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Online vintage furniture sellers are popping up like dandelions in spring. The explosion of hunter/collector TV shows like American Pickers has spawned a thousand cyber cottage industries populated by Goodwill junkies who think they can make a go of it online. I wish them all good luck but I suspect many of them will wind up with basements full of junk and a server bill to boot.

I predict a happier ending for Susan Elliott of Tribute Decor, however. Susan has a few things going in her favour — she’s an auction addict who learned the ropes as a kid tagging along with her parents and she has a pretty good eye. She follows the blogs so she stays abreast of what’s on trend and she has an intuitive sense of what will sell IF she can get it for the right price, thus allowing her some margin while still passing decent deals onto her customers.

See the mahogany art deco chest above? Susan sold it for just $395, which I happen to think is a steal for a piece of this quality. In fact, I liked it so much I purchased it for my latest decorating client who will use it as a tallboy clothes dresser. The gorgeous mahogany bar, below, just went up on Susan’s site priced at $495.

The clean-lined mid-century coffee and side table set, below is also still available for $285 for the set.

Susan’s real secret weapon is her location — she’s based in Kingston, Ontario, almost equidistant from three of Canada’s biggest markets — Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. She’ll deliver for a nominal fee ($95 to Toronto) and unlike Craigslist, she’ll take the goods back if you’re not completely satisfied. “I want my customers to be happy and to recommend me to their friends and family,” she says.

“I’m careful at the auctions to really look things over,” she tells me, “and I make an effort to photograph and explain anything that’s not quite perfect so my customers understand exactly what they’ll be getting.”

Unlike some dealers, Susan isn’t bound to a particular style or era; on her site right now you’ll find Sheraton, Shaker, art deco, industrial, mid-century modern, even post-modern like the Knoll Handkerchief chairs below ($600 the pair). Susan isn’t greedy and knows that to make a living she has to keep the stock turning over, which means you should probably sign up for Tribute‘s email alert or check the site frequently — there are a lot of “sold” tags on her merch so best to see it when it’s fresh.

Like many sellers, Susan’s collecting habit was getting out of hand and her husband started joking that a TV crew was going to show up and feature them on an episode of Hoarders. Hence the launch of Tribute last May. So far things are going well and posts like this one are bound to help spread the word. That great looking blanket box/TV stand below is priced at $175, but it probably won’t last long.