Buyer Pays $4,500 for Entire Inventory of Cordele Vintage Shop

Vicky Szuflita bought the entire contents of Rags to Riches, a closed vintage store in Cordele, Ga., paying $4,500 and moved thousands of garments into a spare house on her property. The shop had been closed with a sign reading “Everything Must Go,” and its clothing sat in the windows for months.

After corresponding with the building’s new owner, Ms. Szuflita offered $4,500 for the inventory — which the account says amounted to a single dollar bill for each item — and over Memorial Day weekend in 2024 she and her boyfriend used a borrowed church van and a U-Haul to clear the two‑story building.

They packed about 92 giant bags as they found decades‑old tags, disintegrating hangers and items that appeared untouched for years. Ms. Szuflita tested the market by selling select pieces to resale shops and at pop-ups: Beacon’s Closet took roughly 30 items at $6 each, a plus‑size boutique in Los Angeles bought another pile, and a block sale of 40 prom dresses brought $1,733.96.

She has since been selling through live auctions on a platform called Whatnot, describing the effort as a “fashion‑brand‑in‑reverse”; one live sale grossed $677. She later met the store’s former owners, Paula and Wilbur Lowery, who had put the building up for sale after health setbacks and staff changes.

Key Topics

Business, Vicky Szuflita, Cordele Georgia, Paula Lowery, Whatnot, Vintage Clothing