20+ Thrift Store Finds That Prove the Most Beautiful Things Are Hiding in Plain Sight

There’s just one little thing. How should I go about getting things valued? Does it look sketchy that I have a bag of valuable rings if I take it to a pawn shop?

• This is why I love thrift stores — there’s always a chance to find treasure! © five7off / Reddit

• Back in the late 80s, I lost something very valuable to me. It was my grandmother’s silver compact. I don’t know how old it was, but I do know for certain that my grandmother, born in 1914, used it when she was still a young woman.
  And then imagine this. I went to visit a friend in another country. We were walking around with my friend’s son around antique shops in the city, I was looking for a gift for my husband and suddenly... I see it! My compact! I was so stunned that I was literally speechless.
  The seller named a steep price, of course, after seeing how happy I was. But I was ready to pay it just to get back something so precious to me. And what do you think happened? My friend’s son nudged me aside and began negotiating with the seller. He bargained so hard that the seller agreed to sell the compact for a third of the original price.
  In short, I was beyond happy! Miracles happen!

• Looking at my stash of computer parts, I noticed a couple of gaming graphics cards I no longer needed. No point in letting them gather dust, so I put them up on an online marketplace.
  In about 3 months, one got sold, and then a college-aged guy came around for the second one. I brought the card out (this all happened in my office). He looked a bit surprised, said nothing, paid, and left without even asking about a warranty.
  I went back to my desk and realized I had given him the wrong card, accidentally grabbing one from the non-working pile meant for disassembly. It’s twice as powerful, but doesn’t work at all — it had burned out.
  I called the guy before he got too far, but he didn’t pick up, probably thrilled he scored a card for half price. So, he took off with a non-working one and never called back...

• I collect old photographs of strangers. You can often find them at flea markets in Europe among postcards, sometimes with inscriptions. I started after I took the photo album of a lonely elderly neighbor who had recently passed away. So many of a person’s memories, important and cherished only by them, could have ended up in the trash!
  I’m not obsessed, I just want to preserve other people’s memories if I can. I think it’s important and valuable: moments of happiness, travels, the first home. Someday I’ll create a photo museum.

• At flea markets, I buy old dolls for pennies and restore them: I wash them, repair them, and sew new clothing. Sometimes, the doll starts looking even more beautiful than a new one. I’ve encountered all sorts of things. But I never expected to find 3 antique gold rings, a gold coin, and a tiny pouch with diamonds inside another doll.

• 1992. My parents give me a guitar for my 14th birthday. It was battered, cracked, a real mess. As they explained, they didn’t have the money for a new one, and there was a flea market nearby where everyone could sell whatever they wanted. That’s where they found the guitar. “You really wanted to learn to play the guitar, so here it is.”
  And the main thing was, I was still pleased because we were never wealthy. I spent another 6 months gluing and varnishing it...