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Generally in life, the adage that “you get what you pay for” remains true. But every now and then, either through a lucky good investment or just a second hand seller who doesn’t know what they are doing, people end up striking gold. 

Someone asked “What is the cheapest thing you bought that turned out to be very valuable or expensive?” and netizens share their best stories. From lucky cash finds in lost envelopes to folks who got something that ended up being massively popular, get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to comment your thoughts and experiences below. 

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#1

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases I paid 50 dollars for my Dogs adoption fee. He ended up barking for help when I had a seizure caused by medication.

Priceless puppy!

Scared-Tomatillo-203 , K E / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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#2

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases My dog was a long term resident at the shelter so she was only $10, but she’s so incredibly valuable to me. ❤️🥹.

lizard_crunchwrap , Margarita Kosior / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Daniela Lavanza
Daniela Lavanza
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thanks for giving her the comfort of a loving home. Enjoy good times with her, you both deserve them.

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#3

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases Bought a lottery ticket for $2.


I won about 800k from it


Bought a house with that money and now I work a regular job while saving for retirement.

Sunnyfloralprinces , Emiliano Vittoriosi / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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#4

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases After my office chair broke, I was going to go to a cheap furniture store (the range) to get another crappy chair for €150, which was the most I could spend at the time. But on the way there I stopped by a second hand furniture store in my town, and they had a sturdy looking office chairs (steel wheel frame instead of plastic, fairly comfy, seemed like they'll last some time), for €50. I bought one, and few months later decided to look up what kind of chair is it. Turns out it's a Herman Miller Mirra 2, which seem to retail for around **€1300 more** than I paid.

edwinodesseiron , Nicolas J Leclercq / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Alexandra
Alexandra
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow! I'm so happy for you! Herman Miller office chairs are the best.

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#5

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases My boyfriend bought me a cheap graphics tablet for maybe $50 or something. He knew that I loved to draw. With this tablet, I found a job as an artist and made my dream come true.

Natalia_Kozlova , Eugene Chystiakov / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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#6

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases My daughter bought a painting for $0.50 at a thrift shop and found an envelope with $1,000 in back of it.

biscobingo , Jp Valery / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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#7

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases Only cost me like £20 to marry my wife. There is nothing else I will ever have that is more valuable to me than her.

The best things in life are (nearly) free.

Ok-Fox1262 , Saeed Sarshar / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Auntriarch
Auntriarch
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hehe, I paid the licence fee (300 dirhams), Mr Auntriarch turned out to be very good value!🥰

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#8

$25 notary fee to get out of the Mormon church.

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Lord of the laserprinter.
Lord of the laserprinter.
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For tax reasons, same here in Germany you pay church tax in your faith and if you want to become godless heathen and no longer pay taxes you have to have to notarise it.

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#9

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases Bought a first edition of The Shining by Stephen King for $1 at a local library sale and sold it for $500 a few years later.

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Kombatbunni
Kombatbunni
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a signed copy of Salem’s Lot that I scored for a whole $10 from a local charity shop.

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#10

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases Saved up $150 for a Roomba. They accidentally sent me the model that was $700 at the time. 6 years later and David still works perfectly fine.

countofmontycrinkles , Onur Binay / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Colt Winkler
Colt Winkler
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

nice my grandmas roomba is alfred

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Ladedah
Ladedah
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7 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have two roombas: The newer roomba (J7) with mapping is known as "The FURminator"... my older roomba (that slams into every surface to figure out where it's at) has been dubbed "PsychoRoomba690"

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Manic Mama
Manic Mama
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mine is called Minion - because he's an underling that does my bidding.

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dayngerkat
dayngerkat
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6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My robot vac is named Deebo cuz he pushes everything around

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ERMAHGERD DINOSAURS
ERMAHGERD DINOSAURS
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6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My floor robot is little buddy! This one is like 6.0 so maybe I’m saving up for the extra $$ for 7.0

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Gypsy Lee
Gypsy Lee
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6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’ve tried Roomba 3 times. Each lasted between 9-11 months. Never again.

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Jane W.
Jane W.
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Got rid of my Roomba the first time I tried it. It got hung up on stuff wherever it went. It was worse than having a toddler running loose in the house.

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Eugenia
Eugenia
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6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Best thing I saw about a Roomba was someone taping a broomstick on it with a sheet and some Halloween decorations. A ghost roaming the house!

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KatSaidWhat
KatSaidWhat
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Decided to send in for a free perfume sample. Pretty sure someone got fired for the £150 bottle of Creed I got sent.

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#11

I went to an auction last year, looking for tools. They had an old busted up jukebox. I had no interest in it. They started bidding at $500 before going down to $25. I bid and no one else did. Dragged it home and was trying to figure out what I was going to do with it. A jukebox broker I had chatted with before the auction got a hold to see if I ended up buying it. He then gave me $2k for it. I owned it for about a week.

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#12

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases I took the cheapest art class at a local art school for "continuing ed". It wasn't cheap but relative to the others it was, anyway it got me so invested I ended up using the skills professionally and personally, made some great friends and boosted my confidence.

Imaginary_Office7660 , Sarah Brown / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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#13

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases Not me, but my friend's grandmother was at a yard sale and bought a framed sketch cause she thought it looked neat. Turned out to be a genuine Picasso sketch. No idea what it was worth, but she paid like a dollar for it. I should also add that his grandmother was already filthy rich, so she just hung it up and was like "meh, that's neat".

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Wintermute
Wintermute
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's surprising how often people still find original Picasso art. He was very prolific and gave a lot of stuff away - prints and sketches specifically. Definitely worth keeping an eye out for.

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#14

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases I purchased a tiny glass bird at a yard sale for .25 cent. Turned out be a signed hand blown Mirano piece that I sold on ebay for $800.

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#15

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases I got a box of vinyl records from a family friend. Went on Discogs to add them to my existing collection.

One was an original press of some obscure folk musician. Apparently pretty rare. They were going anywhere from $300-$900. I had a guy message me asking for photos/videos. I sent him some, he asked the price, I said name me an offer. He said $500, I said sold. He was a mega fan and super happy, and I was happy to have $500.

HonestFalcon4444 , KOBU Agency / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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nomnomborkbork
nomnomborkbork
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's fantastic! I'd better go through the eight boxes of vinyls I've got...

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#16

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases I brought a small glass orb for ~$25 at a street fair as I thought it was cool. For four years it was sitting on my desk, a client came into my office and stated if it was authentic it is valuable. Appraised over $10K - not on my desk any longer.

stickman07738 , Hannah Murrell / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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#17

Once bought a box load of Christmas decorations at an auction house for $40. It was full of gold, silver, crystal and hand blown glass decorations from harrods and other fancy stores. I'm in New Zealand so they came half way round the world.

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nomnomborkbork
nomnomborkbork
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These are the most exciting kinds of finds--buy a box full of stuff and find a treasure.

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#18

I used to buy comic books for less than a dollar when I was a kid back in the 80s. I think most were like $.60. Anyway, my current collection is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars because I also bought those plastic bags and acid free cardboard backs and all of them are in mint condition.

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#19

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases A book by Don Miguel Ruiz called, “The Four Agreements.” $12.99 at Barnes and Noble.

The book sums up 4 life lessons to live by and ever since reading it, I can honestly say I’ve been a much happier person with little to no stress in my life.

For those who don’t want to read between the lines, the 4 agreements are:

Don’t take things personally.
Don’t make assumptions.
Be impeccable with your word.
Always do your best.

Thomas3816 , Fang-Wei Lin / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Tamra
Tamra
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've had this book for a long time. Might be time to dust it off and re-read it.

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#20

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases Maybe not *cheap* but in 2012 I bought two bottles of high-quality bourbon (Pappy's) for $250 each as I knew it was popular and reputed to be good, and I wanted to try it.

I drank one bottle over the course of the next year, but saved the other. Well that remaining bottle is now worth in the vicinity of $5k and I'm very hesitant to actually drink it.

grandwahs , Eva Bronzini / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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Marcellus II
Marcellus II
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah it's not $5K good, and people will realise eventually, so better sell in the next few years.

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#21

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases Bought a nice beach painting in a thrift store in Florida. 


The artist was Alfred Hair https://www.floridahighwaymenpaintings.com/highwaymen/alfred-hair/


Of the Florida Highwaymen https://backusmuseum.org/highwaymen


The painting is a twin to one that hangs in the National Gallery. https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/highwaymen-segregation-era-florida-artists-sold-and-often-painted-roadside


More importantly to me is that the purchase led to me meeting and making friends with several of the Highwaymen. .

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#22

I bought a bra for a girl when I was 16, cost about $18 I think.

Well, 25 years and two kids later we joke about it every now and then, and I still think about my idiot self as a teen thinking I'd get to take that bra off some day if I was lucky.

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Auntriarch
Auntriarch
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A lady should never accept from a gentleman a gift of clothing that she would not permit him to remove from her person.... Miss Manners

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#23

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases 1) studying for finals in college December 1989 I bought a six pack of Diet Pepsi....won a free 2L and the brand new Nintendo game boy (all for spending about $2.75) 2) bought a barely worn pair of Prada Mary Jane's at a thift store in Chelsea NYC for $40. They were going for $800 brand new 2) bought a Russian fox fur hat for $12 At a thrift store...retaiing for $1200 4) won a lot of 6 silver necklaces at auction for $9.25....one was a vintage Tiffany and Co. worth about $300 5) found an inch long pin on the ground going out to catch a bus....cleaned it up, 18k Tiffany and Co. bumblebee pin with ruby eyes. My late father always said, "I'd rather be lucky than good," and that is my motto as well!

Sconniegrrrl68 , NIKHIL / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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#24

I won U2's first single, 1000 of which were released only in Ireland in 1979 and hand-numbered, from the radio show competition that determined which track would be on the A-side. Had I paid for it, it would have been £1.49. Today I'm negotiating selling it for between $3000-$5000. Not too shabby.

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#25

Nothing crazy but years ago I was throwing a mad hatter tea party for my daughter and decided to get teacups at the thrift store so kids could take them home after if they wanted.

Found a set of 11 cups and saucers for $0.99 each and loved them. I’d wanted mismatched for the kids but loved the design I bought them for myself. Tried to search them online to see if I could find a 12th and maybe a tea/coffee pot/carafe and found them listed individually for around $20-40 and the pots for over $150.

Didn’t ever buy the 12th and with my luck they’re full of lead but still pretty.

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geezeronthehill
geezeronthehill
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lead test kits should be available from your county extension agent,, or equivalent, depending on your country.

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#26

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases A late 17th century printing of Ben Jonson's play "The Alchemist", found at a thrift store for fifty cents.

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The Original Bruno
The Original Bruno
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fake. Read the quotation from Lucret. They didn't have Priuses in the 17th century.

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#27

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases Mountain Dew limited edition flavors. Picked up a bunch of 20oz bottles and cases of 12 oz cans around 2005 after seeing collectors pay a lot for discontinued Surge and such. Ended up selling most for $100-200 apiece about a year ago. Ended up using most of the money to fix my drywall and carpet after most of the cans exploded.

inu_yasha , Sachin Mittal / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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#28

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases I bought a sealed set of the Burger King gold Pokemon cards for like 40$. The person gave me a HUGE binder also full of like 1st gen original cards. I've sold some of the cards and made a couple grand and still have plenty.

_Rhoadie_ , Erik Mclean / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Gypsy Lee
Gypsy Lee
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6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My brother’s friend gave us all the Burger King Pokémon ball things back in the day, for our son. He’s a packrat, & they’re still sitting in a box in their boxes in our storage. Never opened. Just sitting there. Some are multiples. I figure he’ll remember them when he has to sort our stuff after we’re gone. 🤣

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#29

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases I once bought a bag of chips and there was this event on their company where they put random amounts of money in random bags and I bough the bag for like a buck and won 100 pretty worth ngl.

lovelyrusse , THE ORGANIC CRAVE Ⓡ / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Karina
Karina
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Its not to long ago they did this with chocolate where i live

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#30

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases I got a bag for 10 bucks at a thrift store which would cost like 200 in an actual store.

hawaiiturret , Irene Kredenets / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Tamra
Tamra
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to shop at thrift stores way back before the days when antique dealers and re-sellers started emptying them out on a regular basis. I miss those days.

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#31

Bought a comic for 2 bucks from a Lyft driver cleaned it pressed it then sent it to get pressed again and graded at cgc worth 2k last time I checked.

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#32

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases Bought a McIntosh receiver and speakers at a garage sale for $500 total. They were from the 90s.

Most likely were $10-$20k brand new.

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#33

Got into the Game Stop short squeeze pretty early. Made several thousand dollars without any work or contributing to society. It was nice. I felt like a banker for a short time lording over the peasents

I wish I would have had more liquid money at the time to buy more :/.

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Sara Frazer
Sara Frazer
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh man, I had a coworker at my last job who was in this, he sold his stock for like $2000 because he thought that was pretty good. Next day he woke up and saw the stocks were now worth a lot more, I don't remember the exact number but it was seven figures. He was kicking himself forever

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#34

I bought a lot of Nintendo DS / 3DS games for either retail or $10-$20 at p**n stores in the mid 2010's.

Now the least expensive ones are going $75+, some over $500.

No, I am not going to sell them.

A few years ago I also got about $200 worth of Lego sets (new in the box/ still sealed) for $25.

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#35

35 Times People Bought Ridiculously Cheap Things That Turned Out To Be The Best Purchases About 6.5 NVDA shares at $141.

ThePrideFrom1905 , Markus Spiske / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Kyra Heiker
Kyra Heiker
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This means exactly nothing to me. How about an explanation of what you actually bought and what it's actually worth?

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