People who are into thrift shopping are really into it. But it can be a little intimidating to roll up to a yard sale or consignment shop without a plan. What should you look for? How much should you pay? When’s the best time to shop? If you think you’ve got an inner Thriftie inside you just waiting to come out, look no further. I gathered some inveterate thrifters—some pros, some dedicated amateurs—and asked them to share their best tips.

It’s 7:14 a.m. on a sweltering summer Saturday, and I’m sitting in the Vintage Van, aka thrifting pro Liz Riggieri’s silver Toyota minivan, in the driveway of her Catonsville home. As the air conditioning cools us down, Riggieri lets me in on the day’s plans.

“We’re going to look for sleeper sales first,” she says. These are yard sales that haven’t been well-advertised. And if not a lot of people know about them, there’s a better chance for “pickers,” as thrifting experts are sometimes known, to find treasures. “If you want to get the best items, you want to be first,” Riggieri explains.

Usually, she arrives 45 minutes before the sale even starts so she can be the first one, scrolling on her phone while she waits. (And some people even let her take an early peek at the sale items.) But here’s the catch: If that first sale is a “no go”—meaning it has nothing worth buying—she’s already late to the next one.

Such is the strangely competitive world of thrifting. But the risk is part of the fun.

Riggieri has been doing some variation of this every weekend for more than a decade—yard sales in the warm months and estate sales in the colder ones. “I’ll go to anything anytime.”

As we head to the first sleeper sale, Riggieri tells me how she made a list of sales be forehand by scouring everything from Craigslist to EstateSales.NET and using the yard sale app on her phone. Because Catonsville didn’t show any great sales, we’re heading to nearby Linthicum, where we’re hoping to find treasures in abundance.

Although Riggieri didn’t start professionally thrifting until she left the educational field to be a stay-at-home mom, her dad, Ron Check, has been buying and selling antiques for more than 50 years.

“I did like the things my dad brought home. I always thought they were really cool. He would have a shoebox full of strange little objects that he would teach me about,” says Riggieri. “I just never thought about doing it myself because I didn’t think that I knew enough to do it. I didn’t realize that you just have to start and try and fail and learn as you go.”

At the first yard sale of the day, Riggieri, sporting a light sleeveless black dress over animal-print leggings, immediately goes to work. (When I ask if the leggings pattern is leopard or cheetah, in true picker fashion, she replies, “I don’t know. But I got them at a thrift store for $8, and they’re Athleta—new they would’ve been about $90.”)

In the time it takes me to scope out what’s on the nearest folding table, Riggieri has found two watches, a Medici dish that matches a set she has at home that belonged to her great-grandmother, a 1950s tin she’s never seen before, a piece of hollowed-out driftwood, and a Tommy Bahama bag on wheels.

“One thing I do is make a pile. I’m going to ask the sellers to watch it for me, so my hands are free again,” she says.

Her crossbody purse and her strapped-on GoPro camera, which she uses to film items for her YouTube channel, FlippinLizzie, also keep her hands free. When I ask why she bought the driftwood, she says, “People love those for decorating.”

So, she’ll put it in one of the four booths she rents at the Antique Depot in Elliott City or in her Etsy store, Tiger Oak Vintage, to sell. She estimates that about 80 percent of what she buys is for resale.

Riggieri says she can tell a lot about the yard sale just by seeing how the merchandise is displayed. “If things aren’t priced, they’re going to be inexpensive,” she says. “But if you go to a really nice, neat yard sale, and it looks better than a store, you’re in trouble.”

She always waits for the seller to throw out a price for her pile. “I will not make an offer. I can’t. It would be like going to your favorite amazing steak restaurant, and they say, ‘How much do you want to pay for filet mignon?’” says Riggieri.

Today, the seller asked for $60, Riggieri countered with $50, and they settled on $55 for her entire stash.

If you’re looking for furniture, she says, yard sales and flea markets may not be your best bet—although it doesn’t mean you’ll never find those items. (I can attest, as decades ago I found a gorgeous acorn table at a flea market for only $40.)

Instead, Riggieri says that yard sales are the way to go for smaller home items and clothing. “You have motivated sellers, low prices, and a wide assortment of stuff,” she says.

When it comes to thrifting furniture, Melissa Garcia is an expert. For more than 17 years, she and her sister Lisa Hovis have coowned The Shabby Button, a consignment shop in Kingsville.

“People are looking for quality furniture—so they like older furniture because it was made better,” Garcia says.

Some shoppers thrifting for furniture know what clues to look for in quality pieces, such as a dovetail, considered the strongest type of joint. And Garcia suggests always opening the drawers.

“Make sure they’re on the track and not falling off. Sometimes older furniture has veneer on it. Be sure it’s not coming off unless you know how to repair it. Wobble the piece of furniture back and forth to see if it’s sturdy.” And don’t assume that just because a piece of furniture is heavy it’s first-rate. “Some furniture from the ’60s and ’70s is heavy, but it’s almost like particle board with a laminate top,” she says.

When buying second-hand furniture, Garcia stresses the one word all furniture shop pers need to live by—measure.

“You have to measure your space—know before you go. Even take pictures of the space where you want to put it,” she says.

You also need to act fast if you like a piece, as vintage has become more and more popular. Because if you wait, it will likely be gone when you return.

With older pottery, crystal, and china, Garcia says to check the condition of the item and look for any chips or flaws. “But if you love it, and it speaks to you, buy it.”

Garcia notes that there are trends in vintage furniture just like there are trends in contemporary furniture.

“[Right now,] a lot of people are buying mirrors that are in gilded frames,” she says. Then they are either keeping the original gold or painting it black or some other fun color.

But be warned, these aren’t Target mirrors. “Check the weight of it because if it’s heavy, you may need to hang it with anchors.”

“Look on the back of the piece or pull out one of the drawers. Sometimes [a stamp or written ticket] will be on the back of the drawer or on the inside front left or right—it usually lists the maker and the year it was made.”

While Riggieri and Garcia are professional thrifters, Edgewood’s Terri Knachel-Warner thrifts for fun—but that doesn’t mean she takes the task any less seriously. Her go-to spots for furniture are Ryan’s Relics and Metzger’s Auction Service.

“I have a thing for 1920s and 1940s furniture,” she says. “I check if it’s good construction. A lot of times, older pieces are stamped, or they have a written ticket. Look on the back of the piece or pull out one of the drawers. Sometimes this will be on the back of the drawer or on the inside front left or right—it usually lists the maker and the year it was made.”

Knachel-Warner loves thrifting for many reasons. “It’s definitely pocket-friendly, especially in this economy. Plus, you find stuff that is better made and has lasted so long.”

Pieces like that are worth saving, she says, “If you’ve got a good base, you can always paint it or change it up a bit.”

Roland Park resident Amy Giggey has been thrifting since she was a teen shopping for clothes at Value Village and Veterans Warehouse. And while she still does her fair share of in-person furniture buying at local consignment stores, these days, a lot of her purchases are made online at places like Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor, and even auctions.

If an online auction sounds intimidating, Giggey is here to assuage your fears. She points out that local auctioneer Alex Cooper has something called a Railroad Crossing Discovery Auction where items can start as low as $20.

Some of her scores include a dining room table from the 1800s for $200, some A. Aubrey Bodine photographs, and a shaving mirror from the Potthast Brothers of Baltimore.

Giggey stresses that you should go into an auction knowing how much you’re willing to spend on any given item. “Because it can get very competitive,” she says. She also suggests that if you buy something through Facebook Marketplace or Nextdoor, you should actually talk with the people who are selling. Not just to assure that they’re legit, but because sometimes the conversation can lead to an unexpected windfall.

A few years ago, Giggey was purchasing outdoor furniture from a woman who was moving to a condo. The woman mentioned in passing that she had all this antique furniture that she couldn’t sell because no one wanted it. She ended up giving it to Giggey and her husband—at no charge.

“That’s part of the fun of it all—getting the deal,” says Giggey. “I love getting beautiful items for such a great price.”

And sometimes that even means for free.

Eighteen Great Local Spots to Get Your Thrift On

2ND AVENUE THRIFT SUPERSTORE
Columbia, Middle River, and more locations

ANTIQUE DEPOT
Ellicott City

CONSIGN BY DESIGN
Timonium

CORNERSTONE ANTIQUES, CONSIGNMENTS & NEW HOME FURNISHINGS
Timonium

EDGEWOOD PRIME THRIFT STORE
Edgewood

GREAT FINDS & DESIGN
Timonium

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY RESTORES
Various locations

METZGER’S AUCTION SERVICE
Joppatowne

PIPPIN’S NEW AND USED THRIFT SHOP
Hampstead

RYAN’S RELICS
Nottingham

SAVERS
Various locations

SAVVY CONSIGNMENT
Severna Park

SECOND CHANCE
South Baltimore

THE SHABBY BUTTON
Kingsville

SHOPS AT HOME AGAIN FURNITURE
Timonium

TABITHA’S HOUSE
Fallston

THIS & THAT CONSIGNMENTS & GIFTS
Edgewood

WISHBONE RESERVE
Hampden

1. Pacific Connections tissue box cover ($105) at Antique Exchange. 2. Fire red tea kettle ($48) at Su Casa. 3. Mongolian lamb stool ($399) at West Elm. 4. Orange storage container ($8.75) at Trohv. 5. Middle Kingdom small vase ($12) at Antique Exchange. 6. Lime toothbrush holder ($18) at Su Casa. 7. Tufted pedestal swivel chair ($899) at West Elm. 8. Amanda Adams felt cactus ($56) at Trohv. 9. Leaves of Grass ($16.99) and Meehan’s Bartender Manual ($40) at Trohv. 10. Surya Coast table lamp ($160) at Su Casa. 11. Blue mosaic picture frame ($42) at Trohv. 12. Middle Kingdom Lotus Root vase ($38) at Antique Exchange.

Before you and your credit card mount up for the chase, check out our guide to serious antiquing in the August issue of Baltimore magazine, on newsstands now.

All summer you gardened. And you mowed.

Then came fall, and there was the raking (and a little more mowing). Now winter is finally upon us, and with it, a chance to take a deep breath and evaluate what’s inside our homes instead of outside of them.

For some of us, a trip to IKEA will do. For others, a trip back in time is the only way to go. If you love antiques, Baltimore’s a great place to be, and now’s the perfect time to set out for a cozy weekend of antiquing.

But with the toll the recession has taken on shopowners large and small, where are Baltimore’s coolest antique haunts today? We scouted out a sampling of the very best antique shops the region has to offer, from classic to kitsch, from tiny to warehouse-sized. So pack a lunch and grab a thermos—you’re going to be out a while.

If you love antiques, have a lot of space to fill, and the budget to fill it, there’s a good chance the Antique Center at Federal Hill (1220 Key Hwy., 410-625-0182) will get the job done in one fell swoop. Tucked along Key Highway on the edge of Federal Hill, the 10,000-square-foot facility is less of a shop and more of an über-classy warehouse, full of 18th, 19th, and early 20th century Continental, English, and American furniture and accessories. It’s easy to see why the place has become a favorite among both Baltimore and Washington, D.C., designers. Not only is the selection fantastic, but shoppers have ample space to step back and evaluate items from afar in homelike settings. Once you discover where it is, you might just kick your antique-loving self for not finding it earlier.  

Hampden’s Antique Exchange (3545 Chestnut Ave., 410-532-7000, antique-exchange.com) proves that there’s a huge gray area when it comes to antiques. And sometimes that gray area isn’t gray at all—it’s fuchsia. Or covered in zebra print. It’s fitting that the shop—on the A-list of Baltimore’s in-the-know antique addicts for more than 25 years—made its new home in the quirky Hampden neighborhood after years in Roland Park. Husband and wife duo Tom and Wesley Finnerty renovated the former row home into a chic venue that mixes old with new—from stately antique arm chairs and blue-and-white porcelain to bold-print throw pillows and cutting-edge lighting fixtures—while keeping it warm and cozy, complete with lush oriental rugs underfoot and the combined scent of its many soy-based candles. If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like to throw a little 1909 into your 2009, this shop is a must-see. 

Since its July move from Roland Park to Mt. Washington, loyal customers of C.H. O’Malley Antiques (1501 Sulgrave Ave., 410-466-0606, omalleyantiques.com) have called on their cell phones from the old location, panicked about the shop’s whereabouts. And why wouldn’t they be? O’Malley’s pristine collection of American, English, and Continental antiques is enough to get any red-blooded antique lover’s pulse speeding. The new location, neatly tucked into Mt. Washington Village (in the former McCafferty’s restaurant space), has nearly doubled the showroom size, allowing more room to maneuver and ample sunlight to admire the shop’s sparkling restoration work. Customer service provided by proprietor Charlene O’Malley and sister Deborah Balog can’t be beat. In fact, if you tell them what you like, they’ll e-mail you photos of things in that genre. Who does that anymore?

If Urban Outfitters had an antique/vintage offshoot, it would be the Curiozity Shoppe. The longtime Reisterstown vendor, which is moving uptown this month (to two locations in Timonium, 2141 Greenspring Dr., 410-833-3434, and 75 W. Timonium Rd., 410-828-1870, curiozityshoppe.com), has been a funky neighborhood favorite for years, known as much for its uniquely spelled name as for its  friendly sampling of garden-ready, wrought-iron items and stone statues and fountains displayed out front. Inside is a rustic collection of antique and vintage furniture (American, European, and a splash of Asian) with the erstwhile vintage sign or door thrown in. While more polished, the new Timonium venues still have the same flair of the original Reisterstown spot, just in a more homey environment. Inventory changes weekly at both locations and things tend to sell off quickly, so if you’ve got your eye on something, act fast.   

There are antique lovers and then there are antique lovers: those who will travel to the ends of the earth for that one perfect piece. For more than 20 years, Philip S. Dubey, owner of three-floor, 3,000-square-foot Dubey’s Art & Antiques (807 N. Howard St., 410-383-2881, dubeysantiques.com) has specialized in satisfying diehard antique lovers on Baltimore’s famed Antique Row. Endlessly passionate about his collection of early American furniture and Chinese export porcelain (he’s been collecting it since high school), Dubey is a walking antique encyclopedia. Five years ago, he expanded his business to the 10,000-square-foot space next door, opening the Antique Row Stalls, a multi-dealer antique cooperative. Between the two spaces, it’s like walking into a museum. Be prepared to stay a while. 

If you’re an antique fan who’s up for a 20-minute ride and fancies some Christmas cheer, Glencoe Gardens (15900 York Rd., Sparks, 410-472-2300) will definitely fit the bill. Set back from a northern York Road that’s worlds away from the York Road of Timonium 10 miles south, the three-level shop is decidedly casual, with a pebble-covered front walkway, a cat often perched in one of its many front windows, and a floppy-eared dog that skedaddles when you walk through the door. This time of year, locals visit the 6,000-square-foot store for more than just antiques, as Glencoe Gardens is transformed into a winter wonderland offering decorative greens out front (all grown on site) and a front room devoted solely to Christmas decorations. But don’t let the seasonal slant fool you; husband and wife proprietors Wiley and Colby Hawks have filled the large space top to bottom with antiques large (desks, grandfather clocks) and small (an impressive collection of vintage McCormick containers and products) and will be delighted to give you the grand tour. 

It’s hard to pinpoint the very best thing about Westminster’s decidedly eclectic Sidetracked Antiques and Design (10 E. Main St., Westminster, 410-857-4455). Perhaps it’s the way vivacious proprietor Patty Keener mixes the old with the new, displaying both apparel and jewelry (vintage and new) with two centuries of American and English furniture (all of it for sale). Or the way you can try on your soon-to-be new accessories in front of your choice of antique mirrors (also for sale). Or maybe it’s the cozy shop’s narrow brick building, an antique in and of itself. (It sits only steps away from the historic town’s train tracks, which rumble with passing locomotives at least twice a day.) Since the shop is set back from Westminster’s cutesy Main Street, don’t be surprised if you have trouble finding the place. Keep your cell and Sidetracked’s phone number handy, and Keener will gladly guide you there.  

With its high ceilings and strings of all-season white lights, it’s easy to feel immediately at home at Things You Love Antiques and Gifts (234 Main St., Reisterstown, 410-833-5019). Housed in a charming historic log cabin on old Reisterstown’s main drag, the warm greeting of owner Maggie Herman will make you want to take your time and peruse her two-floor collection of furniture, china, photos, prints, and new and vintage jewelry. Herman favors 1940s style, but always offers a good sprinkling of late 19th century items as well. There’s no pressure to be an expert here, and she encourages visitors to get up close and personal with her merchandise, including her popular and ever-changing collection of 1940s hats (a favorite among teen girls and twentysomethings). The best part? You can buy a baby blanket or puffy white bathrobe—or anything you bring in, for that matter—and, in many cases, have it monogrammed by Herman while you shop.

Antiquers can be so serious. But if you’re looking for a good time, try Tina’s (237 Main St., Reisterstown, 410-833-9337). Set among old Reisterstown’s small-but-eclectic antique row, the spacious shop’s friendly hodgepodge will pique the interest of collectors, fashionistas, and antique newbies alike. A large glass case displaying a sparkling assortment of antique and estate jewelry greets shoppers at the front of the unexpectedly spacious store, which features pretty much everything, from classy (glassware, brass and copper kettles, Judaica, beaded pocketbooks) to kitsch (lady head vases, ashtrays, toys, and one very giant velvet Elvis). “There’s literally everything here,” says manager Lynne Waranch, who’s always happy to show visitors around Tina’s collection. “We just like to have a good time.”

With its bare-bones, corrugated metal façade, the Westminster Antique Mall (433 Hahn Rd., Westminster, 410-857-4044, westminsterantiquemall.com) doesn’t dress to impress. But don’t let its barren exterior deceive you. With a whopping 165 antique dealers selling their diverse wares, the 25,000-square-foot facility is the Home Depot of antiquing. From the ornate to the kitschy, the mall has more than enough to satisfy both casual and serious collectors, and features an impressive array of, well, pretty much everything, including coins, glassware, sports memorabilia, pottery, furniture, and military antiques. During special weekend events (schedule varies) you can also get free appraisals, watch chair-weaving demonstrations, or enjoy on-site doll repair. If you need a breather, stop for refreshments at the mall’s cute seated vending corner.