20+ Moments When Buying Second-Hand Brought Unexpected Results

Beautiful things don’t necessarily cost a lot. Regulars of thrift stores and flea markets know this for a fact. They know how to find real gems among piles of junk — antique jewelry, branded clothes, shoes and other curious things. Just look at this.

“My thrifted Gucci wallpaper and my thrifted Mr. Snowflake the cat were meant to be together in my little powder room.”

“Bought a jewelry box and redesigned it.”

• Wow! Beautiful both before and after. It has a whole new feel now, great craftsmanship. © MycoLuminescent / Reddit

“What a find! The stained glass lamp in the shape of a tortoise will make a great nightlight in my home.”

“I lost my mind. No idea where they came from originally... My guess is they were lobby chairs for a wacky boutique hotel.”

• I looked up the designer’s name on the tag, and almost lost my mind again. On his website, these chairs cost over $9K in the most basic version! We had just moved in and needed some furniture. When we got these chairs, we redesigned the entire flat specifically for them. © jkrowlingdisappoints / Reddit

"Just ripped off a complete set of famous vintage ceramic spice houses for pennies. With a shelf! I can't believe my luck!"

"Found a costume in a secondhand shop. My 7-year-old daughter ran away when she saw me."

"Cast iron longhorn beetles! Boot jacks or door stops or fun decor, I just love them."

"I was touring a house to buy today and the owner was getting ready to have a yard sale next week. These were in the sell pile. The second photo is the rest of my thrifted collection."

"Thrifted a whale to add to my collection of bookends."

"I saw a new duvet cover in a thrift store, nothing special. But it cost $4, so I bought it. And then I looked at the label and I was amazed: on the website it costs $595!"

"One of my coolest recent finds. Salt and pepper tigers."

"Just found $1000+ worth of sterling for $15.00 at a thrift store today."

"This plant pot is a godsend!"

"I didn’t even want this vase, but I just had to get the paint off. It can breathe now."

"I finally found a Tiffany item, and it's a chicken bowl! Very rich grandmacore."

"I found the cutest little guy to help keep my doors open."

"Couldn’t stop laughing when I saw it."

"$45 chair is a cheap price for me to sit like a villain everyday."

"And there she was, across the aisle. Looking at me all googly eyed. Leather black cat crossbody purse."

"Found this vintage animatronic bird in a cage. Named him Oscar. Oscar sings beautifully."

"I’m still pinching myself… Christian Dior white satin nightgown. It looks like it was never even worn."

"I had to bring her home (look at that face!)."

"Tell me why this made me so happy today."

"Thought this sweater was cool, didn’t know it was worth something!"

"Today I found the best tissue box holder of all time."

"Finally caught a candle on sale that I've wanted for a long time."

"The seventh book of the Harry Potter series, signed by J.K. Rowling herself!"

"Picked up this really quite well-done “bizarro” Mona Lisa for $11 today. The artist took plenty of liberties with her smile. I love her!"

Bonus

• I had a puzzling story. I was selling a suitcase, almost new, from a well-known brand. A woman arrived, I took the bag out. She touched the handle with 2 fingers and said, “Oh, I see!” and walked away with an unhappy look on her face.
  What was it? I never found out. © CalmChungaChanga / Pikabu
• I decided to give away 3 bags of my son’s clothes that he had grown out of, free of charge. I posted the photos online, and immediately got a message from a woman, “I’ll take them all!”
  I replied, “Okay, you can pick them up at this time and at this place.” And she was like, “Are you out of your mind? Am I going to carry them on my back? Bring them to me to my village, it’s not a big deal!” And the village is 50 miles away from the city.
  At that moment, I realized that Internet charity is not my thing. I took the bags of clothes to the dumpster, put a couple of items next to them to attract attention, and went to the grocery shop. When I came back, the bags were gone. Nice.

And these people dropped by a thrift store and hit the jackpot.