Here's a small lot of thrifted yarn for which I paid $7.99, and had no competition at all for it, probably because it was such a small lot. So why did I bid on just thirteen skeins?
Unlike most thrifted yarn I've bid on or bought locally, most of the skeins had labels that I could clearly read. Figuring out the value of yarn depends on three things: condition, amount, and labels. Sometimes only one of those things matter. Since the amount of yarn in this lot is small you'd think it's not worth much, right?
Think again. These five Premier Isaac Mizrahi Craft Yarn skeins retail for $7.00 each. You're looking at $35.00 worth of yarn here (and it's stunning, too.)
The same goes for these Deborah Norville-endorsed Chunky Serenity skeins. Add another $21.00 to the lot's value.
This wool blend is particularly pricey at $16.47 a skein. In fact, expect to fight for any pure wool or wool blend yarn in a thrift auction, because they're expensive and thus highly prized.
When you don't have a label you can still estimate value, depending on your knowledge of yarn. I have pretty decent basic knowledge, and I've been educating myself on the new types and manufacturers since I got into thrifting it. Of the unlabelled yarns, the large variegated skein is a cotton blend that retails for $8.00, the two balls of crochet thread retail for $3.00 each, and even that little ball of thick/thin acrylic is probably worth $2.00.
When you add up the value of these 13 skeins, you get a total of $84.96 -- and remember, I paid $7.99 for the lot. That's a savings of $76.97.
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