50 People Who Scored Once-In-A-Lifetime Finds While Thrifting

12.99 at SA! No wear or tear. The photo doesn't do the embroidery justice.

August, my Himalayan, also knew what he needed to do.

I was SHAKING finding these three Le Creuset for $24 each! Owning a Le Creuset of my own has been a dream for me since I was able to cook! I am absolutely over the moon!

Thank you! I just picked it up from the jewelers, so it’s extra shiny. I had to get it sized. It was very tiny.

Oh yeah, it’s the professional model too! I’m feeling very fancy with this on my counter!

I literally screamed when I found them. My friend thought something was wrong.

Hidden in a little grandfather clock display.

I love salesman samples. I found a chaise lounge/fainting couch sample at an antique store last year. It was kinda pricy so I talked myself out of it. I later changed my mind but it was gone by the time I went back. Luckily this one was only $35.

I put it above my desk. I’m sure it’s not worth a lot, however I love it! So unusual and lovely!

I saw this desk listed months ago on Facebook Marketplace, and was devastated when it disappeared. When I saw it listed again, I knew I had to bring it home! My bank account is screaming, but this beauty is going to be with me for life. Can’t wait to see how it looks after a full restoration!

Underneath the seat in Sharpie, it says, “1999 Mitch Levin Zoomin Bench”. Quick google shows Mitch Levin is still an active sculptor, so no idea what it could be worth. Certainly more than the $150 I paid!

Edit: So I contacted Mitch Levin and we had a great conversation about this piece! He said he thinks he sold it originally for $2500-3000 when he was based out of Chicago, and that this one was one of his earliest and also one of his favorite pieces. He was really happy that it's in such great condition and that it has found a very grateful new home. He told me, "I jokingly say I make garage sale finds of the future!"

I don’t normally dig through my neighbor's trash, but maybe I need to start if she is throwing stuff like this away. I thought maybe it didn’t work, but she works. Wiring isn’t frayed or cut. Seems in perfect shape.

All the stones were individually tested and confirmed to be sapphires. The jeweller also said that because they all have inclusions and color zoning they are almost certainly natural stones.

She’s amazing. I love it. Tail is wooden, unoriginal, but she works perfectly either way. The eyes are beautiful.

I had never heard of Christopher Guy before! No idea where they came from originally... my guess is they were lobby chairs for a wacky boutique hotel? Anyway, this is the best value-to-cost ratio I’ve ever scored thrifting.

I also couldn’t imagine a better companion to my funky monkey tree lamp! Thrifting really is such an interesting style journey.

Some additional info: this tiny alarm clock was originally released in 1968 and has won awards for its design. It’s incredibly cute, but sadly, the clock doesn’t work anymore. I’ve managed to get the buzzer working again, but the clock mechanism itself needs to be checked out by a professional.

A few weeks ago, a girl was selling Doc Martens on a Facebook group for $45. I messaged her, but someone got to them first. I was super sad. But then this morning, these popped up on my newsfeed. $25, brand new. I drove 40 minutes to get them, and it was so worth it! Truly my white whale, and I’ll be chasing this high for the rest of my life.

May I present my thrifted bentwood rocking chair? My family had one when I was young, and I have been looking for one I could afford for the whole time I’ve been on my own. No, it’s not a genuine Thonet as far as I can tell, but it is still the rocking chair of my dreams.

The only thing I know about them is that they’re 14k gold.

Pure luck, honestly. He found it on a mannequin, and I was going to get it regardless of the sizing. I lost it when I saw the tag while taking it off the mannequin.

Jeweler said at least $2000 in gold but it's hard to get a accurate weight cause of the stones. He thought the diamonds are polki diamonds or just really old because they are not in great condition or cut well. I am leaning towards older cut diamonds. I have a gold ring from 1800's and the diamonds are very poorly cut, but that is actually a good sign when dealing in antique jewelry authentication. They didn't have the technology we do now. I am taking it back on Monday for further testing.

I have kept these for 8 years after I found them for $8 from Savers here in Melbourne, Australia. I have been in touch with Salvatore Ferragamo in Italy, who will be taking these shortly as a donation for their museum. I didn’t recognise what I had when I first picked these up, but I’m so glad I could rescue it and do something good with them.

I thrifted this chair yesterday. I love wooden furniture and vintage items. I’ve been passively looking for a beautiful chair for 3 years now, but nothing stands out. UNTIL I FOUND THIS GEM!!
It’s hand-carved everywhere, no nails or screws. For 70 bucks, it’s a steal considering that a modern, industrially made, plain and boring chair is the same price.

I don't know what the other marking means or what pearls are even worth, but I feel fancy.

De’Longhi Eletta Explore Automatic Espresso Machine in excellent condition for $26.99!

Oddly enough this is actually the second one I’ve found there. The first was one of the oversized table lamps and I got that one for $12.

The store does half off on saturdays so I only wound up paying 125 for it, I don't know if that was the best price in general but it was a great price for me! I think the clamp is for a light attachment, I found one in one of the drawers. Totally unusable, but a very cool additional find. And yeah! All the drawers are intact minus some hardware on the front, and the wood is in good shape for the most part. Some of the veneer is peeling up, but not as badly as it could be for how old it is.

I thrifted this in Florida while I was visiting my grandma this past winter and when I brought it back and showed her, she remarked that this set had to have been bought for someone’s honeymoon. So while not confirmed, calling it that reminds me of my Grammy.

There’s some minor damage to it but nothing too crazy. This is going to be the centerpiece to my new place I’m moving to.

At the end of last year, my girlfriend and I went to an antique store to pass some time. We were there about 2 hours and getting ready to leave, when I noticed a case with baseball stuff. In the corner of the case was a ball that was signed by the 1947 Yankees. The whole team. For $200. I couldn't believe it. My girlfriend said I was crazy for buying it and that it was 100% a fake... fast forward 4 months (and $300 more) later, I just got the PSA results and it's genuine! And it came in at 6.5 overall! Rough comps for that kind of ball are $8-$12000. I'm still in disbelief. Just needed to post this to make it seem real.

I live near a rust belt city in NY - the town I’m in is pretty rural, but a few of the surrounding areas are insanely wealthy, and this Saver’s is close to a popular supermarket and has a drive thru drop off. That’s my guess, at least. I’ve gotten some bonkers stuff here.

It’s called a “Hit Clip” it was popular in the early 2000’s you collected the little square clips they play a small portion of which ever song is labeled. Definitely a cool little trinket.

While walking to the register, a lady literally told me she “hated” me because of these lamps. My grandmother said if she had somewhere to put the lamps, she would buy them from me… Mind you, I never gave her that option. All I know is, my week has been made!

I had a doctor's appointment in the rich town a little ways from me, so to calm down for the drive home, I went thrifting. I can't believe what I saw! Alongside these items, I also purchased two scent bottles also uranium. I have little to no information on both of these items. I can only find a blue version of the chair, but it doesn't have embroidery in the top like mine does. It was sold at auction, and I can't see the price. These salt holders were usually made with an abalone shell, so I was already familiar with those. But I've only seen one other in uranium.

It did wind it and it’s running but I’m not sure if it keeps time well or not. I have to wait and see.

The thrift gods smiled upon me. I found a Dyson V8 Animal stick vacuum in a bin waiting to be unloaded at Goodwill… for 20 bucks. I feel like I’ve gotten away with a crime!
Got home and tested it, and it works great. There was some debris stuck in the vacuum head, mainly pine needles, which makes me think someone vacuumed up their Christmas tree debris, clogged up the head, and then assumed the vacuum was no longer working, so they took it to Goodwill and got a new one. Welp, my cat and I are endlessly grateful!

I found this Oscar de la Renta Studio set for $16 at a local thrift shop. It was the gorgeous green tweed that caught my eye. It seems to be in great shape!

It’s funny because the cashier at Goodwill was like “wow, that didn’t last long, I only put it out an hour ago!” and I was like “yeah, well, it was priced right..."

We are looking into getting a second opinion - this was a free appraisal in a small town, family-run jewelers. Not knocking them at ALL, but the guy told me he was being very conservative on estimation because he didn’t want to overestimate and get my hopes up.

I hit a jackpot (in gold) at an estate for about $140. It was 4K worth of gold roughly.

Got a vintage travel bag at auction for $1 and a month later found this in a pocket.