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30 Times People Couldn’t Believe Their Luck In Thrift Stores, Flea Markets And Garage Sales (New Pics)
One person's trash is another person's new favorite item - and the numbers are there to back it up. According to research from retail analytics firm GlobalData the fashion resale market is growing 21 times faster than the retail market, shown over the past three years. There are many reasons why people have taken to thrifting, from environmental to affordable, but when you look at the one-of-a-kind thrift store finds in the list below - one answer could be where else could you find this stuff?
From photos of doppelgangers to toys from your childhood or an autographed Stephen King novel, you never know what is waiting for you that in a garage sale or a thrift store. Scroll down below to see the best of these interesting finds, and don't forget to upvote your favs!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
The Best $1.99 I Will Ever Spend In My Lifetime
The younger generation is possibly the most environmentally-conscious one yet, and to protect our our earth people are taking initiative to reduce waste. Buying second-hand clothes from thrift shops significantly reduces not just waste but pollution as well. No matter what material your clothes are made of the production of garments is detrimental to the environment. To produce synthetic materials such as polyester requires the use of petroleum and byproducts of toxic gases. Post-production even causes a toll through transportation-related pollution. When you buy second-hand clothing the transportation decreases significantly and they are less likely to end up in a landfill.
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#2
My $2 Thrift Store Repaint
#3
My New Lunch Box, Thanks Goodwill
Thrifting is not just environmentally conscious but can be socially as well. When you buy from large corporations you know you run the risk of contributing to unethical labor practices, but while you can't unmake clothes you can save yourself from investing more money into these companies by only buying them second-hand. As a bonus, many thrift shores donate or support charities, raising money for their communities or humanitarian aid.
#4
Someone Who Works At A Charity Shop Put Jeff Goldblum In Every Single Photo Frame
#5
Funny Coffee Mug I Found Today
We all want to help out the globe, but thrifting cheap things of course has the added bonus of benefiting shoppers personally. Who doesn't want to snag a designer handbag for $5 or a unique vintage jacket that was discontinued for $3 - compare that with a $50 graphic tee that everyone owns and it will make you want to head to your local thrift store right away.
#6
As A 100% Straight Man, I Had To Have This Shirt
#7
Found A Camera In A Thrift Store That Belonged To A Soldier In WW1. Has Undeveloped Verichrome Film In The Back
Thrift shops aren't the only places to find one-of-a-kind items even garage sales have buried treasure hiding among them. Finding something unique is part of the fun but what about when you find something that has way more value than you paid for it? Think Antiques Roadshow, if you think you found something valuable it is possible it is. One woman paid $10 on a painting to find it valued at $15,000
#8
Found These Weird Ass Salt And Pepper Shakers. A Giraffe Eating A Tourist’s Toupee
#9
Every Garage Sale Should Be This Funny
Reuse and upcycle! Upcycling is a creative process where you transform an old item or material into something new. Many people go thrifting and put a new spin on vintage clothes or old finds to bring them back to life. Thrifting is a way to flex your creative muscles to express individuality. With upcycling old pieces or materials that may be rough around the edges aren't being discarded but have new life breathed back into them.
#10
Couldn't Resist This 70s Rainbow Kettle For $7
#11
Best $10 I’ve Ever Spent
#12
Got This Bad Boy Last Weekend For $2 And My Boyfriend Has Yet To Notice It On The Wall. I Might Add In The Extra Batteries So It Meows Every Hour
#13
$10 At A Local Garage Sale! The Old Lady Didn't Even Remember What It Was At First
#14
I Shouldn't Be Allowed To Thrift For My Clothing Unsupervised
Casper Slinkman 5 years ago
'oh no! Someone is bashing my favourite 90's show ! :O' who you gonna call? SUPER RETROMAN!!
#15
I Found A Brand New Version Of My Childhood Teddy Bear At A Flea Market
Dani 5 years ago
I LOVE the idea of using an o with an umlaut instead of :O!!
Load More Replies...
Pamela Scott 5 years ago
Oh this is great you get to keep your bear up and pass the new one along. They usually do not survive a second go around!
JillVille 5 years ago
This is so amazing!! I also found a new version of my old teddy bear at a thrift shop. It still had the ribbon! I don't even remember the ribbon on mine when I first got it. I gave the new one to my oldest when she went overseas for University. She loves that we have matching bears now. Mine is just as loved as yours. His nose is held on by a hair, literally!
Mark CM 5 years ago
So what happens to your life long friend Teddy 1? Out in the dustbin? You heartless bastard!
Pam Thompson 5 years ago
spin on the old, get the smelly old dog put to sleep and buy a brand new puppy to love?
Crouching_Penn_Hidden_Teller@yahoo.com 5 years ago
it's not a doll, it's a bear
Load More Replies... #16
This Thrift Store Photo Is My Doppelganger
#17
I Think I Maxed Out When I Found This Work Of Art At A Garage Sale As A Child. Now Proudly Displaying It In My First Apartment
#18
Best Charity Shop Find Ever. It’s Going In My Bathroom. £3
#19
50 Cent Pick Up. If You Find Ceramic Frogs Out At Yard Sales, Flip Em Over To See If They Are A Keeper
#20
This Fake Light-Plastic Wrench I Found At The Thrift Store. Gonna Throw It At People
#21
Found This At A Flea Market While On A Trip In PA
#22
Every Year We Spend $20 At Goodwill To Dress Each Other Then Get Cheesy Photos Taken Instead Of Buying Presents. We Did Great This Year
#23
Thrift Store, Three Bucks. Pete Painted This Block Of Wood For 14 Years, Almost Every Day
#24
Sometimes You Find Treasures, Sometimes Treasures Find You
#25
On This Day In 2011, I Found 36 Stuffed Pikachus At A Salvation Army
#26
This Bench My Sister Bought At A Yard Sale Without Measuring The Space First
#27
Browsing My Neighborhood Salvation Army
#28
This Thrift Shop Sells Thousands Of Random Family Photos
KarmaQueen 5 years ago
Sure, why not. Getting a family member to agree that we actually know the person, priceless.
#29
Found This Beaut For $16. My New Favorite Sweater
Kristen Bryer 5 years ago
I wish I had a pic of it but in 1986 I actually HAD that exact sweatshirt. It comes in yellow and blue too. We all know why I know that.... the pink one was my absolute favorite. So crazy to see it again.
#30
This Is My Favorite Mug. I Got It At A Thrift Store And Have No Idea Who These People Are
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What do you think ?
Danin Larksy 5 years ago (edited)
We didn't find anything famous but 14 years ago my aunt and her friends visited a charitable Book Festival in Brisbane Australia. 20 semitrailers full of books approximately a million books were on tables to be bought. My aunt loves gardening and National Geographics. While she was looking through the National Geographics, she was tappped on the shoulder by a woman who held a photo of my aunt and my eldest daughter taken 18 years prior when she was 6 months old. This woman was going to leave but her son wanted to look at the The National Geographics. Thanks to National Geographic for being such a popular magazine. The woman had previously picked a book up in the childrens section and found a photo in it. And when she looked up and saw the woman in the photo she was amazed and thought it was brililant coincidence to give my aunt her photo back. The childrens book was Hairy Maclary from Donaldsons Dairy.
varwenea 5 years ago
Some items end up in a thrift store for very good reasons. Some items are lost treasures awaiting new righteous owners.
diane a 5 years ago
My best buy at the charity shop was a Chloe Paddington handbag for £4 - someone was not paying attention when they priced it up. Worth at least £400 pre-owned. Couldnt believe it was real - took it home - looked online and sent pics and details to Chloe Paris, who confirmed it was genuine. If I ever sell it will give half to the charity shop chloe-padd...813bb0.jpg 
Kiss Army 5 years ago (edited)
About 15 or so years ago, my husband found a website building software manual that had the unopened software in the back of the book. He bought it for $20 and sold it on ebay for over $1,000. It was like great Karma because we were so poor back then and his car broke down and we had no idea how we were going to pay the $900 to fix it.
tarebear 5 years ago
I was at a thrift store once and found a hand painted block of a Siamese cat... the price tag on it was $2.00 but the owner of the store told me that if I gave it a living home I could have it. 3 years later it proudly sits up above my dining room table and will ALWAYS have a place in any home I have.
diane a 5 years ago
This is my favorite treasure. Carved stone (oriental) 8" high. Incredibly intricate. cost £5 stone-5c9d...308e26.jpg 
Robyn Gardam 5 years ago
For $10 I bought a signed copy of Stephen King's "Salem's Lot" at a local thrift store. Could not believe my luck. Also scored a rare Nintendo game cube for $20, and a Super 8 film camera (that still works!) for $20. I love op shopping! :)
HoffLensMetalHedLovesAnimalsUK 5 years ago
I have always looked around charity shops (what we call thrift stores) and purchased random things, i think i get the love of it from my mum, she always dragged us kids around and we could all buy one thing each.
DP von Icecream 5 years ago
Some of these items are AWESOME, maybe a good idea to pick visiting flea markets as a side hobby.
diane a 5 years ago
We have 5 different charity shops in our small town. Literally the only places to buy good quality clothes and wonderful for odd quirky items. Got a lovely Michael Kors £300 jacket for £20. Also got a stock of rare beanie babies which I need to get rid of. Lol. Think one of them is worth $200
Load More Replies...
Rebecca McManus 5 years ago
And what this tells me is that America has better yard sales and thrift stores than we have in the UK.
diane a 5 years ago
Think ours are better - not really looking for ceramic frogs with genetalia.
Load More Replies...
Kira Leseman 5 years ago
I go to thrift stores all the time and my recent awesome find was a hot pink leather purse that was just tacky enough for me to need it immediately. I took it home and while putting my stuff in it I found $60 in 20 dollar bills. It was awesome. I squealed and jumped around like I won the lottery. Called my mom and everything. I love thrift stores.
Pamela Scott 5 years ago
My best one was the 1st one. The pastor at a local church was moving since he was being sent to a larger church. He and his family decided to have a large yard sale since that let them avoid having to move everything. He also worked as. Paramedic with my big brother and I think that might be how I got such and great deal. The yard sale was about a half block from my Aunt's house and Mom and Helen let us ride our bikes over because we had heard the boys were asking some of their baseball bats and we wanted a chance to get a good one. I was maybe 5 yrs old and only had $2 but when we got there I fell in love but it wasn't a baseball bat I was looking at. Pastor Bob had a huge fish aquarium and absolutely everything you needed to set it up since at first he was thinking he would take it with him and set it back up a lot of the items inside were brand new unopened sitting inside that shiny 50 gallon tank! I was not a healthy kid and summer was almost over.
Pamela Scott 5 years ago
I usually caught every illness that spread during the winter and was already imagining watching that treasure chest and the wrecked ship keeping me entertained while I was stuck in bed. Pastor Bob came over and asked if I'd like to buy it and I tried to act grown up and said I might be interested. He asked me if I had ever had fish and I told him about my two little gold fish in their little bowl. He asked how much I had and when I said two buck he said I was in luck cause that was just right! My cousins nearly forgot the bats cause they were so excited to tell Mom and Helen they had to come see what I bought.! I don't know what they were excepting cause we only told them they had to come. No way we could bring it home on our bikes anyway! Mom and Pastor Bob talked for and little while I think she was trying to talk him into taking more cash. He told he was afraid he might brake the tank in the move so really I was doing him a favor best 2 dollars I ever spent!
Load More Replies...
Joannie Goulet 5 years ago
The best thing I found was a vintage McCoy planter from a yard sale. I didn't knew it at the time and bought it for the plant. Someone on a gardening group on Facebook told me when I posted a photo of my awesome new plant. They are not super precious but they're definitely worth more than 2$!
Autumn Pulver 5 years ago
I found someone’s cremains for sale at a thrift store. They were in a rather non descript urn that looked like a big block of wood. But on the bottom there was information to confirm that someone was inside. I told the store and they rem0ved it from the shelf..
Panda Baller 5 years ago
I was riding my bike a couple weeks ago. Its been cold, however this day seemed promising. Even walking outside without a sweater was nice. 10 miles into my bike ride I had to make a pit stop and buy myself a whole new wardrobe for the ride back. I found some Husker Football sweats. and a solid pair of gloves. Thrift stores save lives.
Patti Panuccio 5 years ago
My best find was a handmade loom with an alpaca and rooster work in progress.
Bruce Clark 5 years ago
Bruce Clark I think that my best find to date would have to be a hand held sterling silver mirror , hair brush and a clothing brush set that I picked up at a thrift store for $20.00 dollars Canadian , I can only assume that the person in the back room that was doing the pricing was ether inexperienced or not very well trained, ether way their loss is my gain or a win / win since everything is always donations to start with...
Danin Larksy 5 years ago (edited)
We didn't find anything famous but 14 years ago my aunt and her friends visited a charitable Book Festival in Brisbane Australia. 20 semitrailers full of books approximately a million books were on tables to be bought. My aunt loves gardening and National Geographics. While she was looking through the National Geographics, she was tappped on the shoulder by a woman who held a photo of my aunt and my eldest daughter taken 18 years prior when she was 6 months old. This woman was going to leave but her son wanted to look at the The National Geographics. Thanks to National Geographic for being such a popular magazine. The woman had previously picked a book up in the childrens section and found a photo in it. And when she looked up and saw the woman in the photo she was amazed and thought it was brililant coincidence to give my aunt her photo back. The childrens book was Hairy Maclary from Donaldsons Dairy.
varwenea 5 years ago
Some items end up in a thrift store for very good reasons. Some items are lost treasures awaiting new righteous owners.
diane a 5 years ago
My best buy at the charity shop was a Chloe Paddington handbag for £4 - someone was not paying attention when they priced it up. Worth at least £400 pre-owned. Couldnt believe it was real - took it home - looked online and sent pics and details to Chloe Paris, who confirmed it was genuine. If I ever sell it will give half to the charity shop chloe-padd...813bb0.jpg
Kiss Army 5 years ago (edited)
About 15 or so years ago, my husband found a website building software manual that had the unopened software in the back of the book. He bought it for $20 and sold it on ebay for over $1,000. It was like great Karma because we were so poor back then and his car broke down and we had no idea how we were going to pay the $900 to fix it.
tarebear 5 years ago
I was at a thrift store once and found a hand painted block of a Siamese cat... the price tag on it was $2.00 but the owner of the store told me that if I gave it a living home I could have it. 3 years later it proudly sits up above my dining room table and will ALWAYS have a place in any home I have.
diane a 5 years ago
This is my favorite treasure. Carved stone (oriental) 8" high. Incredibly intricate. cost £5 stone-5c9d...308e26.jpg
Robyn Gardam 5 years ago
For $10 I bought a signed copy of Stephen King's "Salem's Lot" at a local thrift store. Could not believe my luck. Also scored a rare Nintendo game cube for $20, and a Super 8 film camera (that still works!) for $20. I love op shopping! :)
HoffLensMetalHedLovesAnimalsUK 5 years ago
I have always looked around charity shops (what we call thrift stores) and purchased random things, i think i get the love of it from my mum, she always dragged us kids around and we could all buy one thing each.
DP von Icecream 5 years ago
Some of these items are AWESOME, maybe a good idea to pick visiting flea markets as a side hobby.
diane a 5 years ago
We have 5 different charity shops in our small town. Literally the only places to buy good quality clothes and wonderful for odd quirky items. Got a lovely Michael Kors £300 jacket for £20. Also got a stock of rare beanie babies which I need to get rid of. Lol. Think one of them is worth $200
Load More Replies... Rebecca McManus 5 years ago
And what this tells me is that America has better yard sales and thrift stores than we have in the UK.
diane a 5 years ago
Think ours are better - not really looking for ceramic frogs with genetalia.
Load More Replies... Kira Leseman 5 years ago
I go to thrift stores all the time and my recent awesome find was a hot pink leather purse that was just tacky enough for me to need it immediately. I took it home and while putting my stuff in it I found $60 in 20 dollar bills. It was awesome. I squealed and jumped around like I won the lottery. Called my mom and everything. I love thrift stores.
Pamela Scott 5 years ago
My best one was the 1st one. The pastor at a local church was moving since he was being sent to a larger church. He and his family decided to have a large yard sale since that let them avoid having to move everything. He also worked as. Paramedic with my big brother and I think that might be how I got such and great deal. The yard sale was about a half block from my Aunt's house and Mom and Helen let us ride our bikes over because we had heard the boys were asking some of their baseball bats and we wanted a chance to get a good one. I was maybe 5 yrs old and only had $2 but when we got there I fell in love but it wasn't a baseball bat I was looking at. Pastor Bob had a huge fish aquarium and absolutely everything you needed to set it up since at first he was thinking he would take it with him and set it back up a lot of the items inside were brand new unopened sitting inside that shiny 50 gallon tank! I was not a healthy kid and summer was almost over.
Pamela Scott 5 years ago
I usually caught every illness that spread during the winter and was already imagining watching that treasure chest and the wrecked ship keeping me entertained while I was stuck in bed. Pastor Bob came over and asked if I'd like to buy it and I tried to act grown up and said I might be interested. He asked me if I had ever had fish and I told him about my two little gold fish in their little bowl. He asked how much I had and when I said two buck he said I was in luck cause that was just right! My cousins nearly forgot the bats cause they were so excited to tell Mom and Helen they had to come see what I bought.! I don't know what they were excepting cause we only told them they had to come. No way we could bring it home on our bikes anyway! Mom and Pastor Bob talked for and little while I think she was trying to talk him into taking more cash. He told he was afraid he might brake the tank in the move so really I was doing him a favor best 2 dollars I ever spent!
Load More Replies... Joannie Goulet 5 years ago
The best thing I found was a vintage McCoy planter from a yard sale. I didn't knew it at the time and bought it for the plant. Someone on a gardening group on Facebook told me when I posted a photo of my awesome new plant. They are not super precious but they're definitely worth more than 2$!
Autumn Pulver 5 years ago
I found someone’s cremains for sale at a thrift store. They were in a rather non descript urn that looked like a big block of wood. But on the bottom there was information to confirm that someone was inside. I told the store and they rem0ved it from the shelf..
Panda Baller 5 years ago
I was riding my bike a couple weeks ago. Its been cold, however this day seemed promising. Even walking outside without a sweater was nice. 10 miles into my bike ride I had to make a pit stop and buy myself a whole new wardrobe for the ride back. I found some Husker Football sweats. and a solid pair of gloves. Thrift stores save lives.
Patti Panuccio 5 years ago
My best find was a handmade loom with an alpaca and rooster work in progress.
Bruce Clark 5 years ago
Bruce Clark I think that my best find to date would have to be a hand held sterling silver mirror , hair brush and a clothing brush set that I picked up at a thrift store for $20.00 dollars Canadian , I can only assume that the person in the back room that was doing the pricing was ether inexperienced or not very well trained, ether way their loss is my gain or a win / win since everything is always donations to start with...
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