15 People Who Mastered the Art of Thrifting

A few wisely spent dollars could bring you closer to your financial dreams. 🤑 Today, we’re diving into how everyday people are slashing budgets and scoring big with thrift shops. From jaw-dropping finds to game-changing savings, this is your proof that smart spending is a true art. Take a peek and map out your next thrift store adventure!"

And while it’s cool to be a master of your financial planning, some stories are going to remind you that sometimes the biggest wins aren’t about money.

“My daughter paid $13 for this sweatshirt two months ago. Tonight my wife discovered it’s worth hundreds.”

• I go to the thrift store for the sole purpose of reselling on eBay. I’ve sold many things of high value on eBay that were a few bucks at a thrift store, but my favorite was an authentic Hermès handbag. I paid $8 and sold it within 48 hours on eBay for $9,800. @speckTATER21 / Reddit

• Hermes silk scarf. Bought for 99 cents. Sold for $450. Victoria’s Secret display dog. Bought for $8.99. Sold for $480. @WithoutLampsTheredBe / Reddit

“The Goodwill Bins were good to me yesterday. Reached for this thinking it was pretty and I’d wear it, then saw the name 👀”

• 142 ugly, unmarked sterling brooches priced at 10 cents each. They had a terrible fake patina that hid what they were made of. I had a hunch and bought them all. They were about 7g each and I took them right to the melt place. I made around $800 in about an hour. @DefinitelyNotLola / Reddit

“The fact that they were sold as a pair shocked me more than their low price!”

• Me and my brother were out thrift shopping, and he found a copy of the first episode of VeggieTales on VHS. We grew up watching VeggieTales, and we decided to buy it (my brother likes to digitally archive old media). Once we got home, we pulled the tape out of the sleeve, and inside the sleeve was a piece of paper with the goals and values of the Big Idea crew. The first paragraph reads: “First of all, thanks for buying VeggieTales! It takes some courage to buy an unknown product from an unknown company—especially through the mail! We’ve been working hard around the clock to make sure you won’t be disappointed.”
  After reading this, it occurred to us that this wasn’t any ordinary copy, but one of 500 from the very first production run, back when you had to mail-order them. We still have it, and it’s in great condition for something that was made in 1993. @Acedeadpixel / Reddit

“I just don’t even know what to say... Paid $15.”

• Whilst perusing the kids’ books for my then toddler son, I spot a copy of this fabulously illustrated book of fairy tales I’d loved dearly as a child. “Hey! I had this book...” I say to my mother and open the front cover. My name, scrawled in pencil crayon. It was MY COPY! We deduced that my father must have donated it at some point, and it had found its way back around, years later. I bought it back and still have it. @FreckledLasseh / Reddit

“Told my coworker who thrifts to keep an eye out for Taylor Swift’s first album for my fiancé. Dude comes in with this: $1.99 tag. Once I told him it was worth $800, he kept it.”

“A $45 chair is a cheap price for me to sit like a villain every day. Thank you, Goodwill!”

• I went to Goodwill about an hour before a date and found a really nice Italian-made dress jacket that fit perfectly and was exactly what I was looking for. Changed in the car. The date went great!
  It was obviously a well-to-do person clearing out their closet because there was an identical one in a different color. They were a timeless style cut and clearly well cared for, hardly worn.
  I went back the next day and bought the other one. 17 years later, and in a whole different place in life, those two jackets have seen weddings, funerals, parties, and business meetings (but no more dates.) They are still in the rotation, along with my other jackets (almost all of which were also thrifted) and I expect them to be until I have no need for a jacket again. @WoodchuckISverige / Reddit

• I’ve found a lot of things worth money, but here’s what is, to me, my greatest: I bought two old photographs, one of which was a young woman with ’Aunt [her name]’ written on the back, and the other of which was the same woman some years later with her husband and daughter. Their surname was unusual, so I looked them up along with the city named in the photographer’s mark and got results. I didn’t find much, but what I did find I posted online along with some pictures of the photographs.
  A while later, I got a message from a woman who identified herself as the couple’s great-granddaughter; she’d been doing genealogical research and saw what I posted. The photos were soon back where they belonged, and it turned out they were the only images of her great-grandparents she’d ever had. @Jules_Noctambule / Reddit

“Got these for $150 each. I think they were just so huge that the seller wanted them out of their house ASAP. This is the best value-to-cost ratio I’ve ever scored thrifting.”

“I found my holy grail, and I blacked out in store! $50 for 45 pieces!”

Sometimes all it takes to save more is to cut unnecessary spending. Check out quirky secrets to stretching your essentials: freeze your tights, flatten your toilet paper, and resist the urge to grab the cheese!