Our Services · Free Appraisal
A free, honest read on your vintage clothing. Usually the same day.
If you are searching for a vintage clothing appraisal, here is the version we offer: text photos of the garment and its labels to (949) 449-1255, or ask for a quick video call, and a person who buys and sells vintage clothing every day will tell you what you have and what the market actually pays for it. It costs nothing, usually comes back the same day, and you are under no obligation to do anything with the answer.
Free visit · cash offers · no obligation
One honest distinction before you send anything. We are dealers, not licensed appraisers. What we give you is a working read from people who handle these garments weekly: the era, the maker, the details that matter, and a truthful market range. If you need certified paperwork for insurance, probate, or a legal matter, that is a licensed appraiser's job, and we will say so plainly rather than pretend otherwise.
What the free read tells you
What it is
The era, the maker, and the details that decide the bracket: tabs, tags, stitching, hardware, fabric.
What it brings
An honest market range from the markets we actually sell into, not an insurance-replacement fantasy number.
What to do next
Whether it is worth selling, worth keeping, or worth certified paperwork, and where each path leads.
What not to do
Before anything else: do not wash, repair, or alter it. Original condition is where the value lives.
What we would pay
If it is something we buy, you can have our number the same conversation. Cash in Southern California, PayPal before you ship from anywhere else.
In person across Southern California, by video from anywhere
In Southern California the read often turns into a visit: we come to you, look at everything in person, and pay cash on the spot if you like the number. From anywhere else in the country the video call does the same work: we look together, agree what it is, and if we buy it, payment arrives by PayPal before you ship a single box, with the shipping label on us. Either way the appraisal itself stays free, and plenty of people use it just to know what is hanging in the closet.

A Recent Find
A 1940s Levi’s Type 1 jacket, sold to us by a former dealer who knew exactly what he had. We paid $12,000 in cash, the same day.
How it works
Call or text photos.
A real conversation about what you have, no pressure to sell.
We come to you.
We look at everything, at your pace. We know what we're seeing.
Cash offer, same visit.
A fair price on the spot, or a full estate sale run for you.
Common questions
Is the appraisal really free?
Yes, genuinely. No fee, no percentage, no obligation to sell to us or to anyone. We offer it because reading garments is how we find the pieces we want to buy, and because an honest answer costs us little and saves you a great deal.
Is this a certified appraisal?
No. Certified appraisals for insurance, probate, or legal purposes come from licensed appraisers, cost money, and produce formal paperwork. What we give you is a dealer's working read: what the piece is and what the market pays. For most people deciding whether something is worth selling, that is the answer they actually need, and when a piece deserves the certified route we will tell you so.
What should I photograph?
The whole garment front and back, every label and tag, and the details: the red tab and back patch on denim, the hem stitching on t-shirts, logos on workwear, contract labels in military pieces, and any damage. Good light, no flash. Label photos matter more than the garment shot; they are usually where the answer lives.
How fast will I hear back?
Usually the same day. A clear set of photos often gets an answer within hours, and a video call can settle a whole closet in one conversation. There is no queue and no form letter; a real person looks and a real person answers.
Do you appraise things you do not buy?
Yes, and we will be plain about which is which. The free read is honest whether or not there is anything in it for us, and if a piece belongs with a specialist or at auction rather than with a dealer, that is exactly what we will tell you.
One call. We’ll take it
from there.
(949) 449-1255Mon-Sat 6 am-8 pm · Sun 8 am-5 pm
A real person answers, Monday through Saturday. Photos sent today are usually answered the same day.
Prefer photos? Text them straight to the same number · or send them here
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