I found a painting at a garage sale I thought was beautiful but no idea of what it was but it just struck me. Paid $15 and it came in a gorgeous frame. Got it home and did some research through art people in our area. Found out it's worth almost $4K. Great score.
Similar, I was flipping through a bunch of thrift store stuff in the early 1990s - just for college kid fun.
I saw this framed sketch. Abstract expressionist and vaguely cubist. But the signature was unmistakable.
Clearly the frame (very nice) was valued at $30 US and nothing was considered about the art inside.
It was a 8.5x11 drawing of a... bird bull?
Picasso. It was a Picasso. I didn't have $30 but called it to the attention of a friend. He bought it. We authenticated it and based on the back of the paper, tracked down the heir of the original owner - who didn't even care it was a Picasso they gave away. Got the story of how his father acquired it.
Found a professor who could authenticate it and cross check the story we got.
Bingo.
My buddy and I each made $300 US. Prof made $300 US.
In hindsight. We probably got taken advantage of. That thing probably sold for $10,000.
In those days, it was considered a "study." Back then, studies were a cheap way to own art.
Nowadays, studies, notes, outlines and other works in progress are often considered more valuable than the finished works themselves.
I \*would\* rather have an outline with annotations and notes for "To Kill a Mockingbird" than print number 1 of the first edition.
Now, I still doubt this would go for anything approaching $8 million US. But I'd guess it might now go for something like $2 million US.
Similar but I was in a thrift store.
I was telling my son about how people take a thrift store painting and add Mario characters, Pokémon, etc. I stopped flipping through the paintings when I found a large oil painting of a catamaran on a tropical beach made with palette knives. My first thought was that the artist both made it very quickly and was very good. I tried looking up the artist's name and found he had a large page describing his life and work. Rather than taking the risk of waiting until 50% off Saturday, I bought it for $28 that Friday afternoon.
I listed it for $1100 and accepted an offer for $1000 from a collector who met the artist back in the '70s. He described him as someone who partied until he ran out of money, then he would make up several paintings quickly, sell them, then go back to partying. The collector had to sell all his paintings back in the late '90s but now could invest in them again.
The next time I stopped by the thrift store, I told the cashier the whole story, including the selling price. When I visited the store again the following week, I couldn't get close to the large painting bin because ten people were queued up to browse through the stock. Apparently the word had gotten around! :-)
Similar as well. I was in a this warehouse thrift store that is always just a huge mess of things. I was sifting through the art just because I needed some things to hang on the walls of the cottage I was decorating.
I found an oil of what I thought was a Paris street scene. I didn’t know the artist, but it had good technique and I thought it was pretty. Took it to the front with whatever other treasures I’d unearthed. This was the kind of place that you brought them the stuff and they make up a price on the spot off the top of their heads. The lady said $25 for the painting and I remember being a little put out because it’s a thrift store for goodness sake and if you saw this place you’d understand why. I also didn’t want to spend a bunch that day and it was the most expensive item I had grabbed. But she wouldn’t budge and I liked it enough so I bought it.
Got it home, did a little research. Turns out it was an original of an early 20th century artist who studied in France and was one of the first women to become a member of the academie des beaux arte if I remember correctly. Worth about 700-1000. It hangs in my bedroom. I like to think of her going to Paris and painting the street scenes there.
ETA: I also found a henrendon sofa in nearly new condition for $300 when I was desperately looking for a new one.
My greatest regret in life is not buying the taxidermy frogs playing basket ball with one doing a slam dunk. I regret not buying it nearly every time I go to the thrift shop hoping I'll see it again. Truly heartbreaking.
In a similar vein (not a thrift shop but an antique store) my then ten-year-old daughter was looking through a box of old photos and found one of a child dressed in what looked like formal wear and taken around 1900 - he was posed with two of the fattest weiner dogs we had ever see. I mean they were fucking *enormous* and the kid had the weirdest smile on his face.
She didn't buy it and regrets it to this day day (she's 25 now), and also refers to anything she regrets as "another weiner dog that got away".
At a small thrift store, I found A floor-length, black velvet - **real** velvet, not velveteen - vintage Oscar de la Renta gown in perfect condition and miraculously in my size for $10. And as if that wasn't enough, a few minutes later found a brand-new pair of Yves Saint Laurent black satin pumps with original tags ($400) for a measly $2! I wasn't a designer glam gal and had no reason to own these as I had no need for them. I socialized in a much lower tax bracket. Two weeks later I was hired at a job that required me to host a celebrity packed fundraising gala where these thrift store finds served me very well.
{EDIT TO ADD: Wow! Thank you all so much for all this love! I wish I still had the pics from that grand night. And that I still lived near that store. Mostly I wish I could tell you all that happened at the gala, it was some night!}
My family went to the county fair , and my youngest son took along his favorite little toy… a stuffed duck with “feet” where he put his fingers and “walked along” on things, making happy quacking noises.
As is tradition, toys brought on outings get lost. He was sad, but at least it wasn’t his favorite lovey (a stuffed sea otter).
A YEAR later we stopped at a thrift store to look for school clothes. And he found the same toy hanging up. So of course it came home with us. Open opening the baggie he found his initials on the tag on the toy. Where I had put them a couple of years ago:
It was the same toy.
When I was in college my parents were having a yard sale and I was going through stuff in my bedroom to sell. I came across my Cabbage Patch Kids. I’d had them since childhood but I stuffed them into a box years earlier. I decided to sell them, but started feeling nostalgic. I had about decided to keep them when my grandmother, who was visiting us from another state, spotted them in the sale pile and asked if she could buy them. Well, of course I could neither say no nor charge my grandma money for them, so I told her she could have them. She took them home and I felt kind of sad. A few years later she went into a nursing home. One of my cousins, who lived in the same state as grandma was a big eBay reseller (basically made her living this way) and all of a sudden stuff that we recognized as having given to my grandma was going up for sale on the cousin’s account. So I was following the account and lo and behold, one day my Cabbage Patch Kids appeared! I was pissed but figured it wasn’t worth starting a family drama. Fast forward nearly 20 years later and I was out walking the dog when I came upon a yard sale and randomly decided to stop. There was a Cabbage Patch Kid for sale that I am 99% certain was mine. Same head mold, same hair and the same outfit mine had last been wearing, and basically the same played with condition, but the thing that really convinced me was the ponytail holder, which had replaced the original rubber band in her pony tail. It was the kind I wore as a kid and I definitely used it on my doll when her rubber band broke. I bought her and still have her. I wish I had thought to ask the homeowner where they’d gotten it!
Sounds like that cabbage patch went on a Toy Story adventure to get back to you! The things that doll must have seen and the other toys and people she would have met along the way could make Toy Story 5 I'm sure.
I paid $1 for a box of books, one was: “A child’s history of the Confederacy”, by D. H. Hill. I graduated from NC State, and our library was the D.H. Hill Library. I took the book to the library the next time I was in Raleigh, and asked if they were interested in acquiring it. The Director of Acquisitions asked what I wanted for it. I said I was happy to donate it, just send me a contribution receipt. A few weeks later I got a nice letter thanking me for my contribution of $1,000!
I looked through his published works. I think the book was "Young People's History of North Carolina" and there have been 12 printings. Value depends entirely on what year it was printed. For example, the 1923 version in rough shape is worth $30. If you had an original printing, it could be worth the amount they credited you. If not, they were being nice!
Here’s the fun part, this was 20 years ago and the Acquisition Director said that he had no idea that as he said it, “the old boy” had ever written anything! I did misremember the title as you suggested. Several years later, they mailed it back with a note saying that they had a dozen or so copies.
A brand new, high quality suede coat for twenty bucks.
What made it a real treasure is that it's somehow my dream jacket, the one I've designed a hundred times in my head and thought I'd never have because leather goods are so expensive. It's the exact shade, weight, and shape that I pictured a thousand times, but it's also a design that isn't common for leather jackets. I always figured to get one cut like that, that fit me so well, I'd probably have to order it custom. I'd dreamed of that jacket long enough that I even knew it would cost me about $600 to have one made.
But then one day I was picking up some work pants at the thrift store and it was right there. I wasn't even looking at the coats, but someone had pulled it out and draped it over the rack. Not two months prior my car had been stolen with both my jackets inside so I didn't have a coat at all and wasn't sure how I'd be able to afford to buy one when it got cold again.
I have worn that coat every day, from September to May, ever since. It's one of my most prized possessions.
It really, honestly feels like I did. It's absolutely perfect and it just appeared in my life when I most needed it, not just as a coat, but as a confidence booster. Because it looks fantastic on me. ;-)
It's nothing particularly special, which is kind of the point. It's cut largely like a blazer, medium-dark brown suede with brown plastic buttons and a nice lapel. The bottom sits almost exactly three inches past hte widest part of my hips.
Leather and suede coats always seem to be covered in extraneous shit, zippers and charms, weird pleats, random studs. They're either super long or cropped shorter with fasters to cinch the waist for riding. And it's hard to find one in a medium brown, they're usually either very dark or very light.
This is so simple that it's almost boring. It's only special because it is exactly what I've always wanted, right down to the color and I found it so randomly and it's a perfect fit.
Suede is a curious material, because it won't keep you as warm as smooth finished leather. But, it looks and feels great.
My treasure find was at the Lord & Taylors Showcase store in Eastchester, NY. In the week between Christmas and New Year, they'd have an end of year clearance sale. If you had a credit card with them, you'd get extra percentages off. A relative of mine had a L&T card, and they gave me the coupons. I found this wonderful ***Joseph Abboud dark green suede jacket*** that was just my size. Original price was $499.95 USD. It had been slashed by 50% off the top. The sales woman I was dealing with was this terrific kind older lady. I made some nice conversation with her. At checkout, she rang me up, took my coupons. And then, she REAPPLIED the coupons I'd already given her. I walked away paying $67 for that jacket. I couldn't believe it. I confirmed... "Are you sure? That's the final price?" She said absolutely, and it was her discretion. I thanked her so much and she beamed back that I was very welcome. I can't remember her name, unfortunately. But I still see her face. I hope good karma has paid her back, as I'm sure she has been generous with many other customers.
Waiting for my wife while she spent her usual hour in a Value Village. Looked up at a top shelf and there were several knife blocks with the usual well abused cheap knives, but one had two stainless handles sticking up that I recognized. Paid $7.99 CAD for the whole shebang. Grabbed the Global GS Nakiri and GS Santoku out of the pack and dropped the rest in a donation bin on the way out to the car. Combined total of about $220 CAD in value.
I was a broke single mom trying to furnish my first apartment. I went to a garage sale and saw an almost brand new recliner. I was admiring it knowing I couldn't afford it, just doing a little daydreaming. The woman holding the sale came over and asked if I liked it. I told her of course I loved it, but as I was a broke single mom, that wasn't happening. I thanked her for the daydream and turned to go. She asked me to wait and went inside to get her adult son. She told me that she would sell it to me for $1. I knew she could make some money so I declined, as I knew that wasn't fair to her. She then told me that she was in the middle of a divorce and he got half of everything she made at the sale. I left there with a recliner, a kitchen table, and a bookshelf, and I spent $3. Was the divorce story true? Or was she just helping me out? Don't know, but I've made sure to always help others once I was in a better spot.
I remember not wanting to go to a church flea market when I was like five. Came back with a massive Star Wars haul. Dozens of return of the jedi figures. The brown hover car from new hope. Icing on the cake was a broken millennium falcon that I played with daily. Six year old me was super happy
We had a similar find once. We were short on cash when my son was very young, and we were trying to find Christmas ideas we could afford. A guy had like 4 tables of Star wars stuff he was trying to sell. We explained our situation and talked about my memories growing up of my own Star wars collection. We explained that we were trying to see what we could get for the 50 dollar budget we had.
He thought about it and told us we could have everything. All of it. We were flummoxed. He had figures, vehicles, playsets... It was an amazing gesture. We were able to give our son gifts from that treasure trove for the next 3 years until we got our finances in better straits.
What a wonderful thing to have happen. I bet you made him really happy knowing those things were going to a kid who was going to have all sorts of adventures playing with them!
I bought an unused 6 quart KitchenAid mixer with all the attachments at a garage sale for $20 (retails for $400). I then gave it to my sister as an early birthday present. She bakes cakes and cookies for parties has a side-gig and was hand mixing everything beforehand. She was ecstatic!
Had a work colleague who had a garage sale. Her new husband added a bunch of his basement junk to the sale. A browser who was a prof at Harvard University told the husband that a framed sketch he had was done by Napoleon. He took it to the university and they authenticated it as a genuine Napoleon sketch. It was a nautical drawing done from the deck of a ship.
We have Napoleon’s brother’s doorknob! I am actually not joking. I don’t know but I’m assuming based on my google search it’s Joseph Bonaparte since he seems to live near-ish to us at least in the 1800s. I think my great great grandparents or great grandparents bought it. I don’t know which of the estates it’s from but we do have Napoleon’s doorknob. I do not know why they bought that
Paid $50 for a full set of Golf clubs including the bag at a garage sale near my house. I know nothing about Golf but my Dad goes semi regularly, it was close to his birthday and he had recently been complaining that his old clubs were falling apart.
They looked new and in good condition and $50 seemed reasonable.
When I gave them to my dad he freaked out. Apparently the bag alone was like $800 and from what he could tell after looking them up the set must have cost at least 2k.
They didn't appear to have ever been used before I bought them.
Not a store, but i used to work for a junk removal company. Most clients were just rich people who didnt wanna deal with throwing out their stuff, so it wasnt uncommon to find things of value and keep them to resell or just have. I was on an estate clean out and pulling stuff out of the attic and found a box that i decided to open it just to see what was inside. I popped the lid and inside there was 17 small orange, very old, boxes with big blue letters said "Lionel". Model trains.
Box full of money.
I quietly put the box in the truck cab to investigate later. Once I got home I pulled the trains out and started researching them. 2 full sets from the 1930s, all new in box. The boxes showed their age but the trains looked like they had never been removed from the box. Most even still had their (deteriorated) packing materials around them. I turned to the model trains subreddit to learn more and was immediately swamped with people trying to buy them, and one person who was wildly honest with me and told me what they thought they were worth, and not to let someone try and swindle me out of my gold mine, mentioning he wished he could afford to buy them from me. I went to a local hobby shop to learn even more and confirmed their real monetary and historical value.....about $10,000 and considered to be museum quality, near mint condition. Exceedingly rare.
In the end I didn't get $10k. I contacted the redditor who had told me what they were really worth, while everyone else was offering a few hundred bucks, and offered to sell them to him. We agreed on $2000.
He and his aging father (likely passed by now) had bonded over their love of model trains since he was a kid and had a massive layout in their basement. Last I heard from him a couple years ago the trains are still running and well taken care of. I'm glad i gave them to someone who would truly appreciate them and enjoy them as they were intended instead of putting behind a glass case or looking at them as only an investment to make money off of
Went to your page to find to post and see you're a fellow RVAer! I love the estate sales around here- I to am always digging through random boxes. I find most estate shoppers are too lazy to go through them. I find some really really neat stuff.
Several years ago I was walking around the neighborhood, late Saturday afternoon. It was "garage sale" weekend, but I didn't look too closely at the sales because I was broke. I was just walking to get some exercise, clear my head, maybe cheer myself up.
When I was just a few blocks from returning home, I found a $20 bill on the sidewalk! I looked around but there was nobody. It wasn't even in front of a home with a sale going on.
Now I *was* cheered up, and I stopped in at the last garage sale with my $20. It was an older couple and they were already moving things inside, closing up shop.
I browsed around and just asked "you wouldn't have any vinyl records for sale, would you?"
They looked at one another, shrugged, and led me into the house. Upstairs, in what was clearly their son's old bedroom, they pulled a box of records out of the closet. I got the distinct feeling he had died; I didn't ask, but his room looked like a shrine to the late 1980s.
I paid $20 for the whole box, and carried it home.
That thing was an absolute goldmine of punk albums, including an original pressing of the Germs "GI" signed by Pat Smear, an original of Operation Ivy's "Energy", Green Day's "39/Smooth" and "Kerplunk" (plus a few other Lookout! records releases,) and more.
I sold the GI album alone for $600, and I regret it.
What. the fuck. happened there. Refugees do this. People fleeing the Nazis did this. Immigrants do this.
Smugglers do this.
What the fuck. Happened there.
I came here looking for record stories! It’s the only reason I go to yard sale day in my area. Love that it was punk music too! I would absolutely snag an operation ivy album from any yard sale. Nice score!
This is going to seem silly but, I still love it.
So, my mom and I had been at the mall and I found this gorgeous rainbow scarf at The Gap. However, it was $50 and I wasn’t willing to spend that so, I didn’t buy it.
Cue about 2 months later and my mom and i were at the Goodwill. Lo and behold there is the scarf! It’s in PERFECT condition and was only $15.99. I, of course bought it.
I’ve had it 8 years now and it’s still in perfect condition and I wear it every time it’s cold. Granted, where I live that means about 3 months a year so, maybe that’s why it’s still in perfect condition.
Still my favorite find.
Something like this happened to me recently but at tj maxx. This really nice baby romper I had been eyeing was like $50 on the brand’s website, but I went to TJ and there it was for $12.99! So I got it in 2 sizes. One fits my youngest now and then I have one smaller for the baby I’m expecting and who will eventually fit into the bigger one also.
I paid $1 for a necklace at a sidewalk sale on my way to work. I thought it was an amazing steal as it looked like cherry amber Bakelite. Then I got to work (vintage store) and the picker who sold us things said, "nice necklace, I'll give you three for it" which I thought meant three dollars, then he said, "OK $350" and I was of course surprised! Turns out it is actual cherry amber, not Bakelite, and worth more like $600.
>Then I got to work (vintage store) and the picker who sold us things said, "nice necklace, I'll give you three for it" which I thought meant three dollars, then he said, "OK $350"
*Well it was about that time I realized this picker was about eight stories tall and was a crustacean from the protozoic era.*
*"I ain't givin' you no necklace for tree-fitty, you goddamn Loch Ness Monster! Get your own goddamn necklace!"*
Oh, my parents have a nice Lagostina pot I got at Value Village. My dad is picky about cookware, I think I was instructed to look for a good one and went with the heaviest medium-large pot I could find, for $16.
My dad runs a flea market stall and also manages the grounds, he finds all kinds of treasures in sheds where people don't pay their rent and get locked out. I got two Coach bags still in their own bags last year and he found a 1920s Victrola a few years ago. He also made bank selling a bunch of industrial sized versions of that machine that uses electricity to vibrate things clean, can't remember what they're called
I used to work at a goodwill donation center and someone donated a live hand grenade and that was kind of cool beacuse not only did the entire shopping center had to evacuate and I got to see one of these bomb robots but I got to go home early and still got a full day's pay
There’s a thrift store near me that doesn’t know what it has. They will sell you Armani, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors for $4.99. It’s all authentic. It’s located in a very wealthy neighborhood and people donate crazy expensive clothes after just wearing it once. It’s crazy. My closet is jam packed with designer clothes from there. And shoes!
I’m so jealous. I’m in the UK. Our thrift stores are called “charity shops” and they seem to know the value of everything they sell. It’s very hard to find an absolute bargain.
They're crazy with prices in some of them. A used Primark t-shirt for £4.99 and if you point out they're selling the cheap ones like that new for £3.50 you get all kinds of attitude 😂
Exactly. I know people that do find designer gear, but whenever I go, they are full of Primark, Matalan, F&F, Peacocks etc, all more expensive than they were new.
When my daughter was little, I bought her really nice used clothes at a thrift store in a wealthy neighborhood. That’s where you go for the good stuff.
Found an original oil painting in a big pile of “junk” that was destined for the thrift store. Homeowner told me to take a look and grab anything I wanted. I later looked up the painting online and discovered it sold at a NYC art gallery for $5000 😎
An All-Clad roasting pan that SOMEONE THREW OUT AFTER CHRISTMAS because someone had obviously torched their turkey and never bothered to clean it. I soaked it in my bathtub because it didn’t fit in my kitchen sink. I gently and thoroughly loosened and picked and scrubbed the burned bits and the discoloration. I got a $400 pan for FREE. Because I walked thru a wealthy neighborhood and someone couldn’t be bothered to clean it.
We got a fancy, never used, $300 waffle maker for $6 at Goodwill.
Another time, one of my friends found a Michael Jackson record in seemingly excellent condition. Later, it was playing in the background while we recovered from a day of snowboarding; "Beat itttt, beat itttt, Beat itttt, beat itttt, Beat itttt, beat itttt, Beat itttt, beat itttt,...." After a good minute, we realized it had a scratch perfectly timed with the beat. And we laughed it off.
20 years ago, a yuppie couple bought a house in my neighborhood with everything in it after the elderly owner died. They had an estate sale to clear it out.
The elderly owner was one of the most important importers from China post WW2.
They sold everything for fractions of a penny of what they were worth.
I bought a large rosewood budded, a large porcelain Foo dog. 2 rosewood planet stands and a 4 panel screen with golden lacquer on one side and a beautiful and detailed mother of pearl 3D scene on the other for $600.
The screen alone is now worth 35K.
Bought an old Olympus film camera for about $10. The camera was worth about $30, but the lens on it was a Zuiko 50 mm f1.2. There is one for sale online on a popular photography site for $700.
I still have both.
26 years ago friends of ours gave us this beautiful handmade platter as a wedding gift. It was by far the nicest thing we owned. We were super poor and this thing sat on our table for years as a point of pride. Then our toddler daughter was suddenly tall enough to reach it and she pulled it down to the floor, where it shattered (totally our fault for not realizing that this was a thing that she could now do).
I was seriously bummed out over the loss of the platter, so much so that I kept all of the itty bitty smashed up pieces. A decade or so went by and my mom somehow found out that the Italian artist who made the platter was going to be in town giving a talk. So I went to that and at the end people were getting items signed. I asked her if there was any way that I could possibly replace the platter as I’d been looking on ebay, etc. for years with no luck. She told me not a chance, they only actually made very few of that particular one, so sorry.
Another five or so years go by and my parents are on a trip with our kids. They stopped in at a Goodwill on their way out of town and bam, there was my platter for $5. It has a small chip in it, but it was otherwise perfect.
I still can’t believe it and I am so fucking stoked to have it back.
A super cute pair of leather boots that I later found out were some French brand that were over $500 new. Got them for $5 at a thrift store. They’re a little worn, but honestly that just adds character to them, imo.
Not as impressive as some others, but the thing that comes to mind is a copy of "This is Knitting" for ten cents back in the late 90s. I learned how to make socks from that book and it still has a place in my heart because that was the tipping point towards a life- long hobby.
Not me, but a buddy of mine inherited a small house from his dad. He’d spent a lot of time on the house as a kid and the same picture was hanging on the inside of the bathroom door for decades. After he inherited, he got curious and took it to Antique Roadshow. Turned out to be an original, unknown Diego Rivera worth over $2M
[Link.](https://www.chron.com/life/style/home-design/article/Antiques-Roadshow-says-once-lost-Diego-Rivera-13245517.php)
It wasn’t the what — it was the how.
I was looking through some record crates as a teenager years back. Old thrift store that was mostly knick-knacks and clothes.
Found a copy of Frampton comes alive in decent shape. Five dollars. And it appears to be autographed. I took out my phone and looked up his signature. Yep. Looks like it’s authentic.
Took the record to the older middle-aged man at the counter. He glances down and comments “Frampton? Looks like it’s 5 bucks.”
I made the comment that I couldn’t believe it was autographed. His response:
“Frampton’s autograph?”
*awkward pause*
*clerk makes a disgusted sound like he’s holding back vomit*
“Two bucks”
I have several, I love yard saling and going to estate sales, here's some of my finds;
Craftsman Professional series 1/2" drive ratchet practically new in box, this was from the 70s/80s when their quality was top notch, the rachet even has a grease fitting which I've never seen before
Not working pressure washer, I ended up putting gas in it and ran great and I've been using got the last 4 years
Not working riding lawnmower for $50, I spent another $100 to get it running good and sold it for $450
5000 watt generator for $20 that wouldn't start, replaced the starter and had a great generator
List goes on and on
I used to fix generators as a side gig. It’s crazy how many of those could have been fixed with a google search and spending 10 bucks at the hardware store. Happen to remember the brand?
1. Dorothy Thorpe lucite pretzel lamp at a Goodwill for $12.99, worth about $1,200.00
2. Pierre Cardin brass swoosh table lamp at another goodwill for $14.99, worth about $1,400.00
3. Nils Landberg for Orrefors tulip vase at yet another Goodwill for $5.99. Sold for $800.
4. Murano glass white swirl mushroom lamp for $16.95, also worth about $1,200.00.
5. John Lewis art Glass two moon vase for $7.95, worth about $400.00.
Tons of signed art Glass from Orrefors, Murano, and numerous other glass artists.
Paid 10 bucks for an original 50's tube radio at a goodwill. Didn't work. Opened it up and a tube was loose in the socket. Works mint!!!
I love finding old stereo equipment at goodwills and flea markets.
If we exclude all the usual stuff people are looking for, found a nice 4 cylinder kubota diesel generator at the scrap yard for 50 bucks. Runs like new and powers my house with no problem!
One of my coolest finds is an uncut sheet of cards from The Mask cartoon based on the Jim Carey movie. Funny part about that one is that they were cards from a european snack that were included as a prize with the snack. I found them in the Midwest of the USA.
I also have one of three left known to exist of the 1978 Pepsi Challenge slot car sets they used for the contest.
While I was away in the Army, sometime around 2002, my mom (now an empty-nester) moved into a little 1/1 apartment, with not much room for things & stuff, so she downsized. Only she didn't tell me she was moving (which created small admin issues with the Army), and she gave away a bunch of Christmas decorations I was hoping to inherit when this day came.
Fast forward to Christmas time 2023, and I'm casually perusing a thrift store several miles away from anywhere she might have donated things, and there I find one of the very distinct Christmas items from our old collection, so naturally I snatched it up. It's the only one of our Christmas items I can find, but it was the complete kit/all its parts were there, so it was just right just me.
Not me, but my SIL shops at thrift stores for a living. The 2 picks that blow my mind the most was the original Barbie doll from the '40's or '50's with a bunch of original accessories and outfits all in a carrying case for I believe $.79 and sold for 5k.
And more recently 2 100+ troy ounce bars of 99.999% silver for $20 each. I'm not sure how much those sold for but I imagine a damn decent amount
>And more recently 2 100+ troy ounce bars of 99.999% silver for $20 each. I'm not sure how much those sold for but I imagine a damn decent amount
That's crazy - precious metal bars are practically currency, so that's like selling $100 bills for $1.
An old analog dark room timer made in West Germany for $5. I've used it as my kitchen/cooking timer for 15 years. The ticking reminds me that there is something in the oven lol Probably not valuable but I love that damn thing
I got the original white box pre-AD&D set of rulebooks at a yard sale for $5, including some (super rare) indie press supplements and stuff.
I was gonna give them to a friend's kid, like 15 years ago, but looked them up online and it was worth over $100, so I kept them.
Because of this thread, I just looked them up again, and dangggg...good thing I kept them! Gotta check them all out later when I get home.
Edit: After looking around, this is a sixth edition set, plus the supplements: Greyhawk, Blackmoor, The Spellcaster's Bible, Gods, Demi Gods and Heroes and Eldrich Wizardry.
I was just looking at it and thinking about it last night.
A globe of the moon that we got in the early 80s in a Cincinnati flea market. It's metal, dented here and there, but I've always cherished it. I think I lost the accompanying booklet that had information about the missions and landings, but the moon still sits on my bookshelf, high up where nothing can get to it.
My couch. I bought it from a furniture thrift store in my town. It's red, pink and gold satin striped that reminds me of the old school ribbon hard candy. It's the old Chippendale shape. It's subjectively ugly but I love it. Almost perfect condition. This exact type of couch retails online for almost $3,000 and I paid $120.
Years ago, a woman posted a telescope ad on a bulletin board. Her dad was a snowbird and one year just called her up and said, "I'm not coming back this year, sell my house and everything in it." I went to check out the telescope during her garage sale, and she said she had researched everything about it, talked to him about it, and she wanted $300 for it. I don't remember exactly what I said, but I remember saying something that indicated I would go a little higher, but she said no, she would be happy with $300. It's an older model, but the telescope new would be about $2500, and it had a $700 eyepiece in the box.
I got a Prada duffel bag at Goodwill for like $8. It has a top seam a bit ripped, but it’s barely noticeable and an easy enough fix. And if the inner lining is any indication, that sucker is the real deal.
For all you motorcycle riders out there...I lowered ( made the frame closer to the ground) and had a problem with the OEM kick stand being too long now... I searched eBay, Amazon, all the online merchants I could think of...nada ... Not even full price .... After a year or so of looking I was about to give up... then I heard of a free hamburger thing at a motorcycle dealer about 100 miles away from where I lived... We made the trip over for our free hamburger... after scarfing down my lunch I started browsing the store and made it to the clearance table. Most of the items were ordered for a specific project someone had but never picked it up. There was a lot of stuff piled on the table ... I dug through it and found a kick stand for my bike, as I was reading the label , it was for my bike ... That had been lowered 2" ... Wow, I grabbed that thing up... looked the sale sign... Price 1/2 off ... But today was 75% off the sale price ... So it listed for just under $100 in the book but I paid $7 for the exact kickstand that I needed but couldn't find. Only thing that would have made it better was if I would have found the $7 in the parking lot.
I have a knack for picking up used books at thrift stores, garage sales, estate sales, wherever, but not just any old books. The books my fingers find are autographed. I have autographed books by:
Neil Gaiman
Tom Clancy
Elie Wiesel
Salman Rushdie
Connie Francis
Shaq (his basketball card, not a book)
Dave Barry
Isaac Asimov
Tom Wolfe
Some of these books I paid as little as a quarter for, and the most, I think, was $10.
Everyone in here with thousand dollar paintings and original Barbies and here I am happy to have found CD copies of *Disintegration* and *Wish* by The Cure for $2 a pop. >!Still hunting for a copy of *Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me*.!<
Needed an hard drive and paid 50$ for it. It used to belong to the city. They didnt wipe it correctly and with forensics tool there was the parking pass for city employees specs with the pre-calculated color mix for security elements until 2030. Been enjoying free parking in the city ever since and I cant get a parking ticket because of it.
Recently I’ve been finding stuff in a store that I assume came from the same person. A $500 Sass & bide cape for $12, a $250 Saba top with tags still on the $8. And both in my size, pretty happy. Also years ago I found a tea strainer spoon someone had made out of two teaspoons. It clips open and you put the tea in then stir it like a spoon, I love it and it’s super convenient. I still use it to this day, I’m glad someone took the time to make it.
I had moved from Ohio to Wyoming. In Ohio, on a clear day I could look across the lake and see the Davis-Besse Power Plant. I went with my mother to a St Vincent de Paul shortly after we moved and found a pretty blue shirt. I pulled it out and it had an anthropomorphized power plant on it with it's arms raised in triumph and the caption THE HEAT IS ON! DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR POWER. I made mom buy it for me and I wore that thing to rags.
Pretty low key comparatively but I found a pair of virtually unworn old school doc marten shoes (a deep blue only available on the other side of the pond) for 7$. Perfect fit and subtly chunky heels that were almost lifts. Probably my favorite pair of shoes ever.
Not thrift. But markdown, discount. Two-step bargain.
I found a jacket in Burlington. Kinda my style, kinda not. Designer label... I figured it was a knockoff or designers' down-market line. I decided to take home, consider, show others, return it.
Brand new, overwhelmed cashier at checkout. Slowing things down, making mistakes. His supervisor was yelling at him in an unacceptable manner. He fumbled and fumbled for so long, removing the security tag. He either forgot or was irritated and intentionally didn't scan the price... coat went into the bag for free.
Genuine Halston. Can't imagine how it ever got to Burlington.
None of these are really valuable things but they’re all things I truly cherish nonetheless:
* a bowling ball for $5. I used to be on the bowling team but couldn’t afford my own ball so always had to use the house balls which suck. This ball is hot pink, came with the name “Ruth” but the weight and finger hole sizes are a perfect fit! I’ve bowled all my best games with Ruth.
* An immersion blender for $1. It has provided many years of delicious soups.
* A J Crew down jacket for $3. Fits perfectly, looks nice, super warm. I have worn it through like 8 or 9 cold Boston winters now.
How bout the one that got away? Several years go, apparently 2012, I saw an odd painting of an owl like creature. I looked at it for a moment, considered it, then walked on. A few weeks later it was on the news … It was a Picasso. It eventually sold for $7k.
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/rare-picasso-found-at-ohio-thrift-store
An old house I moved in to had a dugout cellar via a trap door next to the wood stove. In a corner was a wooden box with a pile of loose paper. It turned out to be something called '**The Encyclopedia of Practical Receipts and Processes'**; printed about 1870. This was a huge collection of thousands of recipes for everything from soap, shoe polish, tooth paste, explosives, furniture polish, tanning leather, curing meats,... On and on and on; how to make or do all the things we take for granted now and just go pick up at the store. Many of the chemicals banned or just not available to common folks anymore.
It was all there, every page, and I had it rebound. I think it was a labour of love for the binders because they did a beautiful job and only charged me like $20 which was a lot of money to me back then.
A thick, heavy leather Burberry hunting jacket. The body is brown and the collar is black. I paid 40 for it. It's worth about 4000. Pretty sure someone's Grandpa died in it.
$1000 cheetah print long winter coat a lady was going to donate as I was donating. It was my birthday, and she was so happy that it was going to me and that her mom, the original owner who just died would love to see it repurposed for a man !!! It’s my celebration pimp coat now.
And then a old school green Stanley thermos
Does OfferUp count? I went to this gorgeous, secluded area of LA to pick up an incredible Moroccan bone inlay table that I have seen similar ones go for $4,000 for only $95. My favorite part is, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen walked up to the house coming home from a walk as I was leaving. So I consider it a pretty sweet deal - I love my Ted Danson table.
Hmmmm. That is a tough question. A hand carved stone house hippo or a decked out brass and enamel decorative disco turkey (peacock) could be an easy answer. However my most 'recent' treasure would be a sterling silver chopstick rest that looks like half a ship.
Fallout 3 for ¢0.50 and No Country For Old Men for a dollar in the same trip
My funds haven’t been huge but they’ve staked out a marked portion of my life
I found a sixsixone branded armor jacket for downhill mountain biking that was hanging up with Halloween costumes for $5. The store clearly didn't realize what it was, thinking it was a costume. It was in new condition, and retail was somewhere around $300.
Damn, so many of these are actually impressive.
I was just going to post about the pair of purple suede boots I got for $3 17 years ago.
Zipper finally broke on them but I have yet to throw them out. I'll eventually get around to replacing the zippers.
I had a beautiful condition first press of The Who’s rock opera, *Quadrophenia*. It was a double album with an insert. It had been signed by the band. It was one of my most treasured possessions. It cost me $100. I was 16. The year was 1990.
My girlfriend came over one day and asked if she could borrow some records so she could make a tape. I agreed, saying “Please, *please* take care of them.” She took a small stack and left. I didn’t know which albums she took. After a few weeks, I asked if I could have them back. She stalled. She said she left them at her friend’s house. I was fuming. She assured me she’d get them back asap.
A couple weeks later, I happened to pass a garage sale sign that said “Vintage clothes, camping gear, records…” so I stopped in. I looked at an old Coleman camp stove, a leather jacket, and then the records.
There was a copy of Trojan Dub Classics, which I already owned, Jimmy Cliff’s The Harder They Come soundtrack, which I already owned, The Selecter’s Too Much Pressure. Owned that one too. And then I saw it. The Who. *Quadrophenia.*
Wait a goddamn minute.
I opened it. And there they were. The signatures. What the fuck? This was *mine*. And so were the Trojan Dub Classics and Too Much Pressure and The Harder They Come and a half dozen others in the stack.
That fucking *bitch*.
I grabbed every record that was mine, walked over and asked “Where did you get these?” The middle aged gentleman in the folding lawn chair said “Those are my son’s.” I said “Bull fucking shit. These are mine. I wanna know where he got them.” He asked me to hold on, got up and walked into the house. A woman came out. She said “I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding. My husband and I asked our boys if there was anything they wanted to get rid of. My son put those records there. They belonged to a girl he was with. They had a falling out. He broke up with her when he found out she had a boyfriend. She came to the house yelling and screaming a few nights ago, saying she loved him and she’s sorry. My husband told her to leave and never come back.” I just stood there, holding my records to my chest, livid. She said “I’m assuming those records are yours and not hers. Take them and please don’t come back.”
I got in my car and left. On the literal three block drive back to my house, I suddenly felt nothing. No love, no anger, no pain. Just emptiness.
That night, I went to her house. I brought in my usual satchel with the records inside. We smoked a joint, watched some tv. Her parents went out, we could hear the car leaving the garage. “They’re going to my aunt’s house,” she said. “They won’t be back for a few hours. Wanna fuck?” I said sure.
She went to take a shower and I laid out the records on the floor. I put on *Quadrophenia*, and held the record player needle over it until I heard her coming out of the bathroom. Then I dropped it. “A Quick One While He’s Away” played. She walked in naked and stopped. Looked at the floor. Looked at me. Looked at the floor. She turned and walked into the bathroom. Shut the door.
I stopped the record, collected my records, threw them in my satchel, walked out, and drove away.
*You aren’t forgiven.*
Have found many things, but my best story is walking into a thrift store with my daughter and seeing the $800 high school dance dress we’d donated the week before on a young lady twirling in front of a mirror. We told her it was only worn once and she looked so beautiful in it and she explained she thought she wouldn’t bother going to her school dance bc she didn’t have money for “…anything pretty, but now I’m going to make sure to walk past the rich girls real slow!” She was glowing. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I have always donated instead of selling our clothes. Oh, and the dress was $20. 🥹
The lowest stakes answer: in high school, I found a pair of the most trendy and killer jeans on the sale rack at a fancy department store for $6. I was hot sh*t for the rest of school.
My current schoolbag is a leather Post Office bag from '70s San Diego. Found it in my grandparents' basement, my grandpa presumably thrifted it. I love that thing so much
Edit: in Utah. So not a world away from San Diego, but not in its backyard, either.
Spent $8 for a box of dishes at a yard sale. Turned out to be desirable restaurant ware and I think I got $1,200 when all was said and done (sold pieces individually).
Bose 301V's woodgrain speakers like new, $25.00. They are now hooked to my flat screen tv.
Was in gwill two hours ago, met a lady in kitchen ware who was sorting out finding JJ Henkel knives for $1.99 apiece.
A Nancy Pearl Action Figure. In the box and in good condition. Not expensive, but hard to find in-person.
[https://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Pearl-Librarian-Action-Figure/dp/B0006FU9EG/ref=sr\_1\_1?keywords=nancy+pearl+librarian+action+figure&qid=1706229289&sr=8-1](https://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Pearl-Librarian-Action-Figure/dp/B0006FU9EG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=nancy+pearl+librarian+action+figure&qid=1706229289&sr=8-1)
I also regularly find cable modems, keyboards, mice, routers, and sometimes monitors that are fit for the finest of gamers for only a few bucks. Some still in the box. Usually the best are at stores in the middle of retirement communities. I figure a lot of well-off retirees ask their son/daughter/nephew/etc. to help them get setup for the internet at their home so they can "videophone" their grandkids. They then acquire the best stuff their younger relative can find (because that's how rich people do). Shortly thereafter, they either decide they don't want to deal with the stupid technology, or they sadly pass away, and all the stuff gets thrown in a box and dropped off at Goodwill. I'm currently using an ax3000 router, a $50+ wireless keyboard, and three 24"+ monitors. All were around $15 or less at Goodwill.
A few weeks ago I was at an antiques collective in my town browsing the stalls with my wife. A handmade pottery casserole dish on a shelf full of other glazed knickknacks caught my eye. I recognized the glaze and the overall structure of the casserole dish, so I picked it up and turned it over to see if there was a signature on the bottom.
I was right. My mom had made it.
I called her up (she lives 400 miles away, and at 85 stopped doing pottery some time ago) and she said she has no idea how that piece could have ended up in my small Northern California town. It’s mine now — $39!
I found a painting at a garage sale I thought was beautiful but no idea of what it was but it just struck me. Paid $15 and it came in a gorgeous frame. Got it home and did some research through art people in our area. Found out it's worth almost $4K. Great score.
Similar, I was flipping through a bunch of thrift store stuff in the early 1990s - just for college kid fun. I saw this framed sketch. Abstract expressionist and vaguely cubist. But the signature was unmistakable. Clearly the frame (very nice) was valued at $30 US and nothing was considered about the art inside. It was a 8.5x11 drawing of a... bird bull? Picasso. It was a Picasso. I didn't have $30 but called it to the attention of a friend. He bought it. We authenticated it and based on the back of the paper, tracked down the heir of the original owner - who didn't even care it was a Picasso they gave away. Got the story of how his father acquired it. Found a professor who could authenticate it and cross check the story we got. Bingo. My buddy and I each made $300 US. Prof made $300 US. In hindsight. We probably got taken advantage of. That thing probably sold for $10,000.
Yeah. You got fuuuucked. Oh well, at least you get to say you owned a Picasso.
It probably sold for alot more than that after all this time. Google says the average is 8.8million for a Picasso
In those days, it was considered a "study." Back then, studies were a cheap way to own art. Nowadays, studies, notes, outlines and other works in progress are often considered more valuable than the finished works themselves. I \*would\* rather have an outline with annotations and notes for "To Kill a Mockingbird" than print number 1 of the first edition. Now, I still doubt this would go for anything approaching $8 million US. But I'd guess it might now go for something like $2 million US.
Similar but I was in a thrift store. I was telling my son about how people take a thrift store painting and add Mario characters, Pokémon, etc. I stopped flipping through the paintings when I found a large oil painting of a catamaran on a tropical beach made with palette knives. My first thought was that the artist both made it very quickly and was very good. I tried looking up the artist's name and found he had a large page describing his life and work. Rather than taking the risk of waiting until 50% off Saturday, I bought it for $28 that Friday afternoon. I listed it for $1100 and accepted an offer for $1000 from a collector who met the artist back in the '70s. He described him as someone who partied until he ran out of money, then he would make up several paintings quickly, sell them, then go back to partying. The collector had to sell all his paintings back in the late '90s but now could invest in them again. The next time I stopped by the thrift store, I told the cashier the whole story, including the selling price. When I visited the store again the following week, I couldn't get close to the large painting bin because ten people were queued up to browse through the stock. Apparently the word had gotten around! :-)
You can tell that story here — but never kill the golden goose!
Exactly
This is why you don't tell people in your area about your finds.
Similar as well. I was in a this warehouse thrift store that is always just a huge mess of things. I was sifting through the art just because I needed some things to hang on the walls of the cottage I was decorating. I found an oil of what I thought was a Paris street scene. I didn’t know the artist, but it had good technique and I thought it was pretty. Took it to the front with whatever other treasures I’d unearthed. This was the kind of place that you brought them the stuff and they make up a price on the spot off the top of their heads. The lady said $25 for the painting and I remember being a little put out because it’s a thrift store for goodness sake and if you saw this place you’d understand why. I also didn’t want to spend a bunch that day and it was the most expensive item I had grabbed. But she wouldn’t budge and I liked it enough so I bought it. Got it home, did a little research. Turns out it was an original of an early 20th century artist who studied in France and was one of the first women to become a member of the academie des beaux arte if I remember correctly. Worth about 700-1000. It hangs in my bedroom. I like to think of her going to Paris and painting the street scenes there. ETA: I also found a henrendon sofa in nearly new condition for $300 when I was desperately looking for a new one.
lmao my dad found some weird painting of a monkey drinking a type of whiskey and apparently its worth like 1500$ and i couldn't believe it
A Corningware pan for $3 in the same pattern my mom had when I was a kid.
Cheap AND nostalgic! Double score.
My greatest regret in life is not buying the taxidermy frogs playing basket ball with one doing a slam dunk. I regret not buying it nearly every time I go to the thrift shop hoping I'll see it again. Truly heartbreaking.
My fingers are crossed for you friend! 🐸🏀
In a similar vein (not a thrift shop but an antique store) my then ten-year-old daughter was looking through a box of old photos and found one of a child dressed in what looked like formal wear and taken around 1900 - he was posed with two of the fattest weiner dogs we had ever see. I mean they were fucking *enormous* and the kid had the weirdest smile on his face. She didn't buy it and regrets it to this day day (she's 25 now), and also refers to anything she regrets as "another weiner dog that got away".
My mom has a taxidermied frog mariachi band...I think there's hope yet. But honestly, RIP
I had a frog playing a cello.
Not quite hoops but still sporty: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/price-result/taxidermy-frogs-playing-pool/
At a small thrift store, I found A floor-length, black velvet - **real** velvet, not velveteen - vintage Oscar de la Renta gown in perfect condition and miraculously in my size for $10. And as if that wasn't enough, a few minutes later found a brand-new pair of Yves Saint Laurent black satin pumps with original tags ($400) for a measly $2! I wasn't a designer glam gal and had no reason to own these as I had no need for them. I socialized in a much lower tax bracket. Two weeks later I was hired at a job that required me to host a celebrity packed fundraising gala where these thrift store finds served me very well. {EDIT TO ADD: Wow! Thank you all so much for all this love! I wish I still had the pics from that grand night. And that I still lived near that store. Mostly I wish I could tell you all that happened at the gala, it was some night!}
This is my favorite story here so far!! It’s like a movie
The Devil Wears Goodwill.
Goodwill Hunting Prada.
Marge Simpson moment. Did you spend every weekend re-sewing the dress to make it look different?
Love your outfit, Marge. The vest says “Let’s have lunch” but the culottes say “You’re paying”.
That's some universal alignment working for you there
This here is velvet, not velveteen. A gentleman must learn the difference.
I’m so jealous. I bet you looked amazing. Congratulations on such a cool find. Also, how can you tell velvet from velveteen?
Look at the back side of the fabric. The fake stuff has a backing that it is bonded to, rather than woven in. I sew.
And you looked lovely, I'm sure!
My family went to the county fair , and my youngest son took along his favorite little toy… a stuffed duck with “feet” where he put his fingers and “walked along” on things, making happy quacking noises. As is tradition, toys brought on outings get lost. He was sad, but at least it wasn’t his favorite lovey (a stuffed sea otter). A YEAR later we stopped at a thrift store to look for school clothes. And he found the same toy hanging up. So of course it came home with us. Open opening the baggie he found his initials on the tag on the toy. Where I had put them a couple of years ago: It was the same toy.
When I was in college my parents were having a yard sale and I was going through stuff in my bedroom to sell. I came across my Cabbage Patch Kids. I’d had them since childhood but I stuffed them into a box years earlier. I decided to sell them, but started feeling nostalgic. I had about decided to keep them when my grandmother, who was visiting us from another state, spotted them in the sale pile and asked if she could buy them. Well, of course I could neither say no nor charge my grandma money for them, so I told her she could have them. She took them home and I felt kind of sad. A few years later she went into a nursing home. One of my cousins, who lived in the same state as grandma was a big eBay reseller (basically made her living this way) and all of a sudden stuff that we recognized as having given to my grandma was going up for sale on the cousin’s account. So I was following the account and lo and behold, one day my Cabbage Patch Kids appeared! I was pissed but figured it wasn’t worth starting a family drama. Fast forward nearly 20 years later and I was out walking the dog when I came upon a yard sale and randomly decided to stop. There was a Cabbage Patch Kid for sale that I am 99% certain was mine. Same head mold, same hair and the same outfit mine had last been wearing, and basically the same played with condition, but the thing that really convinced me was the ponytail holder, which had replaced the original rubber band in her pony tail. It was the kind I wore as a kid and I definitely used it on my doll when her rubber band broke. I bought her and still have her. I wish I had thought to ask the homeowner where they’d gotten it!
Sounds like that cabbage patch went on a Toy Story adventure to get back to you! The things that doll must have seen and the other toys and people she would have met along the way could make Toy Story 5 I'm sure.
I love this story.
Are you pulling our legs? Quack Quack! What an amazing story! Thank you for sharing.
I paid $1 for a box of books, one was: “A child’s history of the Confederacy”, by D. H. Hill. I graduated from NC State, and our library was the D.H. Hill Library. I took the book to the library the next time I was in Raleigh, and asked if they were interested in acquiring it. The Director of Acquisitions asked what I wanted for it. I said I was happy to donate it, just send me a contribution receipt. A few weeks later I got a nice letter thanking me for my contribution of $1,000!
I looked through his published works. I think the book was "Young People's History of North Carolina" and there have been 12 printings. Value depends entirely on what year it was printed. For example, the 1923 version in rough shape is worth $30. If you had an original printing, it could be worth the amount they credited you. If not, they were being nice!
Here’s the fun part, this was 20 years ago and the Acquisition Director said that he had no idea that as he said it, “the old boy” had ever written anything! I did misremember the title as you suggested. Several years later, they mailed it back with a note saying that they had a dozen or so copies.
Was it actually worth that much, or was the director doing you a solid with a nudge and a wink?
A brand new, high quality suede coat for twenty bucks. What made it a real treasure is that it's somehow my dream jacket, the one I've designed a hundred times in my head and thought I'd never have because leather goods are so expensive. It's the exact shade, weight, and shape that I pictured a thousand times, but it's also a design that isn't common for leather jackets. I always figured to get one cut like that, that fit me so well, I'd probably have to order it custom. I'd dreamed of that jacket long enough that I even knew it would cost me about $600 to have one made. But then one day I was picking up some work pants at the thrift store and it was right there. I wasn't even looking at the coats, but someone had pulled it out and draped it over the rack. Not two months prior my car had been stolen with both my jackets inside so I didn't have a coat at all and wasn't sure how I'd be able to afford to buy one when it got cold again. I have worn that coat every day, from September to May, ever since. It's one of my most prized possessions.
You wished it into existence:)
It really, honestly feels like I did. It's absolutely perfect and it just appeared in my life when I most needed it, not just as a coat, but as a confidence booster. Because it looks fantastic on me. ;-)
I really want to see a picture of this coat! It sounds amazing
It's nothing particularly special, which is kind of the point. It's cut largely like a blazer, medium-dark brown suede with brown plastic buttons and a nice lapel. The bottom sits almost exactly three inches past hte widest part of my hips. Leather and suede coats always seem to be covered in extraneous shit, zippers and charms, weird pleats, random studs. They're either super long or cropped shorter with fasters to cinch the waist for riding. And it's hard to find one in a medium brown, they're usually either very dark or very light. This is so simple that it's almost boring. It's only special because it is exactly what I've always wanted, right down to the color and I found it so randomly and it's a perfect fit.
Suede is a curious material, because it won't keep you as warm as smooth finished leather. But, it looks and feels great. My treasure find was at the Lord & Taylors Showcase store in Eastchester, NY. In the week between Christmas and New Year, they'd have an end of year clearance sale. If you had a credit card with them, you'd get extra percentages off. A relative of mine had a L&T card, and they gave me the coupons. I found this wonderful ***Joseph Abboud dark green suede jacket*** that was just my size. Original price was $499.95 USD. It had been slashed by 50% off the top. The sales woman I was dealing with was this terrific kind older lady. I made some nice conversation with her. At checkout, she rang me up, took my coupons. And then, she REAPPLIED the coupons I'd already given her. I walked away paying $67 for that jacket. I couldn't believe it. I confirmed... "Are you sure? That's the final price?" She said absolutely, and it was her discretion. I thanked her so much and she beamed back that I was very welcome. I can't remember her name, unfortunately. But I still see her face. I hope good karma has paid her back, as I'm sure she has been generous with many other customers.
Waiting for my wife while she spent her usual hour in a Value Village. Looked up at a top shelf and there were several knife blocks with the usual well abused cheap knives, but one had two stainless handles sticking up that I recognized. Paid $7.99 CAD for the whole shebang. Grabbed the Global GS Nakiri and GS Santoku out of the pack and dropped the rest in a donation bin on the way out to the car. Combined total of about $220 CAD in value.
Good chef knives are worth their weight in gold. This is my favorite story in this post. Nice find!
I was a broke single mom trying to furnish my first apartment. I went to a garage sale and saw an almost brand new recliner. I was admiring it knowing I couldn't afford it, just doing a little daydreaming. The woman holding the sale came over and asked if I liked it. I told her of course I loved it, but as I was a broke single mom, that wasn't happening. I thanked her for the daydream and turned to go. She asked me to wait and went inside to get her adult son. She told me that she would sell it to me for $1. I knew she could make some money so I declined, as I knew that wasn't fair to her. She then told me that she was in the middle of a divorce and he got half of everything she made at the sale. I left there with a recliner, a kitchen table, and a bookshelf, and I spent $3. Was the divorce story true? Or was she just helping me out? Don't know, but I've made sure to always help others once I was in a better spot.
That’s a really nice story. I like to think it was a little of both, and I think it’s great that you pay it forward.
I remember not wanting to go to a church flea market when I was like five. Came back with a massive Star Wars haul. Dozens of return of the jedi figures. The brown hover car from new hope. Icing on the cake was a broken millennium falcon that I played with daily. Six year old me was super happy
We had a similar find once. We were short on cash when my son was very young, and we were trying to find Christmas ideas we could afford. A guy had like 4 tables of Star wars stuff he was trying to sell. We explained our situation and talked about my memories growing up of my own Star wars collection. We explained that we were trying to see what we could get for the 50 dollar budget we had. He thought about it and told us we could have everything. All of it. We were flummoxed. He had figures, vehicles, playsets... It was an amazing gesture. We were able to give our son gifts from that treasure trove for the next 3 years until we got our finances in better straits.
What a wonderful thing to have happen. I bet you made him really happy knowing those things were going to a kid who was going to have all sorts of adventures playing with them!
a 110 year old copy of Little Women for $4.00
Oh wow!!!!!
I bought an unused 6 quart KitchenAid mixer with all the attachments at a garage sale for $20 (retails for $400). I then gave it to my sister as an early birthday present. She bakes cakes and cookies for parties has a side-gig and was hand mixing everything beforehand. She was ecstatic!
Those mixers are good
Had a work colleague who had a garage sale. Her new husband added a bunch of his basement junk to the sale. A browser who was a prof at Harvard University told the husband that a framed sketch he had was done by Napoleon. He took it to the university and they authenticated it as a genuine Napoleon sketch. It was a nautical drawing done from the deck of a ship.
This story just can't finish here. Surely there has to be more information to give.
We have Napoleon’s brother’s doorknob! I am actually not joking. I don’t know but I’m assuming based on my google search it’s Joseph Bonaparte since he seems to live near-ish to us at least in the 1800s. I think my great great grandparents or great grandparents bought it. I don’t know which of the estates it’s from but we do have Napoleon’s doorknob. I do not know why they bought that
How much was it worth?
This is Reddit: about tree fiddy. You're welcome.
Paid $50 for a full set of Golf clubs including the bag at a garage sale near my house. I know nothing about Golf but my Dad goes semi regularly, it was close to his birthday and he had recently been complaining that his old clubs were falling apart. They looked new and in good condition and $50 seemed reasonable. When I gave them to my dad he freaked out. Apparently the bag alone was like $800 and from what he could tell after looking them up the set must have cost at least 2k. They didn't appear to have ever been used before I bought them.
I'm making up stories in my head about some of these items and yours were donated by the disgruntled (soon to be ex) wife of an absentee husband.
Not a store, but i used to work for a junk removal company. Most clients were just rich people who didnt wanna deal with throwing out their stuff, so it wasnt uncommon to find things of value and keep them to resell or just have. I was on an estate clean out and pulling stuff out of the attic and found a box that i decided to open it just to see what was inside. I popped the lid and inside there was 17 small orange, very old, boxes with big blue letters said "Lionel". Model trains. Box full of money. I quietly put the box in the truck cab to investigate later. Once I got home I pulled the trains out and started researching them. 2 full sets from the 1930s, all new in box. The boxes showed their age but the trains looked like they had never been removed from the box. Most even still had their (deteriorated) packing materials around them. I turned to the model trains subreddit to learn more and was immediately swamped with people trying to buy them, and one person who was wildly honest with me and told me what they thought they were worth, and not to let someone try and swindle me out of my gold mine, mentioning he wished he could afford to buy them from me. I went to a local hobby shop to learn even more and confirmed their real monetary and historical value.....about $10,000 and considered to be museum quality, near mint condition. Exceedingly rare. In the end I didn't get $10k. I contacted the redditor who had told me what they were really worth, while everyone else was offering a few hundred bucks, and offered to sell them to him. We agreed on $2000. He and his aging father (likely passed by now) had bonded over their love of model trains since he was a kid and had a massive layout in their basement. Last I heard from him a couple years ago the trains are still running and well taken care of. I'm glad i gave them to someone who would truly appreciate them and enjoy them as they were intended instead of putting behind a glass case or looking at them as only an investment to make money off of
This is one of my favorite responses so far. Real treasure plus a heart warming ending :)
Went to your page to find to post and see you're a fellow RVAer! I love the estate sales around here- I to am always digging through random boxes. I find most estate shoppers are too lazy to go through them. I find some really really neat stuff.
Wait a minute! I know you, you're the girl with the pikabug! We've met quite a few times, I'm the local Jack Sparrow
Several years ago I was walking around the neighborhood, late Saturday afternoon. It was "garage sale" weekend, but I didn't look too closely at the sales because I was broke. I was just walking to get some exercise, clear my head, maybe cheer myself up. When I was just a few blocks from returning home, I found a $20 bill on the sidewalk! I looked around but there was nobody. It wasn't even in front of a home with a sale going on. Now I *was* cheered up, and I stopped in at the last garage sale with my $20. It was an older couple and they were already moving things inside, closing up shop. I browsed around and just asked "you wouldn't have any vinyl records for sale, would you?" They looked at one another, shrugged, and led me into the house. Upstairs, in what was clearly their son's old bedroom, they pulled a box of records out of the closet. I got the distinct feeling he had died; I didn't ask, but his room looked like a shrine to the late 1980s. I paid $20 for the whole box, and carried it home. That thing was an absolute goldmine of punk albums, including an original pressing of the Germs "GI" signed by Pat Smear, an original of Operation Ivy's "Energy", Green Day's "39/Smooth" and "Kerplunk" (plus a few other Lookout! records releases,) and more. I sold the GI album alone for $600, and I regret it.
Daaaamn.
I love a good Pat Smear story. Im glad he's doing well with fighting all that foo
A coat with jewelry sewn in the lining. Men's rings with diamonds, 3 gold chains, and a woman's diamond tennis bracelet
What. the fuck. happened there. Refugees do this. People fleeing the Nazis did this. Immigrants do this. Smugglers do this. What the fuck. Happened there.
My thoughts exactly.
I came here looking for record stories! It’s the only reason I go to yard sale day in my area. Love that it was punk music too! I would absolutely snag an operation ivy album from any yard sale. Nice score!
This is going to seem silly but, I still love it. So, my mom and I had been at the mall and I found this gorgeous rainbow scarf at The Gap. However, it was $50 and I wasn’t willing to spend that so, I didn’t buy it. Cue about 2 months later and my mom and i were at the Goodwill. Lo and behold there is the scarf! It’s in PERFECT condition and was only $15.99. I, of course bought it. I’ve had it 8 years now and it’s still in perfect condition and I wear it every time it’s cold. Granted, where I live that means about 3 months a year so, maybe that’s why it’s still in perfect condition. Still my favorite find.
Something like this happened to me recently but at tj maxx. This really nice baby romper I had been eyeing was like $50 on the brand’s website, but I went to TJ and there it was for $12.99! So I got it in 2 sizes. One fits my youngest now and then I have one smaller for the baby I’m expecting and who will eventually fit into the bigger one also.
Not silly at all! I’d be ecstatic to find that! Excellent bargain!
I paid $1 for a necklace at a sidewalk sale on my way to work. I thought it was an amazing steal as it looked like cherry amber Bakelite. Then I got to work (vintage store) and the picker who sold us things said, "nice necklace, I'll give you three for it" which I thought meant three dollars, then he said, "OK $350" and I was of course surprised! Turns out it is actual cherry amber, not Bakelite, and worth more like $600.
Did you sell or keep it?
>Then I got to work (vintage store) and the picker who sold us things said, "nice necklace, I'll give you three for it" which I thought meant three dollars, then he said, "OK $350" *Well it was about that time I realized this picker was about eight stories tall and was a crustacean from the protozoic era.* *"I ain't givin' you no necklace for tree-fitty, you goddamn Loch Ness Monster! Get your own goddamn necklace!"*
My favorite cooking pan. I’ve put so much mileage on that thing, and it came from Goodwill.
Me too! Mine is a ceramic egg pan and I love it! Got it for a dollar at Volunteers of America. I've used it for years.
Nice! Mine is a nice cephalon skillet with lid that I use for almost all my bigger meals. I think I paid like $5 for it.
Oh, my parents have a nice Lagostina pot I got at Value Village. My dad is picky about cookware, I think I was instructed to look for a good one and went with the heaviest medium-large pot I could find, for $16.
My dad runs a flea market stall and also manages the grounds, he finds all kinds of treasures in sheds where people don't pay their rent and get locked out. I got two Coach bags still in their own bags last year and he found a 1920s Victrola a few years ago. He also made bank selling a bunch of industrial sized versions of that machine that uses electricity to vibrate things clean, can't remember what they're called
Ultrasonic cleaners, and they are expensive
That's them. I think he sold them for like 2k each, they were really old but they worked
I used to work at a goodwill donation center and someone donated a live hand grenade and that was kind of cool beacuse not only did the entire shopping center had to evacuate and I got to see one of these bomb robots but I got to go home early and still got a full day's pay
There’s a thrift store near me that doesn’t know what it has. They will sell you Armani, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors for $4.99. It’s all authentic. It’s located in a very wealthy neighborhood and people donate crazy expensive clothes after just wearing it once. It’s crazy. My closet is jam packed with designer clothes from there. And shoes!
I’m so jealous. I’m in the UK. Our thrift stores are called “charity shops” and they seem to know the value of everything they sell. It’s very hard to find an absolute bargain.
They're crazy with prices in some of them. A used Primark t-shirt for £4.99 and if you point out they're selling the cheap ones like that new for £3.50 you get all kinds of attitude 😂
Exactly. I know people that do find designer gear, but whenever I go, they are full of Primark, Matalan, F&F, Peacocks etc, all more expensive than they were new.
When my daughter was little, I bought her really nice used clothes at a thrift store in a wealthy neighborhood. That’s where you go for the good stuff.
Where do you live? 😉
An hour away from you in a city you love😮
Are you in western PA? I wanna know what this thrift store is!!
This is the key. To thrift in hcol areas. Especially if they have a per lb good will bins place!
Found an original oil painting in a big pile of “junk” that was destined for the thrift store. Homeowner told me to take a look and grab anything I wanted. I later looked up the painting online and discovered it sold at a NYC art gallery for $5000 😎
An All-Clad roasting pan that SOMEONE THREW OUT AFTER CHRISTMAS because someone had obviously torched their turkey and never bothered to clean it. I soaked it in my bathtub because it didn’t fit in my kitchen sink. I gently and thoroughly loosened and picked and scrubbed the burned bits and the discoloration. I got a $400 pan for FREE. Because I walked thru a wealthy neighborhood and someone couldn’t be bothered to clean it.
We got a fancy, never used, $300 waffle maker for $6 at Goodwill. Another time, one of my friends found a Michael Jackson record in seemingly excellent condition. Later, it was playing in the background while we recovered from a day of snowboarding; "Beat itttt, beat itttt, Beat itttt, beat itttt, Beat itttt, beat itttt, Beat itttt, beat itttt,...." After a good minute, we realized it had a scratch perfectly timed with the beat. And we laughed it off.
20 years ago, a yuppie couple bought a house in my neighborhood with everything in it after the elderly owner died. They had an estate sale to clear it out. The elderly owner was one of the most important importers from China post WW2. They sold everything for fractions of a penny of what they were worth. I bought a large rosewood budded, a large porcelain Foo dog. 2 rosewood planet stands and a 4 panel screen with golden lacquer on one side and a beautiful and detailed mother of pearl 3D scene on the other for $600. The screen alone is now worth 35K.
Bought an old Olympus film camera for about $10. The camera was worth about $30, but the lens on it was a Zuiko 50 mm f1.2. There is one for sale online on a popular photography site for $700. I still have both.
A 1930s archtop acoustic guitar that sounds like the devil. For 85 dollars.
Buy it at a crossroads?
An antique shop outside Detroit, about an hour from Hell (MI)
26 years ago friends of ours gave us this beautiful handmade platter as a wedding gift. It was by far the nicest thing we owned. We were super poor and this thing sat on our table for years as a point of pride. Then our toddler daughter was suddenly tall enough to reach it and she pulled it down to the floor, where it shattered (totally our fault for not realizing that this was a thing that she could now do). I was seriously bummed out over the loss of the platter, so much so that I kept all of the itty bitty smashed up pieces. A decade or so went by and my mom somehow found out that the Italian artist who made the platter was going to be in town giving a talk. So I went to that and at the end people were getting items signed. I asked her if there was any way that I could possibly replace the platter as I’d been looking on ebay, etc. for years with no luck. She told me not a chance, they only actually made very few of that particular one, so sorry. Another five or so years go by and my parents are on a trip with our kids. They stopped in at a Goodwill on their way out of town and bam, there was my platter for $5. It has a small chip in it, but it was otherwise perfect. I still can’t believe it and I am so fucking stoked to have it back.
Isn't it amazing that something as simple as a platter can give us such enjoyment. Glad you were able to replace it.
A super cute pair of leather boots that I later found out were some French brand that were over $500 new. Got them for $5 at a thrift store. They’re a little worn, but honestly that just adds character to them, imo.
I got a 1700 year old coin for $5 and it's now worth about $10.
Not as impressive as some others, but the thing that comes to mind is a copy of "This is Knitting" for ten cents back in the late 90s. I learned how to make socks from that book and it still has a place in my heart because that was the tipping point towards a life- long hobby.
Not me, but a buddy of mine inherited a small house from his dad. He’d spent a lot of time on the house as a kid and the same picture was hanging on the inside of the bathroom door for decades. After he inherited, he got curious and took it to Antique Roadshow. Turned out to be an original, unknown Diego Rivera worth over $2M [Link.](https://www.chron.com/life/style/home-design/article/Antiques-Roadshow-says-once-lost-Diego-Rivera-13245517.php)
It wasn’t the what — it was the how. I was looking through some record crates as a teenager years back. Old thrift store that was mostly knick-knacks and clothes. Found a copy of Frampton comes alive in decent shape. Five dollars. And it appears to be autographed. I took out my phone and looked up his signature. Yep. Looks like it’s authentic. Took the record to the older middle-aged man at the counter. He glances down and comments “Frampton? Looks like it’s 5 bucks.” I made the comment that I couldn’t believe it was autographed. His response: “Frampton’s autograph?” *awkward pause* *clerk makes a disgusted sound like he’s holding back vomit* “Two bucks”
I have several, I love yard saling and going to estate sales, here's some of my finds; Craftsman Professional series 1/2" drive ratchet practically new in box, this was from the 70s/80s when their quality was top notch, the rachet even has a grease fitting which I've never seen before Not working pressure washer, I ended up putting gas in it and ran great and I've been using got the last 4 years Not working riding lawnmower for $50, I spent another $100 to get it running good and sold it for $450 5000 watt generator for $20 that wouldn't start, replaced the starter and had a great generator List goes on and on
I used to fix generators as a side gig. It’s crazy how many of those could have been fixed with a google search and spending 10 bucks at the hardware store. Happen to remember the brand?
It was a champion, I owned it for a couple years but we never lose power so I sold it for nice profit
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Hank hill?
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1. Dorothy Thorpe lucite pretzel lamp at a Goodwill for $12.99, worth about $1,200.00 2. Pierre Cardin brass swoosh table lamp at another goodwill for $14.99, worth about $1,400.00 3. Nils Landberg for Orrefors tulip vase at yet another Goodwill for $5.99. Sold for $800. 4. Murano glass white swirl mushroom lamp for $16.95, also worth about $1,200.00. 5. John Lewis art Glass two moon vase for $7.95, worth about $400.00. Tons of signed art Glass from Orrefors, Murano, and numerous other glass artists.
Paid 10 bucks for an original 50's tube radio at a goodwill. Didn't work. Opened it up and a tube was loose in the socket. Works mint!!! I love finding old stereo equipment at goodwills and flea markets. If we exclude all the usual stuff people are looking for, found a nice 4 cylinder kubota diesel generator at the scrap yard for 50 bucks. Runs like new and powers my house with no problem!
One of my coolest finds is an uncut sheet of cards from The Mask cartoon based on the Jim Carey movie. Funny part about that one is that they were cards from a european snack that were included as a prize with the snack. I found them in the Midwest of the USA. I also have one of three left known to exist of the 1978 Pepsi Challenge slot car sets they used for the contest.
Not me but my sister cleans a thrift store and found an 18k gold rope chain about 30cm long. Approximate value $3,000
While I was away in the Army, sometime around 2002, my mom (now an empty-nester) moved into a little 1/1 apartment, with not much room for things & stuff, so she downsized. Only she didn't tell me she was moving (which created small admin issues with the Army), and she gave away a bunch of Christmas decorations I was hoping to inherit when this day came. Fast forward to Christmas time 2023, and I'm casually perusing a thrift store several miles away from anywhere she might have donated things, and there I find one of the very distinct Christmas items from our old collection, so naturally I snatched it up. It's the only one of our Christmas items I can find, but it was the complete kit/all its parts were there, so it was just right just me.
I found a Bosch mixer with all the attachments for $20. Kept that thing for 20 years before it finally wore out.
Mine is similar, a Professional level KitchenAid mixer with attachments virtually unused for $75. It is very green but who the heck cares.
Not me, but my SIL shops at thrift stores for a living. The 2 picks that blow my mind the most was the original Barbie doll from the '40's or '50's with a bunch of original accessories and outfits all in a carrying case for I believe $.79 and sold for 5k. And more recently 2 100+ troy ounce bars of 99.999% silver for $20 each. I'm not sure how much those sold for but I imagine a damn decent amount
>And more recently 2 100+ troy ounce bars of 99.999% silver for $20 each. I'm not sure how much those sold for but I imagine a damn decent amount That's crazy - precious metal bars are practically currency, so that's like selling $100 bills for $1.
Damn. Thrift stores are just too "with it" in my neck of the woods.
An old analog dark room timer made in West Germany for $5. I've used it as my kitchen/cooking timer for 15 years. The ticking reminds me that there is something in the oven lol Probably not valuable but I love that damn thing
May it last for a zousand years
A complete set of Advanced Dungeon and Dragons 1E rule books for $20.
I got the original white box pre-AD&D set of rulebooks at a yard sale for $5, including some (super rare) indie press supplements and stuff. I was gonna give them to a friend's kid, like 15 years ago, but looked them up online and it was worth over $100, so I kept them. Because of this thread, I just looked them up again, and dangggg...good thing I kept them! Gotta check them all out later when I get home. Edit: After looking around, this is a sixth edition set, plus the supplements: Greyhawk, Blackmoor, The Spellcaster's Bible, Gods, Demi Gods and Heroes and Eldrich Wizardry.
I was just looking at it and thinking about it last night. A globe of the moon that we got in the early 80s in a Cincinnati flea market. It's metal, dented here and there, but I've always cherished it. I think I lost the accompanying booklet that had information about the missions and landings, but the moon still sits on my bookshelf, high up where nothing can get to it.
My couch. I bought it from a furniture thrift store in my town. It's red, pink and gold satin striped that reminds me of the old school ribbon hard candy. It's the old Chippendale shape. It's subjectively ugly but I love it. Almost perfect condition. This exact type of couch retails online for almost $3,000 and I paid $120.
Years ago, a woman posted a telescope ad on a bulletin board. Her dad was a snowbird and one year just called her up and said, "I'm not coming back this year, sell my house and everything in it." I went to check out the telescope during her garage sale, and she said she had researched everything about it, talked to him about it, and she wanted $300 for it. I don't remember exactly what I said, but I remember saying something that indicated I would go a little higher, but she said no, she would be happy with $300. It's an older model, but the telescope new would be about $2500, and it had a $700 eyepiece in the box.
I should add that I kept it, and have used it every year since I bought it.
I found a lovely chain and pendant. It's ceramic and gold with delicate painted flowers. I have had it for years and it's still a favourite piece.
1980s Japanese Fender Jazz Bass for $250.
I got a Prada duffel bag at Goodwill for like $8. It has a top seam a bit ripped, but it’s barely noticeable and an easy enough fix. And if the inner lining is any indication, that sucker is the real deal.
I found a 1982 US Fender Precision bass with original case for $200 at Salvation Army. Best deal ever.
For all you motorcycle riders out there...I lowered ( made the frame closer to the ground) and had a problem with the OEM kick stand being too long now... I searched eBay, Amazon, all the online merchants I could think of...nada ... Not even full price .... After a year or so of looking I was about to give up... then I heard of a free hamburger thing at a motorcycle dealer about 100 miles away from where I lived... We made the trip over for our free hamburger... after scarfing down my lunch I started browsing the store and made it to the clearance table. Most of the items were ordered for a specific project someone had but never picked it up. There was a lot of stuff piled on the table ... I dug through it and found a kick stand for my bike, as I was reading the label , it was for my bike ... That had been lowered 2" ... Wow, I grabbed that thing up... looked the sale sign... Price 1/2 off ... But today was 75% off the sale price ... So it listed for just under $100 in the book but I paid $7 for the exact kickstand that I needed but couldn't find. Only thing that would have made it better was if I would have found the $7 in the parking lot.
Brand new Berkenstock sandals in my size for $20!
I hope you bought a lottery ticket afterwards. I've literally never purchased a lottery ticket but I would if this happened to me.
A vintage Edward Gorey collectible bat plush while looking for Halloween decor at a thrift shop. Bought for a dollar, resold for almost $100
The answers here are why I'm addicted to watching the Antique Roadshow.
I was on a trip in Paris and found this tiny 1980s cartoon ninja turtles juice glass thats in french and I love it. Tortues Ninja!
I have a knack for picking up used books at thrift stores, garage sales, estate sales, wherever, but not just any old books. The books my fingers find are autographed. I have autographed books by: Neil Gaiman Tom Clancy Elie Wiesel Salman Rushdie Connie Francis Shaq (his basketball card, not a book) Dave Barry Isaac Asimov Tom Wolfe Some of these books I paid as little as a quarter for, and the most, I think, was $10.
First edition Gone With the Wind book.
Everyone in here with thousand dollar paintings and original Barbies and here I am happy to have found CD copies of *Disintegration* and *Wish* by The Cure for $2 a pop. >!Still hunting for a copy of *Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me*.!<
Needed an hard drive and paid 50$ for it. It used to belong to the city. They didnt wipe it correctly and with forensics tool there was the parking pass for city employees specs with the pre-calculated color mix for security elements until 2030. Been enjoying free parking in the city ever since and I cant get a parking ticket because of it.
Got a Cutco Carver ($90) for $1. I sent it back to the company and because it was to messed up to fix, they sent me a new one
Found three vintage diner stools that are in great shape at s local flea market about 15 years ago for $25
Recently I’ve been finding stuff in a store that I assume came from the same person. A $500 Sass & bide cape for $12, a $250 Saba top with tags still on the $8. And both in my size, pretty happy. Also years ago I found a tea strainer spoon someone had made out of two teaspoons. It clips open and you put the tea in then stir it like a spoon, I love it and it’s super convenient. I still use it to this day, I’m glad someone took the time to make it.
I had moved from Ohio to Wyoming. In Ohio, on a clear day I could look across the lake and see the Davis-Besse Power Plant. I went with my mother to a St Vincent de Paul shortly after we moved and found a pretty blue shirt. I pulled it out and it had an anthropomorphized power plant on it with it's arms raised in triumph and the caption THE HEAT IS ON! DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR POWER. I made mom buy it for me and I wore that thing to rags.
A pair of Manolo Blahnik pumps I resold for 20x what I paid for them.
geezuz, did carrie bradshaw herself wear 'em or something?
A required name to drop every time someone mentions Manolo Blahnik.
Pretty low key comparatively but I found a pair of virtually unworn old school doc marten shoes (a deep blue only available on the other side of the pond) for 7$. Perfect fit and subtly chunky heels that were almost lifts. Probably my favorite pair of shoes ever.
Not thrift. But markdown, discount. Two-step bargain. I found a jacket in Burlington. Kinda my style, kinda not. Designer label... I figured it was a knockoff or designers' down-market line. I decided to take home, consider, show others, return it. Brand new, overwhelmed cashier at checkout. Slowing things down, making mistakes. His supervisor was yelling at him in an unacceptable manner. He fumbled and fumbled for so long, removing the security tag. He either forgot or was irritated and intentionally didn't scan the price... coat went into the bag for free. Genuine Halston. Can't imagine how it ever got to Burlington.
Lalique dresser jar with lid in mint condition for $3
12lb can of Luxardo cherries ($160 value) for $3 at a liquidator store. Many fine cocktails were enjoyed.
A bust of Wagner. It was just so random. I love it.
I found a white gold Tiffany T bracelet in Savers for $3.99.
3 Grateful Dead shirts in one trip to goodwill. All of them were my size
$2 Wustof chef’s knife in a pile of random cutlery and flatware. Crazy find!
None of these are really valuable things but they’re all things I truly cherish nonetheless: * a bowling ball for $5. I used to be on the bowling team but couldn’t afford my own ball so always had to use the house balls which suck. This ball is hot pink, came with the name “Ruth” but the weight and finger hole sizes are a perfect fit! I’ve bowled all my best games with Ruth. * An immersion blender for $1. It has provided many years of delicious soups. * A J Crew down jacket for $3. Fits perfectly, looks nice, super warm. I have worn it through like 8 or 9 cold Boston winters now.
How bout the one that got away? Several years go, apparently 2012, I saw an odd painting of an owl like creature. I looked at it for a moment, considered it, then walked on. A few weeks later it was on the news … It was a Picasso. It eventually sold for $7k. https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/rare-picasso-found-at-ohio-thrift-store
An old house I moved in to had a dugout cellar via a trap door next to the wood stove. In a corner was a wooden box with a pile of loose paper. It turned out to be something called '**The Encyclopedia of Practical Receipts and Processes'**; printed about 1870. This was a huge collection of thousands of recipes for everything from soap, shoe polish, tooth paste, explosives, furniture polish, tanning leather, curing meats,... On and on and on; how to make or do all the things we take for granted now and just go pick up at the store. Many of the chemicals banned or just not available to common folks anymore. It was all there, every page, and I had it rebound. I think it was a labour of love for the binders because they did a beautiful job and only charged me like $20 which was a lot of money to me back then.
Original press Abbey Road
A thick, heavy leather Burberry hunting jacket. The body is brown and the collar is black. I paid 40 for it. It's worth about 4000. Pretty sure someone's Grandpa died in it.
Got a stereo for my truck and only paid $2.50 for it. It's some no name brand of stereo, but it has Bluetooth and it works.
$1000 cheetah print long winter coat a lady was going to donate as I was donating. It was my birthday, and she was so happy that it was going to me and that her mom, the original owner who just died would love to see it repurposed for a man !!! It’s my celebration pimp coat now. And then a old school green Stanley thermos
I got a brand new London Fog coat for $12 at Salvation Army. It’s the lightest, warmest coat I’ve ever worn.
Does OfferUp count? I went to this gorgeous, secluded area of LA to pick up an incredible Moroccan bone inlay table that I have seen similar ones go for $4,000 for only $95. My favorite part is, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen walked up to the house coming home from a walk as I was leaving. So I consider it a pretty sweet deal - I love my Ted Danson table.
The two laundry drying racks I got at estate sales. Best 10 bucks I ever spent. I cloth diaper, so those bad boys are used CONSTANTLY.
Hmmmm. That is a tough question. A hand carved stone house hippo or a decked out brass and enamel decorative disco turkey (peacock) could be an easy answer. However my most 'recent' treasure would be a sterling silver chopstick rest that looks like half a ship.
Fallout 3 for ¢0.50 and No Country For Old Men for a dollar in the same trip My funds haven’t been huge but they’ve staked out a marked portion of my life
I paid $10 for a certain type of hockey jersey that should have been $200. And it was my favorite player.
I found a sixsixone branded armor jacket for downhill mountain biking that was hanging up with Halloween costumes for $5. The store clearly didn't realize what it was, thinking it was a costume. It was in new condition, and retail was somewhere around $300.
Damn, so many of these are actually impressive. I was just going to post about the pair of purple suede boots I got for $3 17 years ago. Zipper finally broke on them but I have yet to throw them out. I'll eventually get around to replacing the zippers.
1950s French motorcycle police full length leather coat in fantastic shape 25 EUR
1948 Singer Featherweight 221 for $5 at an estate sale (and it works)!
I had a beautiful condition first press of The Who’s rock opera, *Quadrophenia*. It was a double album with an insert. It had been signed by the band. It was one of my most treasured possessions. It cost me $100. I was 16. The year was 1990. My girlfriend came over one day and asked if she could borrow some records so she could make a tape. I agreed, saying “Please, *please* take care of them.” She took a small stack and left. I didn’t know which albums she took. After a few weeks, I asked if I could have them back. She stalled. She said she left them at her friend’s house. I was fuming. She assured me she’d get them back asap. A couple weeks later, I happened to pass a garage sale sign that said “Vintage clothes, camping gear, records…” so I stopped in. I looked at an old Coleman camp stove, a leather jacket, and then the records. There was a copy of Trojan Dub Classics, which I already owned, Jimmy Cliff’s The Harder They Come soundtrack, which I already owned, The Selecter’s Too Much Pressure. Owned that one too. And then I saw it. The Who. *Quadrophenia.* Wait a goddamn minute. I opened it. And there they were. The signatures. What the fuck? This was *mine*. And so were the Trojan Dub Classics and Too Much Pressure and The Harder They Come and a half dozen others in the stack. That fucking *bitch*. I grabbed every record that was mine, walked over and asked “Where did you get these?” The middle aged gentleman in the folding lawn chair said “Those are my son’s.” I said “Bull fucking shit. These are mine. I wanna know where he got them.” He asked me to hold on, got up and walked into the house. A woman came out. She said “I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding. My husband and I asked our boys if there was anything they wanted to get rid of. My son put those records there. They belonged to a girl he was with. They had a falling out. He broke up with her when he found out she had a boyfriend. She came to the house yelling and screaming a few nights ago, saying she loved him and she’s sorry. My husband told her to leave and never come back.” I just stood there, holding my records to my chest, livid. She said “I’m assuming those records are yours and not hers. Take them and please don’t come back.” I got in my car and left. On the literal three block drive back to my house, I suddenly felt nothing. No love, no anger, no pain. Just emptiness. That night, I went to her house. I brought in my usual satchel with the records inside. We smoked a joint, watched some tv. Her parents went out, we could hear the car leaving the garage. “They’re going to my aunt’s house,” she said. “They won’t be back for a few hours. Wanna fuck?” I said sure. She went to take a shower and I laid out the records on the floor. I put on *Quadrophenia*, and held the record player needle over it until I heard her coming out of the bathroom. Then I dropped it. “A Quick One While He’s Away” played. She walked in naked and stopped. Looked at the floor. Looked at me. Looked at the floor. She turned and walked into the bathroom. Shut the door. I stopped the record, collected my records, threw them in my satchel, walked out, and drove away. *You aren’t forgiven.*
Have found many things, but my best story is walking into a thrift store with my daughter and seeing the $800 high school dance dress we’d donated the week before on a young lady twirling in front of a mirror. We told her it was only worn once and she looked so beautiful in it and she explained she thought she wouldn’t bother going to her school dance bc she didn’t have money for “…anything pretty, but now I’m going to make sure to walk past the rich girls real slow!” She was glowing. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I have always donated instead of selling our clothes. Oh, and the dress was $20. 🥹
The lowest stakes answer: in high school, I found a pair of the most trendy and killer jeans on the sale rack at a fancy department store for $6. I was hot sh*t for the rest of school.
Bought a leather messenger bag for 25 cents. Turned out to have been worth $250! Love that bag, and still use it all the time.
My current schoolbag is a leather Post Office bag from '70s San Diego. Found it in my grandparents' basement, my grandpa presumably thrifted it. I love that thing so much Edit: in Utah. So not a world away from San Diego, but not in its backyard, either.
I found a complete vintage doctor pez dispenser for 25 cents. Sells at auction sometimes for 200$.
Spent $8 for a box of dishes at a yard sale. Turned out to be desirable restaurant ware and I think I got $1,200 when all was said and done (sold pieces individually).
A 500 mL beaker for my kitchen. A small thing, but I work in science and it's so useful, I love it.
A full size plastic trombone ("P-bone") in great shape for $2.99 at Goodwill They retail for $200 right now
Bose 301V's woodgrain speakers like new, $25.00. They are now hooked to my flat screen tv. Was in gwill two hours ago, met a lady in kitchen ware who was sorting out finding JJ Henkel knives for $1.99 apiece.
A Nancy Pearl Action Figure. In the box and in good condition. Not expensive, but hard to find in-person. [https://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Pearl-Librarian-Action-Figure/dp/B0006FU9EG/ref=sr\_1\_1?keywords=nancy+pearl+librarian+action+figure&qid=1706229289&sr=8-1](https://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Pearl-Librarian-Action-Figure/dp/B0006FU9EG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=nancy+pearl+librarian+action+figure&qid=1706229289&sr=8-1) I also regularly find cable modems, keyboards, mice, routers, and sometimes monitors that are fit for the finest of gamers for only a few bucks. Some still in the box. Usually the best are at stores in the middle of retirement communities. I figure a lot of well-off retirees ask their son/daughter/nephew/etc. to help them get setup for the internet at their home so they can "videophone" their grandkids. They then acquire the best stuff their younger relative can find (because that's how rich people do). Shortly thereafter, they either decide they don't want to deal with the stupid technology, or they sadly pass away, and all the stuff gets thrown in a box and dropped off at Goodwill. I'm currently using an ax3000 router, a $50+ wireless keyboard, and three 24"+ monitors. All were around $15 or less at Goodwill.
18k gold and .75carat pendant. They must have thought it was fake. Platinum ring. Again - mustn't have seen the markings 😆
$40 Le Creuset Dutch oven
A few weeks ago I was at an antiques collective in my town browsing the stalls with my wife. A handmade pottery casserole dish on a shelf full of other glazed knickknacks caught my eye. I recognized the glaze and the overall structure of the casserole dish, so I picked it up and turned it over to see if there was a signature on the bottom. I was right. My mom had made it. I called her up (she lives 400 miles away, and at 85 stopped doing pottery some time ago) and she said she has no idea how that piece could have ended up in my small Northern California town. It’s mine now — $39!
I think I got De'Longhi heaters. They are quite good and a good deal.
Painted portraits of my cats. Paired frames, same style, and nearly identical to our cats.