Sell to Us · Vintage Clothing · Anchorage
Four of every ten Alaskan closets are within an hour of Anchorage.
Free video appraisal · paid before you ship · no obligation
Anchorage went from railroad town to metropolis in a single generation. Elmendorf Field broke ground in June 1940, the Alaskan Air Force, soon renamed the Eleventh, activated there in January 1942, and the base staged the air war for the Aleutians, the only WWII campaign fought on North American soil. The military boom built the city, the pipeline years filled it, and Alyeska ran the whole project from here. Today the municipality holds roughly 289,000 people, and with the Mat-Su on top, the largest concentration of old closets in the state.
Anchorage has plenty of places to sell last decade’s clothes. What it has never had is a buyer who pays collector prices for a big E Levi’s jacket, a father’s uniform group, or a fifty year old Filson cruiser. That is the gap we fill, remotely and on your schedule. We are California Vintage Buyers, based in Laguna Hills, our Sam was raised in Alaska with his high school years in Sitka, and the process is built so you take no risk: photos first, a short video call, a price agreed while you hold the piece, PayPal before you ship, shipping on us.
What we buy from Anchorage and the Valley
WWII and cold-war military pieces
Uniform groups, patches, cold weather gear, and flight jackets from the families of Elmendorf, Fort Richardson, and the Aleutian campaign. Painted and patched pieces lead the market.
Text us a photo Send us a photoOld Levi’s and denim
Big E red tabs, 501XX, buckle-backs, Type 1 to 3 jackets. A 1960s big E pair brought $2,040 at auction right in Anchorage, so the value is not theoretical.
Text us a photo Send us a photoOld Carhartt and workwear
Heart-logo Carhartt from the early 1960s and before, blanket-lined chore coats, union-made labels, and the hard-wearing brands nobody remembers.
Text us a photo Send us a photoFilson and outdoor gear
Mackinaw wool cruisers, tin cloth, and the hunting and fishing gear Alaska actually lived in. Hard use rarely hurts the value.
Text us a photo Send us a photoWhole closets and estates
Clearing a family home in Anchorage, Eagle River, or the Valley: send photos of the lot and we will tell you honestly what has a market and what does not.
Text us a photo Send us a photoSell it without meeting a stranger in a parking lot
Anchorage sells its used things on Marketplace, and everyone in town has a story about the meetup that never showed or the offer that got insulting in the comments. This is the opposite. Text photos to (949) 449-1255 and a real buyer answers the same day. If the piece is right we agree on the number face to face on video before anything moves, the payment clears your PayPal before the box is taped, and the shipping label costs you nothing. Eagle River, Palmer, Wasilla, Girdwood, it is all the same to us, because USPS does the driving.
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.
From the Shop
Loop Collar Shirts: The 1940s to 60s Button-Ups Worth Pulling From a Closet
Read the transcript
Hey guys, what do we have here? Just some button-up shirts. Not just some button-up shirts, some pretty cool ones, some kind of old ones. Key distinguishing factor, these are loop collar shirts. What's that mean? There's a stinking loop on the collar. Pretty simple, right? Now, a lot of shirts that aren't really that old might have a loop on the collar. So it's not just you see a loop, you're seeing really good stuff. Not necessarily the case. But it is primarily, if you're finding yourself cleaning out a property or what have you, and it's like there's some of these, you're looking at something probably from the 40s to the 60s, right? So loop collar shirts are not to be despised. You pay good money for these kind of guys. See a loop collar? Pretty straightforward. Plaid ones are great. Where's the loop? There she is. This kind of stuff. Yeah, so late 50s, early 60s. Great stuff. If you're seeing loop collared shirts, don't just take them to the thrift store. Just because they're not old Levi's or old military stuff or whatever doesn't mean that they don't have value. So give us a call. 949-449-1255. We'll even buy your old button ups.
How it works
Text us photos.
Send shots of the piece, the tags, and the buttons to (949) 449-1255. A real buyer answers the same day.
Video call, price agreed.
Ten minutes on FaceTime or whatever you already use. We agree the number while the piece is in your hands.
Paid before you ship.
The PayPal payment lands before you pack a box. Then we handle the shipping label, and shipping is on us.
Common questions
Where can I sell my second hand clothes for cash in Anchorage?
For current styles, the resale and consignment shops in town are a fine option. For anything older, pre-1990 denim, military pieces, old workwear, Filson, the collector market pays several times local resale, and we bring it to you remotely: photos, video call, PayPal before you ship. (949) 449-1255.
Do consignment or resale shops pay for vintage?
Resale chains buy current styles for their racks, and consignment pays only after a sale, minus roughly half. True vintage sits outside both models, which is why a rare jacket can hang unsold at a local price that is a tenth of its collector value. We pay the collector price, up front.
Is my parents’ old military gear worth anything?
WWII and earlier pieces very often are, especially patched or painted jackets, uniform groups with a name and story, and cold weather gear. Some medals are restricted by federal law, and we will tell you plainly what can and cannot be sold. Send photos before anything is donated.
How fast does payment actually arrive?
On the call. Once we agree on the price, the PayPal payment is sent while you watch, before you pack a single item. Then we handle shipping. If PayPal does not suit you, say so and we will sort out what does.
Dad’s uniform group from the Elmendorf years is in a trunk. How should we handle it before selling?
Keep the group together. A named group, meaning the uniform with its insignia alongside the paperwork, the photographs, the discharge papers and the cold weather gear issued with it, documents a person and a posting, and split into pieces it becomes anonymous stock. Do not remove patches, name tapes or ribbons, do not launder or dry clean wool, and do not spray anything scented on it, since a day on a hanger in moving air handles most storage smell. Text photos of what is in the trunk to (949) 449-1255 and we will tell you what you have before anything gets packed.
The old Filson cruiser has hung by the door for decades. Should I have it cleaned and rewaxed first?
No. Oil finished tin cloth should never be washed or dry cleaned, and a fresh coat of wax over decades of honest wear reads as a recent refinish and flattens the color a buyer is paying for. To place its age, look under the collar and in the side seam: older garments generally carry a woven label and a union tag, while newer ones are printed and come with a long care instruction tag. Store it on a wide hanger with air around it rather than sealed in a plastic tote in an unheated garage, where mildew starts.
Is one jacket really worth a phone call?
Yes. In this market one right piece can carry the value of a whole closet: a 1960s pair of big E 501s brought $2,040 at an Anchorage auction house, and we paid $12,000 for a single 1940s Levi's jacket. If what you have is not in that territory, the call still costs nothing and you will get a straight answer instead of a maybe, which is worth having before anything gets donated.
Know what it’s worth before you sell.
Our field guides explain how the market actually prices these things. No fishing, no hype: real ranges and the details that move them.
One call. We’ll take it
from there.
(949) 449-12555.0 on Google · Free video appraisal · Paid before you ship, shipping on us
Mon-Sat 6 am-8 pm · Sun 8 am-5 pm
A real person answers seven days a week, weekends included. Photos sent today are usually answered the same day.
Or send your photos online Photos on your phone? Text them to (949) 449-1255
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