of a bunch of my stuff! I just happened to be watching a seller on TH-cam is what put the eBay thought in my head and now here I am asking questions. Thank you in advance. I love your channel
So, typically in that case for us we would cancel the poshmark sale because ebay matters more to us and we wouldn't want to take the ding there. Vendoo (who has sponsored the channel before) has an auto delist feature you can opt into. So, that's a potential paid option for you. I don't know of other services have implemented a similar feature.
We do have a link with vendoo that gives you 25% off your first month. Don't feel obligated of course, use whatever service you feel works best for you!
vendoo.co/register?via=ProPicker-YT1
that means you buy dinner since jess saved the day lol
I like this suggestion 😊
You are so knowledgeable
Thank you!
Good stuff
Thanks!!
Loved this video.
Thank you!
1000 is for a fully recapped unit in excellent cosmetic condition. You'd have to pay someone $150-$300 to have it fully recapped and restored. Its 50 years old, so even if its working its on borrowed time. But people expect that. Y'all really need to buy some Deoxit D5 and F5 to clean the potentiometers and switches. Dirty switches can give you lots of intermittent problems. Often you can clean the controls and switches and everything works. Its really easy to do and I'm sure theres youtube videos.
Yeah, I think we'll probably go the full refurb route and pay the guy. We have a few units to drop off that we would never have the time to figure out ourselves.
I recall an article I read that some art student went in and bought a painting that was worth 200k or so. May have been a different thrift store but I do think it was goodwill.