Instagram is a minefield of vintage furniture resellers hawking Bertoia-ish and Cesca-esque chairs as far as the eye can scroll—and separating the wheat from the chaff can feel insurmountable. But three of Instagram’s most vibrant vintage sellers prove that the real deal is out there. Here, they tell the story behind their biggest scores.

Carefully Picked

When David Barsoum moved to the greater Chicago area to complete a PhD in organic chemistry, he faced a daunting task: filling an empty apartment on a tight student budget. One Craigslist score (a no-name walnut armchair) quickly turned into an impressive collection of midcentury-modern furniture that caught the attention of fellow student Niky Sampedro; the couple, now married, bonded over a shared passion for design. But when Barsoum downsized into a smaller apartment, he was forced to resell the majority of his findings. During that process, something clicked: He realized he was actually making decent money doing this, and the two of them created Carefully Picked. After selling through Instagram and their website for the last six years, they recently opened a brick-and-mortar in the heart of Chicago. Nestled between tall buildings, the compact storefront houses museum-worthy pieces, from a Shogun Lamp by Mario Botta for Artemide to a full-blown M400 Helicoid Staircase by Roger Tallon.

Their Greatest Score: Poker Table by Joe Colombo for Zanotta. Italy, 1968.

Why They Love It
Rotating plates with removable ashtrays, plus a bright green baize covering, make Colombo’s design stand out—a Vegas craps table, but one that you’d actually want to put in your home. Barsoum and Sampedro knew from previous experience that customers gravitate toward modular furniture that blends form and function. And in this case, you can play poker and smoke a joint, enjoying your vices in style. The Poker Table was a runaway hit—the shop’s Instagram Reel listing the sale went viral and was reposted by various weed lifestyle accounts. “People were going feral for it,” says Barsoum.

Where They Found It
While Chicago’s surrounding suburbs are full of sprawling antique malls, the duo found this table listed online in the city in 2023. Because it had a higher price tag (the previous owner knew its value), they played the long game and kept an eye on it for a few months. After a spirited round of bargaining and negotiations, it was theirs for $750.

How They Priced It
Because the table still cost the couple more than they’d usually spend, they wanted to stay firm on the resale pricing to make a profit—and many factors come into play when making that decision. Availability and demand generally come first: “What else is out there? How much would somebody get it for right now if they didn’t want to buy ours?” Barsoum asks. A second, more ephemeral, factor is trendiness: Luckily, game tables happen to be having a moment. Barsoum and Sampedro originally listed the table at $3,500, but they allowed for some negotiation. After a bit of back and forth, the table sold for $2,800. “I think something that’s interesting about pricing is that you don’t always get it right the first time,” Barsoum says. And flexibility is key: There was demonstrated interest in the piece, but it wasn’t going to sell for $3,500. The new owner saw the table when a weed account reposted it on Instagram—fitting, as the buyer is a big name in the cannabis industry. (Barsoum and Sampedro can’t share the name, but they can confirm that it’s not Snoop Dogg.) While a physical shop is an asset, nothing compares with the reach of a viral post.

Long Weekend

In 2016, Ninze Chen, a former art director, packed her bags and relocated from New York City to Livingston Manor, a small town in the Catskills, in search of a quieter, different life. This big change led to a new hobby: sourcing and reselling vintage furniture—something she’d always taken an interest in but never thought to pursue until moving. “It just felt so calming up here.… I felt like I had the headspace to do it,” she says. After successfully selling her wares on Etsy and Instagram for six months, Chen turned her hobby into a solid side hustle. It wasn’t long before her garage was overstuffed, which is when she knew it was time to open a store. Established in 2019, Long Weekend sells both furniture and home accessories, and the majority of the stock is midcentury modern, specifically 1960s to 1970s European, American, and Brazilian pieces, peppered with some antiques like deacon’s benches and Chinese farm stools.

Her Greatest Score: Timberline Floor Lamp by Mads Caprani. Denmark, 1971

Why She Loves It
Like the rest of Instagram, Chen was enamored of Mads Caprani’s Timberline Floor Lamp: “This lamp had everyone in a choke hold. Everyone was mad about Mads.” But her love for it had nothing to do with its internet hype—it was its origin story that stole her heart. As the legend goes, Caprani was doodling a bunch of question marks in his sketchbook, pondering his next design. Something occurred to him, and he realized the character itself would be his inspiration, and it’s evident in the curving shape of the lamp’s spine. This story blew Chen’s mind. “So many times as creatives, we’re overthinking…and it really asks you to look at overlooked shapes and overlooked parts of the process to define an outcome,” she says.

Where She Found It
On the way home from a Christmas trip to Wyoming with her husband in 2020, Chen scoped out the nearby online vintage listings. “I couldn’t help myself,” she admits. Somewhere in what Chen describes as the “middle of nowhere Kansas,” so rural that “Dorothy wouldn’t have even lived there,” was a Facebook Marketplace listing, featuring the lamp in what appeared to be mint condition. Inspired by what could be a once-in-a-lifetime find, Chen and her husband drove four hours out of their way to investigate. Once they reached their destination, they saw that nothing else was of any particular value, but the lamp was worth the drive. The seller had bought it from an owner who imported it from Denmark. Chen knew it was authentic because of its cast-iron, crescent-shaped base and Mads Caprani stamp.

How She Priced It
At $500, the lamp was priced a bit high for Chen’s appetite. She tried to bargain for less, but the seller had done his own research and knew what he had. “He wouldn’t even $475 me,” she says jokingly. But according to her own research, the lamp typically sells for above $2,000, so $500 was still a pretty good deal. Once she was ready to sell, Chen had a brief crisis of confidence. Given the lamp’s popularity and its general resale price, Chen priced it at $2,200. Her leap of faith paid off: The piece sold less than a week later to a customer visiting from New York City.

The Modern Republic

The Modern Republic, a vintage shop started by Kenya Abdul-Hadi (near right) and Steve Brown, offers some of the most eclectic furniture and home wares in Philadelphia—but New York played a key role in its success. Their story began 15 years ago in Philly, when collaborating on a fashion show at the mall where Abdul-Hadi’s first store, focused on street wear, was located. After closing that space in 2008 and starting a new, vintage-focused project in 2018, they struggled to make sales. “The people in this area weren’t as savvy as some of the items that we were collecting,” explains Abdul-Hadi. So they took their shop to a marketplace where there was more demand, commuting every weekend to New York, where they maintained a booth at the Brooklyn Flea. That decision paid off, resulting in a flood of followers, and the two kept it going until the pandemic hit and they returned to Philadelphia. That’s where they opened The Modern Republic’s first proper store, in 2020, and where Instagram followers travel to visit the colorful curation of midcentury-modern, Bauhaus, and Art Deco pieces.

Their Greatest Score: Sectional Sofa by Vladimir Kagan for Directional. USA, 1980s.

Why They Love It
The pair are drawn to Kagan’s designs for their biomorphic shapes. The undulating curves of the sectional give it an organic look. “It’s not like your typical midcentury modern,” says Brown. He and Abdul-Hadi don’t typically prioritize prestigious labels, though. They instead ask, “Does this have the right look? The right style? Will it fit in our store?” This striking sectional happened to have all that, plus a valuable name—a combination they knew would sell.

Where They Found It
They came across a Craigslist ad for an estate sale in central New Jersey in 2021 and were intrigued by a Lucite-and-glass table. When they arrived at the address, it was an abandoned house that was trashed; there were punched holes in the walls and shattered glass, but the furniture, thankfully, was unharmed. The table ended up being just one of the pieces they bought; the previous owner had a seriously impressive collection of what Abdul-Hadi describes as “a time capsule of good stuff in a bad environment.” And the star of the show was, of course, the sleek Kagan sectional. The ivory velvet upholstery had seen better days, so they had it reupholstered in wool. Abdul-Hadi and Brown technically walked away with two Kagan sofas that day, but Brown couldn’t help but keep the second one for himself.

How They Priced It
It was clear that the seller didn’t have any information on his merchandise, because they bought the sofa for just $300. In addition to placing it in their store, the pair listed it on Instagram, Chairish, Etsy, and 1stdibs; the latter is where they ended up selling it for a whopping $25,000 to someone in Switzerland six months after they found it. The online platform gave them the reach they needed to find the right customer, one they may have never connected with otherwise. And it resulted in a sale they’ll remember forever.

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