Remember when your mom saw a TikTok on Swedish Death Cleaning and decided it was high time to empty out the attic and sail to Aruba with the profits? Well, she might be onto something.
The 12-place setting china service and that wince-inducing floral sofa aren’t going to be hot sellers – even thrift shops won’t accept the latter. But there are treasures to be mined among the trash and Tom Santilli – AKA The Consignment King – is just the guy to find them.
Resplendent in his cardboard crown and satiny cape, Santilli – who also goes by “Tommy Coupons” – is a state Instagram star, alternately doling out sage advice for potential sellers and organizing prime estate sales and commercial liquidations across Connecticut and Westchester County, NY. If you need a pizza oven, a Porsche Boxster, or a Pirates of the Caribbean pinball game, chances are he can hook you up. If you want to know if Dad’s timepiece is a real Rolex, he’s got your back there, too.
“It doesn’t feel like work,” Tom says of the business he’s built for five years now, “It allows me to be myself and integrate my personality, but also provide a service.”
Tom’s vocation started back when he was in middle school, selling collectibles online. By the time he finished his degree in Family Business & Entrepreneurship at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, his friends’ moms were calling him to help clear out their garages and sell whatever he found.
In recent years, he’s coordinated on-site and online sales for residents moving South, families whose loved ones have passed, empty nesters and restaurants refreshing their equipment.
Why should you opt for Tom instead of a tag sale?
“It’s time consuming and a lot of work,” he says. “It’s always easier to have a professional service come in, especially when it comes to valuing things.”
What’s hot these days? Mid-century modern furniture and housewares, including bamboo, blond wood and vintage Fiestaware, and pieces from popular brands like Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn. Anything that’s pure silver or gold and trending jewelry and gently used sectionals and leather couches are also hot commodities online, Tom says.
Not so Grandma’s beloved mahogany dining room hutch. Even many Lenox vases – once bridal shower staples – are selling for $10 or less, Tom says.
But it’s often hard to predict what will sell on any given day. Tom once found a buyer for a huge train set and 150 feet of track that a genial Ansonia man set up in his backyard. He’d dress like Santa and take the neighbor kids for Christmastime rides.
The Consignment King videos have a fair fanbase on social media and Tom says he enjoys donning the crown. “I’ve been told I should go into acting,” he says.
theconsignmentking.com
@consignmentking_
