Do you want to learn the 3 top tips from a modern day picker?
Definition of a picker: Treasure hunter, dumpster diver, and modern day recyclers of trash to flip into cash.
The region you live, the climate, the industry or lack thereof will definitely dictate your success as a picker.
But with a little luck and tenacity, you might just find a collectible someone tossed in a field or threw away in a dumpster.
Ryan Bickford is a modern day picker.
Not a television star or host of a series. He’s just an ordinary man who has a family and a regular day job. He spends some of his spare time picking for treasures.
You can look at his finds at “Bick’s Pick’s” on Facebook.
Here are his 3 top tips on the art of picking.
#1 – Take a risk to buy an item even if you don’t know what it is or don’t think it will sell.
Ryan found a military cooler unsure what it was or its value; but took the risk and bought the item for $10. After a little research he discovered it was stamped “WWII” in Koren. It was a military cooler. He listed the item online and it was sold within hours for $150.
#2 – Muster the courage to ask if you could pick through a field, backyard, or rummage through sheds.
Ryan traveled three hours on his way to a car show. On his journey he saw a barn next to a house. He pulled over and walked up to the front door of the house and asked the owner if they were willing to sell anything from the barn; that he had cash to spend. People like to hear the sound of money.
Inside the barn this modern day picker found two trunks: 1800s wooden framed trunk and an aluminum trunk. Ryan paid $7.50 a piece. First trunk sold for $100.
The second trunk was owned by John M. Liptay (philosopher). The trunk had sailed one time on the RMS Carpathia. Does the name ring a bell? It’s the same ship that helped rescue people from the sunken Titanic. Proof of voyage was a sticker on side of trunk. That dates back to the early 1900s. Ryan sold that trunk for $275.
#3 – Pick every free chance you get.
Ryan was on his way his way home when and saw a pile of trash next to a firehouse; possibly trash day for that house. He found four Boston Coupling Nozzels. Sold two for $75 a piece.
Hopefully these tips will help you become a successful treasure hunter in your neck of the woods.
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