All year around and from one end to another, Geauga County is like an enormous attic of used and reusable items.The popularity of auctions, antique…
All year around and from one end to another, Geauga County is like an enormous attic of used and reusable items.
The popularity of auctions, antique shops, estate sales, flea markets and the ubiquitous summertime yard and garage sales attests to a culture of finding good stuff cheap and sometimes selling at a profit.
Chardon native Jason T. Smith is a product of the regional tradition and has turned his propensity for tracking down a good deal into a shot at television fame.
Saturday night, he will star on the half-hour, non-scripted series premier of “Thrift Hunters” on Spike TV.
“Thrifting” is a new term for an old practice of visiting thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales to buy cheap and sell high.
Smith, in his mid-40s, graduated from Chardon High School. His parents, Peggy and Regan Smith, still live in Newbury Township, he said, but when his wife, Staci, landed a job in Long Beach, California, they escaped the Geauga winters.
However, Smith still recalls when he was introduced to “old stuff.”
“I remember when my grandmother and mom drug me to the Burton Flea Market. I was 6 or 7,” Smith said. “For whatever reason, I enjoyed it. I got that thrill from the hunt.”
It launched him on his full-time job of thrifting. He is in Las Vegas now, but doesn’t feel much drawn to casinos and slot machines. Thrifting takes care of those urges.
“Its like gambling, only you almost always win,” Smith said. “You can drop me in any thrift store in the country with just 20 bucks in my pocket and I’ll make money.”
He and his partner — fellow thrifter Bryan Goodman — turned their talent and passion into a movement by starting “Thrifting with the Boys” about four years ago as a way to help people get the same fun and fortune they have enjoyed.
“We created this group as a way to help others for free,” Smith said. “With the down economy, people had a need.”
They expected to have a club of maybe 100 friends who could share their success. What happened was way beyond that dream.
“It’s been amazing,” he said of the group’s website. At last count, they had about 5,300 regular visitors to their Facebook page. They are asked to speak at Ebay conventions and people come up and hug them in gratitude.
“They say ‘We’ve kept the power on this month’ by thrifting,” Smith said. “Helping people is a cool thing.”
What’s happening to Smith in Vegas is staying there — in the booth he has in an antique mall around the corner from the “Pawn Stars” pawn shop where the long-running series is filmed.
Two years ago, the two men started worked with the Pixcom production company and the idea of seeing their dreams com to fruition is very exciting.
“I guess Vegas is the place to go and become a star,” Smith said.
They have become icons in the thrifting world, said Nicole Platt, a publicist for Spike TV. They hosted the CEO and founder of WorthPoint around the best-known thrifting locations in Las Vegas, according their website.
WorthPoint.com is a go-to site for people who want to research the sale value of art, antiques and collectibles.
Thrift Hunters will track Smith and Goodman as they go on shopping adventures at various thrift shops, flea markets and garage sales in Las Vegas and other locations across the country on the hunt for the best hidden valuable items, Platt said.
On the filmed journey, the guys find some quite unusual items, including a limited edition jacket from the 1986 cult film “Rad,” a rare pair of Gone with the Wind tickets, a vintage Smith Corona typewriter and 1960’s Disney Education Cards.
“Once the shopping adventure ends, the real drama beings as they work to put their strategically-purchased items up for auction, negotiating with consumers for the best price on these hard to find items,” Platt said.
She provided this link to a short trailer for the series: www.spike.com/video-clips/7zu3un/auction-hunters-back-in-the-hunt-saturdays-begin-january-18.
