Unbelievable Thrift Store Finds People Couldn’t Keep to Themselves
An Alarmingly Good Find
But as nice as it is now — I mean we are in a world with phones and watches that can tell us the time — nothing beats waking up at a random time in the night and noticing an actual clock next to your bed. You can buy clocks at your local Walmart relatively cheap, true, but why do that when you can buy clocks like this in thrift stores? Someone hit the Goodwill lottery with this bitch.
The other thing is this retro clock; not only this old flip clock is also not at all bad, but actually this clock looks so cool table like that. And it only set this guy back 50 cents!
Time for a Picnic
Most people donate kind of whatever to Goodwill or other consignment stores when they no longer need it, but just because one person no longer needs it doesn’t mean someone wouldn’t love the opportunity to bust it out every single weekend. So we can only guess that will be the case with this vintage 1940s picnic basket. Of course someone decided that they weren’t going to continue using it anymore — but we bet that someone else picked it up in no time.
You know, after all, a picnic is not a picnic without a picnic basket, right? And if, like us, you often get swept up in the nostalgia-inducing charm of vintage things, get a load of the beautiful condition this old picnic basket is in.
Falling for Faux
The process of shopping at thrift stores is nearly identical to that of a department store, or supermarket! You need to search exhaustively through every line and every rack to check if there is something that happens to attract your fancy, then settle on the definite stuff you want to carry home. As they walked by the shelves of Goodwill, this person saw a faux fur blanket that looked like nobody even touched it before and they knew they had to take it home.
In total, it only set them back $2 for the faux fur blanket & an even better deal was found in the form of the stray cat, which seemed to come along with the blanket – for free!
Fits Like a Glove
A lot of people turned their noses up on the notion of buying clothes in secondhand stores, but little does anyone know you can really score in Goodwill bins. Actually, there are already numerous headlines about how thrifters have discovered costly designer garments, something you’ll shell out thousands for, but would otherwise been given away. And while this lady’s incredible discover was not haute couture, it was almost like it was created for her.
The dress she found, perfect; she was definitely supposed to take this dress home. Well, what else was she going to do? Right?
A Real Treasure
Who does not know Jane Goodall, right? This woman has devoted her entire life to protecting, rehabbing, and thriving conservation efforts for primates, and her love for them is so beautiful. Now, even though many would fork over thousands of dollars to have a signed portrait of the lady herself and one of her primate pals, this fella just happened to find just such an item sitting on the shelf of Goodwill. And it was also really inexpensive.
That is how much this autographed Jane Goodall print cost this person, and we have to admit, were a little jealous of that one. We would do a lot for one of these!!
Can’t Go Wrong With a Good Quilt
If this image is giving you a taste of nostalgia reminiscent of your teenage years, you are not alone. There was a time when many of us had these quilts draped on our beds, and a good many were crafted by our own grandmas. However, if for some reason you lost your quilt to the years, you might want to make a trip to your local thrift or consignment shop, because there might be one lurking in the bins, and for a very little cost.
We all know how good a quilt can be, and in this case, the person was so blessed with a really good quality quilt that we would have believed it was all totally brand new. Just look at it!
An Expensive Haul
Thrift stores are increasingly weighing your shopping bag instead of pricing the items inside. And while this means that you can get cheap wholesale clothing/fabrics, what most people fail to realize is that this is also the case with electronics. That’s right, they did what this person did, only they got $32.02 worth of electronics weighing 46lbs!
Anyone who knows anything about electronics, let alone video games, would realize that was an insane steal. Particularly when there are so many video game cartridges there with a legendary resale value…
Who Wants a $305 Discount?
Well, if you’re familiar with the designer world, hitting up Goodwill may not sound like the most logical place to start. And actually that is the best thing! For vintage designer items, lots of people donate them not fully understanding their worth, but with a good eye and a solid knowledge of designer gear, you can really get the most out of that. And this is precisely what this individual did when he discovered this duffel bag.
While you might think this is just your average run of the mill duffle — in fact this here is a Tika leather duffle that costs an insane $315. But this crafty thrifter snatched it for only $10.
The Haunting of Boyfriend’s Past
The thing we love about thrift stores and consignment shops is that you can find just about the weirdest things in these stores. Though Goodwill and similar chains doesn’t offer the convenience of things being new and colour-coordinated for the neat-freaks, they will be ideal for the more quirky home-owners, who like trinkets to give their house some flair. You know, a kind of like an urnieboy filled with ashes of their ex-boyfriends.
We highly doubt the bowl actually contains any remains of a human being, but that’s not to take away from this humorous idea which would surely clean up as a mantle piece.
Dressing to Impress
Every thrift store has as many racks after racks of second-hand clothes to sell. Sure, a lot of these clothes are hand-me-downs and cast-offs from everyday people, but every once in a while, there’s a rose amongst the thorns — and this gorgeous dress is a rose. The eagle eyed lady was instantly enamoured with this vintage 70s boho prairie lace dress, and bought it on the spot, despite it being too big for anyone in her house.
They knew in their hearts that it was far more valuable than the price Goodwill was asking. As such, they snapped it to flip it, and we reckon they’ll pocket a tidy profit in the process!
A Very Unique Find
I wonder if you could guess what this is when you see this image? At first glance, it probably looks like some pretty weird home decor — removable parts. And while this might impress a Goodwill shopper, the eventual owner of it appeared to find out its real use. Yes, it’s a jewelry box! Crazy, right? Well, we hate to admit it — but it’s actually kind of brilliant — unless you’re a thief, in which case we hope you have a hard time getting your hands on some bling wrapped in 14-carat gold.
This whole jewelry box is special in its own way, but it’s the garage door that sells it for us. After all, you can devote the entire garage to your beloved bracelets or necklaces.
Hunting for Hermes
For designer lovers, names like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Hermes ring a bell. But for many, anything bearing one of those labels will cost them a fortune before they can add it to their wardrobe; some people win the thrift shop lottery though and bring these home for a mere pittance. Like this gal who found an Hermes scarf at the bottom of a Goodwill bin.
On a proper resale site, they would have shelled out hundreds for this vintage scarf. However, they were able to score this beauty for a couple of bucks!
Digging for Gold
Anyone who has been into a Goodwill knows that the little bins have their own categories, although there are times when things get thrown off. In these particular second-hand stores, while a woman was rummaging through one of their clothing bins, she came across a small cloth pouch at the bottom. On closer inspection, however, she noticed that what she got was a stamped 925 Sterling ring with an actual turquoise stone in it!
Okay, it needs a decent scrub and a solid polish, but we can imagine this ring fetching good money once it’s restored to its former glory and up for resale.
The Holy Grail
This is where we all internally scream if you’re a collector or just someone with an interest in cool and weird toys. Thrift shops get inundated with those old toys other people no longer want or need, after all — but most are just mass-market toys barely worth a dime on the dollar. But this is no ordinary toy. It’s a 1977 Disneyland Weebles playset, and to open this is a huge deal to toy lovers.
It was a legend in the toy world and every kid would of loved one of these limited edition versions back in those days but they were so hard to get hold of. So to witness it (presumably) being sold for a couple of dollars at Goodwill, is an out-of-body experience.
Yes, They’re First Editions
Collector’s cards, as many people would never fail to laugh and scoff at, there is no denying the fact that these things can earn you some serious money! This is why people hit up thrift stores in hopes of coming across the ones parents have culled when their fledgling kids departed to live on their own, as rare cards and first editions can go for thousands or even millions of dollars. And this individual stumbled into the motherlode discovering an entire binder of first generation Pokemon cards!
This should give you a little context, the first-edition Pikachu card in isolation is valued at approximately $5,000. Shay doesn’t even want to know how much the entire binder would have gone for.
The Impossible Oregon Trail
This is a total blast from the past. Who else played this game during school? We played this game all the time in elementary school during computer lab, and as much as we were up for The Oregon Trail challenge, it’s safe to say that this one was unbeatable. No one knew how to defeat it, or even what the hell you’re meant to be doing to win the game.
There’s a good chance we’d have grabbed it and given it a home if we came across this title at thrift for only a handful of dollars as well.
Time for Tea
Thrift store is the perfect place to scout for anything and everything. While most people donate stuff to the Good Shields in life because they don’t like or need them anymore, that’s no reason somebody else might not love them. In this instance, it appears this OP immediately fell in love with an adorable little tea set that had nearly the full complement and was pristine.
You can’t drink tea out of these small cups, but we suspect the following person would still get a bit pleased every time they walked past this little decoration.
An Extra Freebie
Today, you can not go to the grocery store without seeing people wearing AirPods. These are literally the Apple headphones of this day and age, but they absolutely aren’t cheap. They can cost a few hundred bucks new, so you can just imagine this person’s shock at finding an AirPods case while sifting through clothing from the Goodwill bins that they bought for $1 in the hope of reselling it, and discovering an AirPods left by the previous owner stowed away inside!
We just hope the person who bought the backpack looked to see if its original owner had lost a tag, because we have an inkling this was a case of mistaken donation!
Time for Some Upcycling
Thrift Stores If you’re moving to a new place and want to fill it with furniture, but brand-new stuff isn’t going to cut it, thrift stores are your best friend. These consignment shops can give you sturdy buildups, and while they often require a little bit of TLC to ensure they’re restored to their glory days home noteobjects, these upcycling projects may only help you create something much better than what they would be capable of in furniture boutiques. Which is basically what this person here did.
It was a little oak cabinet they found at the thrift store for $3 and then invested time & money in upcycling it. They swapped out the guts, added some stain and some LED strips to create something that looks quite high-end!
We Like to Roomba
And who doesn’t know what a Roomba is, right? This is a home appliance that so many people want, but very few take the plunge on due to their exorbitant price tag. However, here is a friendly reminder to all of us to scour as much as possible at our local thrift store because this person scored a functional Roomba with the charger for only $4 at their local Goodwill!
While we are sure they were absolutely delighted with their thrift shop discovery, it does seem that their cat will require some more persuading. But they’re probably just having an off day, right?
Time for a BLT
Now, thrift stores seem to be a great place to buy cool stuff but we bet you wouldn’t think their shelves hold vintage kitchen knives. However, there are experiences where a kitchen tool aficionado strikes gold during an infrastructure that otherwise has them digging wildly with little reward, and it happened here over the summer in my neighborhood when someone found a mint-condition old carbon steel Chinese cleaver buried somewhere. So thrilled to find the knife, they took it straight to the till to pay for it.
So, like any budding chef would do once they arrived home, they put that knife of theirs to work with the quintessential BLT. To be fair, it looks kinda great!
Look at That Luggage
And if you have a thing for vintage-themed films and memorabilia, chances are you’re obsessed with luggage trunks. We don’t blame you, either. These are simply really awesome trunks, and they often get produced to a level that would be crazy not to want one for yourself. Especially when you find one at a local thrift shop for $1.50! To get something that cheap — for home?
This leather luggage does require some love and the lock will need fixed, but for someone who purchased this new at $1.50 it was a bargain well worth it!
Howdy, Cowboy
Thrift stores are an awesome shopping solution if you find yourself short on cash. Consignment stores, you can find so many of the things you need for a fraction of the price, and more often than not each piece is gorgeous in their own right. Take this guy, for example. He needed some new jackets so he headed over to his local thrift store. That’s where he found this 70’s Lee Storm Rider Suede Field Coat.
So this vintage coat — likely about $100 anywhere else. But he only paid a few dollars at the thrift store!
The Monster Mash
Because downright every household needs a nice big cookie jar, right?! Now, sure there is a burgeoning trend of homeowners simply opting to store their cookies in a glass jar that allows them the opportunity to peek at the cookies inside but others still like to go hippy dippy. We can only guess the buyer of this Frankenstein’s monster cookie jar is one of those people, because they knew they had to buy it.
This cookie jar was not only super cheap but it actually had a secret! In addition to being a cookie jar it was also a music box—hopefully playing ‘The Monster Mash’,
A Designer Haul
In the market for new clothes? So, instead of going straight to the mall — stop by your local thrift store. The contents of your local goodwill will absolutely depend on the area you are in — and if you live in a relatively wealthy neighborhood, then most likely the contents of that thrift store will be fashionably high-end. Which is why we can really only presume that whoever bought this designer haul is from a seriously pricey part of town.
Patagonia an Yeti: Major score with the big brands in this haul. They even scored a 100% cashmere sweater in virtually perfect condition for only a few bucks!
One Very Lucky Gamer
We’re going to presume that a majority of thrift shops get swamped with video games and toys in the very first week college year. Perhaps because most moms likely help their children ‘clear’ out old rooms of everything no longer deemed necessary – and video games, sadly, fall into the same category. Which is bad news for the incoming college students, but good news for bargain huntin’ video game players.
It just so happened that this video game fan was at the right place during the right time when they walked into a thrift store where a whole lot of video game consoles were being donated in front of them. So, they snapped them up!
Going for Gold
Any time you enter a Goodwill or consignment shop, have your eyes peeled for something shining from the bins or shelves. Because you always want to shoot for the gold — after all, you never know if that thing you’re looking at is only worth a few bucks or thousands of dollars. Which is why we have to applaud the person who found this beautiful brooch.
We have no idea what this brooch was made of nor the status surrounding it, but we seriously hope that they decided to get it appraised to find out if they’ll be keeping a scrapper or something more interesting.]
Grabbing Some Bits for Work
And if your employer doesn’t give you leeway for the budget to buy things that you think will make your job easier, then sometimes you have to take out of pocket expenses on yourself to buy them anyway. So why not go to a thrift store if you did—that is, assuming that is what you are doing. This is exactly what this daycare owner did and got to leave with a gargantuan swag of toys and books for her kids, all while paying $48 to do so.
If she were to have bought these brand new, she would likely pay four times that. Which just proves that Goodwill shopping is always a win.
Ready, Set, Bake!
Do you love to bake? If so, you understand the value a solid stand mixer brings. It’s what you need to prepare the best cookie dough, mix all the ingredients of an incredibly moist cake or whip up some frosting. And certain, owning a KitchenAid mixer is one thing nearly each and every baker aspired to, however those are excessive. Unless you come across some at the thrift store, that is.
Somehow this person found TWO KitchenAid mixers in Goodwill! And the best bit? They cost $22, both of them. That’s truly incredible.
Pure White Hell
Come on, puzzles are a hell of a lot of fun. They take time and a whole lot of spare time, but nothing beats the sensation of finishing one puzzle, which is why so many people go to their local thrift store to gain another piece to the puzzle that is life. But how bout when you catch a glimpse of this hell-scape all-white puzzle sitting on the shelf? Would you snap it up? Or would you run away?
Well, this individual figured it was everything the cool kids were doing, and legend has it they’re still working on one today. We’re not surprised, either. That makes it sound like this shall be an impossible puzzle.
Going Back in Time
And thrift stores really do tell a lot about history. They are usually packed with years-old, passed-down things that had been in families for generations and lived lives that we can never really comprehend. And there are plenty of folks out there that seek those very items! This one, for example, happened when this human was out at a Goodwill looking for some vintage threads to add to their stockpile — then stumbled across this eye candy.
So here we have a WWII Ike jacket from 1945, the kind they found in the bins over at Goodwill and today that you’d expect to shell out a few hundred bucks for on traditional resell sites.
Let There Be Light
In reality thrift shops provide a whole lot more than clothing and accessories. They often have affordable yet unique pieces you may only see once in a blue moon, and which make great home furnishings if that is what you’re after. Don’t believe us? Just look at these lamps! And not just any lamps, either, they’re a pair of Robert Sonneman for George Kovacs feather lamps – fancy in other words.
However, the charm of consignment stores means this person is able to nab these lamps for just a fraction of their full retail price — and they were even fully functional!
A Slam Dunk
Dunks are one of the most collectible sneakers out there, if you know nothing about sneakers, this is what you need to know. Sneakerheads around the country are shelling out thousands of dollars for rarer colors and styles to complete their collections, and they go for big bucks on resale too. But the thing you dont know: You can find some sneakers at your local thrift store, which is exactly what this dude did.
An almost two-decade old pair of tropical teal Dunks for just $2 out the door before heading home. From the thrift store pick up to a few quick trades and then they were on their front porch… Then just a little (or maybe, in some cases, a lot of) TLC and scrub.
When You Bag the Bags
Because you can never have too many purses am I right? Yet, although we might have easy access to department store purses, countless people across the globe spend their lives wishing for the day that they can get a reputable designer purse from a legit designer. These are typically super pricy, of course — but have you ever seen a thrift store? If you dig deep enough, you may even find things like vintage designer bags lurking around the bins.
This is what this person did and they found two amazing Kate Spade purses to add to the collection. And the white, green and blue purse is one of our faves!
A Super Cool Aesthetic
Every house needs a reading nook, so I guess this person knew that. So instead of blowing around five hundred bucks on a new light for the reading corner, they went to Goodwill and poked around. We’re sure that decision was feeling great just moments later when they spotted a light-uppable canopy perfect to slip right on over their chair.
It brought a nice design aspect to their nook, but more importantly gave them the light they were searching for. And it cost them a few bucks, too!
Pulling the Wool Over Your Eyes
I love thrift stores/consignment shops for the very reason you don’t have to walk in there with a wad of cash in hand, and walk out holding something expensive. At times, you can have your quarters in your pocket and then score something out of this world. And if that wasn’t enough to convince you, have a look at this three dollar steal! It’s on a Pendleton blanket, yes.
Just to give you a point of reference, this sort of 100% wool blanket can be purchased new for approximately $500 – and if I’m not mistaken, this person ended up taking it home with exactly $3 in their wallet!
Time to Power up
Whatever thrift store you can walk into, you’ll almost bet that you’re going to see some of the same items. You will find clothes, toys, books and other household items. However, those are just the tip of the iceberg at these stores. Once in a while, it goes off-script – and honestly when was the last time you saw a working power tool amongst the Goodwill bins?
But then this usually over-sized bull found a Dewalt 18 V Score in the bins and it was all they could do not to take that as well. We would have done the same thing — and we’ve probably never touched a power tool in our lives.
It’s Me, Mario!
Thrift stores are the place to be for vintage game lovers. Yes, you can find retro video games on the internet — but finding the right one and putting your hands through a bin and then coming upon something that instantly takes you back in time? Thus, you can see just how fortunate this individual was when they spotted these three Nintendo games simply sitting there at the local thrift store.
We’re actually torn between this and Super Mario, but we reckon Mario just pips the other two.| Yet, this is a full haul anyone can be proud of.
Time for the Calligraphy Lesson
If you want something to do, maybe head on to your nearest Goodwill. Maybe you find knitting needles and yarn, maybe a hula hoop or that calligraphy set! This guy discovered the latter and decided to fork out a few bucks to take it home with him so he could practice his calligraphy. That was when they saw that the person before them had also taken a turn.
Their handwriting is not exactly PG either, but we can only imagine what this person thought when they came across this little note. Particularly as that was the time of night they chose to open the book when, quite frankly, they’d had more than enough hours trying (badly) to sleep!
Super Dooper Exclusive
Thrifting is an art form and you can find a million different things to wear at a thrift store, but this person brought thrifting to the next level when they discovered this Disney Parks exclusive dress. They are self-defined Disney nerds and were in disbelief when they saw this dress wadded up inside a dumpster. It had new price green too but surely it would be pricey for such a limited production (well,… by that I mean discontinued and selling online WAY more)
And right then, they all knew it had to go home with them — that no one else should get the dress if it wasn’t understood for what it was.
