Ethan Ransom | Connor Higgins

Professional thrift shoppers find riches on the racks.

Ethan Ransom is after big game.

“I only get the ones made in Italy,” Ransom says, eyeing a Ralph Lauren shirt hanging amid hundreds of men’s dress shirts on a rack at a Village Discount Outlet on Chicago’s north side.

The best of Ralph Lauren is the goal today, as is most anything made by top-shelf clothiers apt to charge upward of $300 for a shirt and thousands for a suit or sport coat — when it’s brand-new, that is. But at places like Salvation Army or Village Discount ­Outlet, which operates 10 thrift stores in Chicago, Ransom expects to pay less than $10. To do that, he must dig, flipping through 20 or more shirts per minute as he walks slowly down the rack, eyes glued to labels.

“Your arms do get tired,” he says as he flips.

Finally, he makes the day’s first find. “Turnbull & Asser,” Ransom announces, pulling the blue-and-white-striped button-down shirt in for a close-up examination.

With shops in New York, London and Beverly Hills, Calif., Turnbull & Asser has supplied shirts to big-screen studs like James Bond and counted such dignitaries as Winston Churchill, Prince Charles and Ronald Reagan as real-life customers. If you have to ask what a Turnbull & Asser shirt costs, well, you probably can’t afford it. But here at Village Discount Outlet, this one — made from Sea Island cotton, a fabric woven from the fibers of plants native to islands off the coast of the southern United States — has a $3.90 price tag. And it is in flawless condition.

The shirt is too large for Ransom but will easily fetch $25 or more on eBay or from online fashion-sales forums. And this is merely the beginning: Over the course of a 14-store binge, Ransom will score sport coats from Brioni and Brooks Brothers, eight shirts from makers ranging from Paul Stuart to Thomas Pink, an anorak by Willis & Geiger, a handful of ties, a Schott leather motorcycle jacket and a vintage suit by Campus, a long-defunct maker that’s back in style thanks to Mad Men. Total cost? Less than $100. Most will go in his closet, but Ransom could quad­ruple his investment if he sold everything.

For Ransom, who works as a cook at a grocery store, shopping at thrift stores is a passion that is more hobby than business. For others, it’s a way of life — and a living.

Connor Higgins of Kansas City, Mo., considered his prospects three years ago while thrifting part time during college. After earning a degree in business marketing from Rockhurst University, he opted to become a full-time thrifter. “Once I graduated, I figured I could make more money doing this than at an entry-level job,” he says.

It’s not easy. When he’s on the hunt, Higgins drives 100 miles or more in a day, hitting 20 or so thrift stores in sprees lasting 10 hours. He does this three or four days a week.

“I don’t think you can go out too often,” Higgins says. “I’ve gone to the same store twice in the same day and found new stuff.”

When he’s not shopping, Higgins posts wares for sale online, answers questions from prospective buyers and mails goods to new owners. While clothing is the focus, he also shops for electronics that can be resold for a profit.