‘It is a treasure hunt:’ Huntley woman resells what she finds at thrift stores, flea markets and estate sales

When the COVID-19 pandemic and tanking economy shut down one Huntley woman’s business, she used the time to sort through her late mother’s antiques.

That sentimental pastime lead Dena Napoli, owner of CDM Promotions in Gilberts, to a side hustle and new business named Gramdogs Antiques & More.

Sorting through her mother’s six storage units filled with a lifetime of treasures brought many memories and emotions. It also led to a new source of steady income for the family that had relied on the Gilberts business for the past 20 years.

”It is an addiction. The best thing is finding a treasure. It is a treasure hunt.“

—  Dena Napoli, owner of Gramdogs Antiques & More

Napoli is part of a growing community of people from across the globe who have become addicted to the process of finding treasures, reselling them and generating income.

At first, Napoli followed in her son’s footsteps and started selling online.

“In 2018, my mom passed away unexpectedly, and she was an antiquer,” Napoli said. “So we had all her junk and we started selling that on eBay and got the bug. I had to support the family.”

Napoli sells through Facebook and at a booth at Q’Tiques in McHenry.

Libby Humphrey of McHenry is another seller.

“What we are doing has been around for centuries,” Humphrey said. “Maybe they called us peddlers back in the day, but it’s always been around, and now more than ever.”

Humphrey caught the bug in 2007 when she found herself up all night caring for her sick mother. She also started on eBay as that was the only way to resell at the time.

Humphrey now runs multiple antique and vintage resell Facebook sites, hosts on-line auctions and, like Napoli, also sells from a booth at Q’Tiques, which is owned by Kathy Quatraro of Elk Grove Village.

Quatraro said she opened the antique mall three years ago as an extension of an interest she and her husband share.

“My husband and I would go out and do this as a hobby,” she said. “We would hit all the antique malls and thrift stores, then we had the opportunity to do something here.”

Quatraro said given it was the pandemic when they opened the antique mall, they were “in the right place at the right time.”

“Everybody was downsizing, moving, purging,” she said.

The shop gets truckloads of treasures daily and many of her customers are resellers.

Additionally, Quatraro is seeing an influx of younger shoppers choosing to buy from resell shops to furnish their homes. They are realizing the quality is better, she said.

Quatraro said the process of selling other people’s antiques at her mall can be emotional.

“Grandparents pass and children and grandchildren are so attached to their items,” she said. “We really walk a fine line some days. Taking care of their mom’s milk glass or their dad’s favorite tool.”

Through her online sites, Humphrey has nationwide repeat customers. “It’s a pretty amazing circle,” she said.

Humphrey spends a lot of time seeking out treasures from estate sales, which she also runs at times. She frequents garage sales, flea markets and online groups such as Deal or No Deal.

Her son, Danny Humphrey, joins her in the resale business and often sells vintage toys.

The business of collecting and reselling requires research, packing, shipping and customer service, which is an all-day task, but well worth it, the women said.

“When I started this business I invested $20 a long time ago,” Humphrey said. “Nowadays, it is not unheard of for me to spend a couple thousand dollars a month, but I make $1,500 in one [Facebook live] show.”

Humphrey is the administrator and moderator of Facebook pages named Sweet Creek Boutique, Moon River Vintage and Antique Live, Farmhouse Ephemera & More Auctions, as well as Sell it All Daily Flea market and Sales.

Her items range from sterling silver and high-end antique jewelry to vintage signs, toys, old photos, newspapers and postcards.

Napoli began her resale business selling “anything that had value.” It just became the next family business.

The ladies said the hunt, learning the history of a unique find, and being surprised when they realize they found rare or valuable treasures is as exciting as the money it brings in.

“Every item has a story,” Napoli said. “I would just dive into the old antiques mom had and her old antique books. Plus, with the internet you can look up everything. Mom didn’t have that in the 1980s and 1990s.”

When Napoli was allowed to open her promotions business again after the pandemic shutdowns, she did not want to give up her treasure hunting.

“That was my passion,” she said, “and I ended up just loving it.”