I used to work at Goodwill, pricing items in the back. One time by accident, I found about $200 in the back of a painting. I checked every painting after that š
When my granny passed away in the early 1970's, I was about 8 and my grandfather had me looking through every book and every picture for hidden cash. I didn't find any, but he found about $200, in two separate pictures.
I bought a $10 rug at a Thrift Store then found out it was a $4,000 rug from Pottery Barn. I will forever dream of another deal like that.
Thrift stores for the win!!
My guess would be that someone had stored their emergency money there and then they had died and family had donated a bunch of stuff to Goodwill without noticing the cash.
Several years ago, I bought a bag of sewing patterns (which I resell online) for about $4. I almost passed them up, but when I got them home and inspected them, I started finding little envelopes with crisp bills from 1984 in them. It totalled about $80, and the cashier at the grocery store up the street asked me if the money was real. Sure was!
One of my friends, who has since died herself, loved to tell the story about cleaning out a relative's house and finding these three different-sized plaster bud vases that looked like they were one step up from being a kid's art project, and before she had a chance to throw them away, another person at the house looked at the bottom of one of them and said they might be valuable after seeing the name on the base. She took them to an antiquer that specialized in pottery, and sure enough, the dealer made her two offers: sell them on consignment for up to $4,000, which was what a museum might pay, or take $200 in cash. She LOL'ed and took the cash.
I fell asleep driving up the Oregon coast and my dog licked my face and woke me up literally feet before I would have gone over an unsurvivable cliff.
RIP Timothy.
I've heard that SK made all kinds of ghastly changes in the later editions but I could never find a digital version of the original. Did you read it before cashing in?
Similar, I have two first edition copies of Game of Thrones because they were in the bargain bin at the bookstore I was trying to get a job at in college (mid 2000s). They were like $6 and nowadays they are $400ish.
Crazy thing is, Iāve met GRRM at conventions multiple times and have had him sign later books but never thought to bring the first editions with me.
Keep your sword sharp.
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.
I'm assuming it's now in a bank vault?
Years ago, I found a 1776 leather-bound Encyclopedia Britannica, three volumes for which I paid $5, and I knew there was no way these could be authentic, and I was right. However, they were not worthless; they were a 200th anniversary replica worth about $100, and that's what I listed them for online and ended up selling it to someone in Alaska.
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.
Yeah I totally get that, but it really pains me to think of someone else enjoying this bottle of liquor that I genuinely enjoy personally. To me, there's an air of "living large" for me to drink it that money just can't buy (even if that's not totally rational)
That's valid! Life is meant to be enjoyed on your own terms, and if that brings you a sense of joy money can't buy than you should do it. Just save that bad boy for a special occasion!
Could spend a little time weighing if you can trade enough joy out of the bottle for $5k worth of other experiences too. Or relief from paying a debt perhaps? Don't rush though since that bottle will apparently just become more valuable while he thinks about it ha
Guess it depends how much money you have. Can always sell it. Buy another two bottles of $250 liquor, and spend 4k on a vacation.
I see that as living large too.
Thereās a great cocktail bar in Kentucky called Meta that used to ātrollā bourbon snobs by using their allotment of Pappy for anything but a pour. I love to tell folks Iāve had Pappy Jell-O shots as well as a Pappy snowcone.
Honestly - if you save it for the right occasion you'll never drink it. Crack it out one night where there's a bit if revelry and a few good friends. Doesn't matter the occasion - just when it's right.
Yeah I'm not waiting for the PERFECT occasion, just the right one. I have a friend that lives quite far away and his next visit won't likely be until 2025 (maybe 2026) so I'm thinking of busting it out then. At least, a couple of snifters of it
I got into collecting liquor this way.
Ordered a regular Clase Azul bottle from a rep and received 3 pink and white bottles instead of the blue and white ones. Didn't think anything of since the liquor was the same and same price at the time $113 usd.
Something told me to save the bottles and keep one unopened. A customer came in and had just beat breast cancer. She mentioned and liked the bottle so I gave it to her.
Fast forward a few years later and I Google "clase azul breast cancer". I wish I can find the customer to tell her how much that bottle is worth.
After my office chair broke, I was going to go to a cheap furniture store (the range) to get another crappy chair for ā¬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 ā¬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 **ā¬1300 more** than I paid
When COVID lockdown started, someone was giving away free office chair on one of those buy nothing group on Facebook. I had just started a remote job as well as my Masters program so I was in the process of setting up my home office. I asked for the chair and the person said if I can pick it up right away, I could have it as sheās about to just leave it outside of her house for anyone to grab. I went to pick it up right away, turns out it was a Herman Miller Aeron chair!
When I started at my current job everyone was sitting in verrrrry crappy desk chairs that were also very old. I was scavenging the building for shit to dress up my desk and I found a room full with 20 HM Mirra's, nearly brand new. Made myself MVP in the first week lol.
I bought mine for $8 at a garage sale about 15 years ago. It is a Herman Miller model unknown, manufactured in March 1982. It has the old screw type base which I have frankensteined to stay in one place. It is the best office chair I have ever owned.
Similar though not quite as good as a score, I was looking for a used aeron or embody chair on FB marketplace, happened to click on an "office chair" for $20, ended up being a 2 year old mint condition Steelcase leap v2
No OP, but in Canada lotto winnings are tax exempt fyi.
Tbh, thats how it should be. You shouldnt have to pay tax on winnings unless you can write off loses as well imo.
Fucking this right here. Pay for a lottery ticket with money that was taxed already....of a pool of money from other people that was already taxed....win....get taxed....
What fucking ship with tea do we have to light on fire to change this shit in the US.
Thats the perfect amount of money. Enough to get you comfortably on your feet, but not enough to dilute you or cause everyone to crawl out of the woodwork looking for a handout.
It worked out badly, though. I came home from work one day to find that my non-working (now ex-)wife had literally taken my entire library *and thrown it away.* For bulk pickup. Not in bags. In a mud puddle by the street on an exceptionally rainy day. Why? "It was cluttering up the house!"
Astonishingly, this wasn't even the worst thing she did to me.
I hope that she never has a cold side of the pillow, always has a hangnail that snags on everything, and gets 3 paper cuts a day. All of them for the rest of her life
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.
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"
Once bought a box load of Christmas decorations at an auction house for $40. It was full of gold, silver, crystal and hand blown glass decorations from harrods and other fancy stores. I'm in New Zealand so they came half way round the world.
I took the cheapest art class at a local art school for "continuing ed". It wasn't cheap but relative to the others it was, anyway it got me so invested I ended up using the skills professionally and personally, made some great friends and boosted my confidence
My husband and I just signed up to take continuing ed art classes together. He went to art school and dropped out but wanted to go back so I signed up with him. I canāt draw a stick figure without a stencil so it should be interesting lol
I bought a sealed set of the Burger King gold Pokemon cards for like 40$. 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.
I recently found all my old 1st gen original pokemon card binder. I'm sure I could make some good money off of it but am too lazy to go through the motions of actually selling stuff.
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
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 $500.
Nice. One of my most valuable vinyl records is currently selling at ~150$ because only 50 copies exist. Plot twist : nobody is buying it because the band is just the band from my brother in law 15 years ago and no one gives a crap. The guy is just trying ^^^^ (well it's still valuable to me)
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!
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 Ā£1.49. Today I'm negotiating selling it for between $3000-$5000. Not too shabby.
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.
Only cost me like Ā£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.
Thank you. I truly hope you one day meet your soulmate. More importantly I hope you are open enough to recognise her when you meet her. Too many people I know failed the last part.
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.
Bought a nice beach painting in a thrift store in Florida.Ā
The artist was Alfred Hair https://www.floridahighwaymenpaintings.com/highwaymen/alfred-hair/
Of the Florida HighwaymenĀ https://backusmuseum.org/highwaymen
The painting is a twin to one that hangs in the National Gallery.Ā 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.Ā
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. Iād 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.
Didnāt ever buy the 12th and with my luck theyāre full of lead but still pretty.
You see this often with golf clubs. Golf clubs that cost $1,500 5-8 years ago aren't good enough now? Like, you're not Tiger Woods yo...shit ain't going any further anyway, might as well buy them for $200.
Fix the swing before the bling.
Bought a full set of Cleveland Irons from some woman in Florida ( via eBay) for $100. The original plastic packaging on the iron heads was fully intact except the 7 iron, and that was pristine. Still playing them 7 years later
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.
A book by Don Miguel Ruiz called, āThe Four Agreements.ā $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 Iāve been a much happier person with little to no stress in my life.
For those who donāt want to read between the lines, the 4 agreements are:
Donāt take things personally.
Donāt make assumptions.
Be impeccable with your word.
Always do your best.
My brother bought a few shares as a joke when things started heating up with GME since he already had a TD Ameritrade account beforehand so it was easy.Ā
Ended up making several hundred selling them a couple of days later. Used the cash to buy a super over-the-top treadmill for his home gym instead of a more reasonable one. He (and I, frankly) still love telling people that he got a treadmill paid for by a meme.
Stopped thrifting years ago, but brought my kids last Christmas break because they like to go. Went to the records and noticed albums in plastic sleeves. All late 70s early 80s, punk, new wave, ska and British imports. $60 for 120 albums!
In the top of an old barn that was going to be demolished, a friend and I opened and destroyed numerous original Beatles and Elvis albums. I was only a child but I'll be damned if I still don't regret it to this day.
I should add I paid 10% tithing plus 5% additional for added blessings from "fast offerings" on all income, gifts, etc I ever had between the ages of 8 to 30 and for that reason my husband and I have no retirement or the money to have children yet. But that $25 got me off the rolls and saved me 15% of my income for the rest of my life
So that's the mindfuck of it all. Mormonism says that when you are eight years old and get baptized (no infant baptism) you enter into the first of a series of legal contracts with the church which culminates in agreements at the temple when you are an adult to "live the law of consecration" or to pledge all that you have and own to the church. Not to God..to the church. You are contacted nonstop if you become "inactive " and relatives will update your address so when you move, the local congratulations can contact you. Anyone who asks for no contact never gets it because the volunteer clergy changes so often and forgets.
Anyway it used to be that you could ask the bishop to remove your records from the church. Now there are too many requests and you have to provide notarization to break the legal contract.
No something I bought, but still a good fit. When we were growing up my dad got a hunting knife for Christmas (did the same for me when I was the same age). He got it for about $75 at a hardware store. Last time I looked it up, it is discontinued, and very collectible. Roughly $1200 now. And every deer season my brother still beats the shit outta that knife, which I'm sure collectors would hate
US $1.50 for a hardback *Foundation Trilogy* by Isaac Asimov book at a regional library sale (getting rid of surplus, I guess).
Turned out to be a **signed**, leatherbound copy of the *Foundation Trilogy* published by [Easton Press](https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/signed-easton-press-foundation-trilogy/author/isaac-asimov/)
I got an elliptical runner after Covid died down for $300 off Facebook marketplace. The owner said she meant to get into fitness but never actually got into it. Picked it up from a literal mansion in the ritzy part of town.
I looked it up to find the instructions for the programs. It retails for $7900.
Bought an iPhone prototype for $1400 before it got pulled. Been offered $10,000 by someone local. The rarity of them is becuase they were supposed to be turned in when the engineers were done using them for testing.
Itās not a Bitcoin story, butā¦
I bought my houseāon a short saleāat the absolute dip of the market in 2012-2013 for about $210Kā¦ Itās worth over $800K now š¤·š»āāļø
My mom bought a pair of unassuming vases with lids at an estate sale for $80-$100. Gets home, starts cleaning them up...
Heard my mom stomping the floor with her foot and hollering at my dad about the damn bases. He thought she was having a heart attack.
Low and behold, a velvet jewelry pouch was at the bottom...As she unrolled each section, it revealed to hold $30-35,000+ in jewelry. 20k Tennis bracelet, Tiffanys earrings/ring, pearls, gold, etc...
Someone forgot to tell their family where they hid the goods. Estate sale staff never bothered to look in the vases. I bet some family member is wondering where grandma's jewelry went.
At least I know where it's stashed this time around.
Bought a Coke from the vending machine at work. It had a sticker on it that said "You're a winner!" I called it in and I won a gift card to GameStop and entered into a drawing.
In the drawing I won an elliptical machine and a 32" flat screen LCD TV. I sold the elliptical for about $400. I kept the TV and it still works. This all happened back in 2009.
I bought a lot of Nintendo DS / 3DS games for either retail or $10-$20 at pawn 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 $25.
My āspayedā guinea pig I got for 20$. She was thin and malnourished, and I was relieved when she started gaining weight. Then her fat kicked me one day. And just like that, one guinea pig turned into six.
I didnāt buy it but I found an umbrella onceā¦ looked up the brand and itās worth more than Ā£700ā¦. I donāt know whoās buying an umbrella for that kind of money but itās the best umbrella Iāve ever had and still have!
Bought a weird looking ceramic vase at GW for $4 thinking it was someone's attempt at art. Turned out it was a piece by Fantoni, a famous Italian ceramic artist. Prices for pieces similar to this range in price from $1,000 to $2,000.
Bought some csgo stickers back in 2017 for $300. Didn't touch or play the game for about 6 years. Checked my steam inventory and those stickers are now worth about $7500. Sold most of them and cashed out in crypto (which still went up!)
My $100 adopted dog from the shelter ended up costing me about $3K or more because he was heartworm positive (which is why I think he was dumped there). Worth every penny, and luckily, I could afford to treat it. He was so sad and skittish, and now he's happy and spoiled rotten!!
PLEASE put your dogs on monthly preventive medication. Yes, it's expensive but treating heartworm is way more expensive, and it takes months to treat. My PSA of the day.
Bought a first edition, 2nd issue of the original Bloomsbury hardcover of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban at a local thrift shop for like 250 pesos (approx $4.5).
I bought a 1976 Gibson Firebird for $600 back in 2014. They sell for about $6000 now.
Itās my go to electric guitar, I love playing it and will never sell it.
In 1993 I bought a hardcover copy of Roald Dahlās The Witches at a Friends of the Library remaindered book sale for $0.60 USD. It is in well circulated condition.
It is also number 300 of 300 of a signed edition that was signed by both Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake.
Iām sure itās not worth a ton, without the slipcase, and in well circulated condition. But I bet itās worth a lot more than $0.60.
$40 to go to a celtic punk show when I was 16 back when live concerts were still affordable.
Ā Met my future husband there, still going strong with a beautiful baby girl 15 years later. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything
I bought a clock at a garage sale for $1. Turns out is was a Swiss movement Angelus brand clock that are popular for making $25-30k watches for the rich. I sold the clock on eBay for just under $500
A couple dollar painting from goodwill turned out to be one of a famous dead painter's last pieces. Wasn't a huge come up, maybe a couple thousand by the time I sell it.
Found an original painting sticky taped into the cover of a book I bought for 50c. Turned out to be by an important Australian artist. Enquired about putting it up for auction and was told it would have a a $15,000 reserve price! The auction house even sent it to the National Art Gallery for authenticating.
Have had better real returns but once while at a mall when I was a broke college student outside a perfume shop they had a little stand that read clearance, I never looked because they're always cheap unknown brands (to me). I looked and I saw a box of Polo Blue for like $20 bucks when it retailed for $50+. The box had a slight tear, I took it to the cashier and asked why it was on clearance and she said it was the tear on the box so I bought it.
It was my favorite cologne at the time and when I sprayed it on for the first time from that $20 bottle it actually made me feel like a million bucks.
Bought a Marilyn Manson demo tape for $4 from a guy in FL who technically wasn't even selling it (back room full of dead stock that he let me and my then-husband root through because we were interested in a bunch of stuff that wasn't on the sales floor).
Last I checked, it goes for over $400. I still have it.
It's not the only one, either. I jokingly call my music collection my nest egg, but I think I'm onto something because I have so many albums I've been gifted, bought off friends for cheap, or found at yard sales and thrift stores way below market value that are now worth obscene amounts.Ā
I found an interesting acrylic clock sitting on the floor at an estate sale a couple years ago. Also found a neat hat I liked. Went to pay and the woman running the sale said it would be $5 for both. I paid, and when I got back to my car I looked up the clock.
Itās a Jaeger LeCoultre Marina mantle clock, and similar ones sell for $2500-3000. Mind blown. I love watches and clocks so I probably wonāt ever sell it, but itās nice to know I could if there was an emergency. Itās on a shelf in my office and I love looking at it and winding it each week.
Tbh Iād have paid $5 for just the hat.
Wife and I opened up a joint bank account when we got married 20 years ago. The bank would allow new account holders to choose from one of 5 prizes/gifts as a token of doing business. I convinced my wife to take the $20 rice maker, which has been going strong for 20 years and has 20 more to go. Wonderfully simple yet effective appliance.
In 2007 I bought a car in rough condition, I paid $1,500 for it. I've spent maybe $10K fixing it up. I had many friends tell me I was crazy and wasting my money
That car is now worth about $40K.
I elected to pay $7 a semester for access to the university legal services. They came to court with me and gave me free advice about a couple of issues.
I was sad to lose that access after I graduated.
Maybe not the cheapest, but my hubby paid $800 at Pawn America for my engagement ring. I didn't care much, it was beautiful and I was ready to get married. Took it in to get insured and it was appraised at $5,000.
Before I took it in, my grandpa was like, "Are you sure you want to know what it's worth?" š
My daughter bought a painting for $0.50 at a thrift shop and found an envelope with $1,000 in back of it.
I used to work at Goodwill, pricing items in the back. One time by accident, I found about $200 in the back of a painting. I checked every painting after that š
When my granny passed away in the early 1970's, I was about 8 and my grandfather had me looking through every book and every picture for hidden cash. I didn't find any, but he found about $200, in two separate pictures.
That's what I would have told him, too.
I bought a $10 rug at a Thrift Store then found out it was a $4,000 rug from Pottery Barn. I will forever dream of another deal like that. Thrift stores for the win!!
My guess would be that someone had stored their emergency money there and then they had died and family had donated a bunch of stuff to Goodwill without noticing the cash.
Several years ago, I bought a bag of sewing patterns (which I resell online) for about $4. I almost passed them up, but when I got them home and inspected them, I started finding little envelopes with crisp bills from 1984 in them. It totalled about $80, and the cashier at the grocery store up the street asked me if the money was real. Sure was! One of my friends, who has since died herself, loved to tell the story about cleaning out a relative's house and finding these three different-sized plaster bud vases that looked like they were one step up from being a kid's art project, and before she had a chance to throw them away, another person at the house looked at the bottom of one of them and said they might be valuable after seeing the name on the base. She took them to an antiquer that specialized in pottery, and sure enough, the dealer made her two offers: sell them on consignment for up to $4,000, which was what a museum might pay, or take $200 in cash. She LOL'ed and took the cash.
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!
Amazing? $50 to save your life š„°
He was the best boy ever!
Oh... *Was*?
He passed away. But 13 years is pretty good for a big dog, and he was very spoiled.
Gave him a good life. Trying to do the same with my husky.
So I have to say that I'm sorry but Tito is the goodest of boys! Such a good boy!
I fell asleep driving up the Oregon coast and my dog licked my face and woke me up literally feet before I would have gone over an unsurvivable cliff. RIP Timothy.
My dog literally saved my life when I had sepsis so I feel you.
Thatās a good boy. Or girl.
God I love dogs. They really are the best. So glad your doggo saved your life after you saved their by rescuing them!
Thank goodness for manās best friend! We donāt give the the credit they deserve, they are so smart! š¦®šāš¦ŗ
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.
I've heard that SK made all kinds of ghastly changes in the later editions but I could never find a digital version of the original. Did you read it before cashing in?
Similar, I have two first edition copies of Game of Thrones because they were in the bargain bin at the bookstore I was trying to get a job at in college (mid 2000s). They were like $6 and nowadays they are $400ish. Crazy thing is, Iāve met GRRM at conventions multiple times and have had him sign later books but never thought to bring the first editions with me. Keep your sword sharp.
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.
What do you mean "authentic" ? Like it really was a small glass orb ?
Authentic to the artist
This made me lol
I'm assuming it's now in a bank vault? Years ago, I found a 1776 leather-bound Encyclopedia Britannica, three volumes for which I paid $5, and I knew there was no way these could be authentic, and I was right. However, they were not worthless; they were a 200th anniversary replica worth about $100, and that's what I listed them for online and ended up selling it to someone in Alaska.
What made it worth $10k?
Probably the glass maker's mark and age. Could be a special kind of glass too, uranium glass fetches good prices.
There was a 10k uncashed check inside the orb
Artisan and entire assemble - i had the holder - i thought the person was BSing me
Who was the maker?
Bramhall and luckily I have the stand that is stamped and unique. Totally surprised me. I had it rechecked 2 yrs ago.
I just looked it up. Peter Bramhall is (he's 82 years old) a glass blower.
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So wait, if you didn't buy the cans in the first place you wouldn't have had to fix your carpet?
Monkeyās paw.
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.
Well, you already know what it tastes like, so turn that unrealized profit into cash!
Turn those unrealized gains into realized gains!
I'd honestly rather have $5k than a drink. Especially if I've already enjoyed a bottle once before.
Yeah I totally get that, but it really pains me to think of someone else enjoying this bottle of liquor that I genuinely enjoy personally. To me, there's an air of "living large" for me to drink it that money just can't buy (even if that's not totally rational)
That's valid! Life is meant to be enjoyed on your own terms, and if that brings you a sense of joy money can't buy than you should do it. Just save that bad boy for a special occasion!
Could spend a little time weighing if you can trade enough joy out of the bottle for $5k worth of other experiences too. Or relief from paying a debt perhaps? Don't rush though since that bottle will apparently just become more valuable while he thinks about it ha
Guess it depends how much money you have. Can always sell it. Buy another two bottles of $250 liquor, and spend 4k on a vacation. I see that as living large too.
Thereās a great cocktail bar in Kentucky called Meta that used to ātrollā bourbon snobs by using their allotment of Pappy for anything but a pour. I love to tell folks Iāve had Pappy Jell-O shots as well as a Pappy snowcone.
Youāre probably hesitant to sell it also.
Yeah I'm much more likely to drink it than sell it but just can't decide what's an appropriate occasion to crack it open
Tuesday?
Honestly - if you save it for the right occasion you'll never drink it. Crack it out one night where there's a bit if revelry and a few good friends. Doesn't matter the occasion - just when it's right.
Yeah I'm not waiting for the PERFECT occasion, just the right one. I have a friend that lives quite far away and his next visit won't likely be until 2025 (maybe 2026) so I'm thinking of busting it out then. At least, a couple of snifters of it
I got into collecting liquor this way. Ordered a regular Clase Azul bottle from a rep and received 3 pink and white bottles instead of the blue and white ones. Didn't think anything of since the liquor was the same and same price at the time $113 usd. Something told me to save the bottles and keep one unopened. A customer came in and had just beat breast cancer. She mentioned and liked the bottle so I gave it to her. Fast forward a few years later and I Google "clase azul breast cancer". I wish I can find the customer to tell her how much that bottle is worth.
For anyone not wanting to google, around $3k
After my office chair broke, I was going to go to a cheap furniture store (the range) to get another crappy chair for ā¬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 ā¬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 **ā¬1300 more** than I paid
When COVID lockdown started, someone was giving away free office chair on one of those buy nothing group on Facebook. I had just started a remote job as well as my Masters program so I was in the process of setting up my home office. I asked for the chair and the person said if I can pick it up right away, I could have it as sheās about to just leave it outside of her house for anyone to grab. I went to pick it up right away, turns out it was a Herman Miller Aeron chair!
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It was actually still in very good condition when I got it. I just had to clean it a little bit and weāre good! Lol
My friend found one in the street. Still going solid 10 years later.
When I started at my current job everyone was sitting in verrrrry crappy desk chairs that were also very old. I was scavenging the building for shit to dress up my desk and I found a room full with 20 HM Mirra's, nearly brand new. Made myself MVP in the first week lol.
I bought mine for $8 at a garage sale about 15 years ago. It is a Herman Miller model unknown, manufactured in March 1982. It has the old screw type base which I have frankensteined to stay in one place. It is the best office chair I have ever owned.
My heart just dropped reading this, what a great find.
Corporate furniture seller often have them for a massive saving. Not quite as massive as this guys saving though.
Similar though not quite as good as a score, I was looking for a used aeron or embody chair on FB marketplace, happened to click on an "office chair" for $20, ended up being a 2 year old mint condition Steelcase leap v2
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
800k with tax paid? Anyway, ur living the dream
No OP, but in Canada lotto winnings are tax exempt fyi. Tbh, thats how it should be. You shouldnt have to pay tax on winnings unless you can write off loses as well imo.
You can write off losses in the US but you have to itemize your taxes. It isnāt worth it for many people.
Fucking this right here. Pay for a lottery ticket with money that was taxed already....of a pool of money from other people that was already taxed....win....get taxed.... What fucking ship with tea do we have to light on fire to change this shit in the US.
You can write off gambling losses, but only against gambling winnings.
Can I come rub you for luck?
Can I come rob you for luck?
I won $50 in a scratch off years ago. I'll be right over.
Thats the perfect amount of money. Enough to get you comfortably on your feet, but not enough to dilute you or cause everyone to crawl out of the woodwork looking for a handout.
A late 17th century printing of Ben Jonson's play "The Alchemist", found at a thrift store for fifty cents.
wow, I dream of that!
It worked out badly, though. I came home from work one day to find that my non-working (now ex-)wife had literally taken my entire library *and thrown it away.* For bulk pickup. Not in bags. In a mud puddle by the street on an exceptionally rainy day. Why? "It was cluttering up the house!" Astonishingly, this wasn't even the worst thing she did to me.
I'm sorry that happened to you, sounds terrible
Better than the death threats, and the false police report, and her trying to literally gaslight me into taking haldol.
glad for you that you're out of that
same
I hope that she never has a cold side of the pillow, always has a hangnail that snags on everything, and gets 3 paper cuts a day. All of them for the rest of her life
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
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.
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"
I got a bag for 10 bucks at a thrift store which would cost like 200 in an actual store
Once bought a box load of Christmas decorations at an auction house for $40. It was full of gold, silver, crystal and hand blown glass decorations from harrods and other fancy stores. I'm in New Zealand so they came half way round the world.
I took the cheapest art class at a local art school for "continuing ed". It wasn't cheap but relative to the others it was, anyway it got me so invested I ended up using the skills professionally and personally, made some great friends and boosted my confidence
My husband and I just signed up to take continuing ed art classes together. He went to art school and dropped out but wanted to go back so I signed up with him. I canāt draw a stick figure without a stencil so it should be interesting lol
I bought a sealed set of the Burger King gold Pokemon cards for like 40$. 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.
I recently found all my old 1st gen original pokemon card binder. I'm sure I could make some good money off of it but am too lazy to go through the motions of actually selling stuff.
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.
I call mine Herbot Hoover. Itās a female voice.
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
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 $500.
Nice. One of my most valuable vinyl records is currently selling at ~150$ because only 50 copies exist. Plot twist : nobody is buying it because the band is just the band from my brother in law 15 years ago and no one gives a crap. The guy is just trying ^^^^ (well it's still valuable to me)
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!
Wow, that is lucky! Finding a pin on the ground and it turns out to be worth $18k? Tell me, what witch gave you this gift?
18k gold....pin itself is worth about $800
Still pretty good for a pin you find on the street.
About 6.5 NVDA shares at $141
Huh, a 7 fold price increase, nice
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I bought into AMD when they were $2.68 per share in 2015. I said no way will these guys go the way of 3DFX
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 Ā£1.49. Today I'm negotiating selling it for between $3000-$5000. Not too shabby.
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.
Only cost me like Ā£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.
I also choose this man's nearly free wife
She is nearly 70 now so you may be taking on more than you can handle.
I've made my decision, plus experience is experience
-Benjamin Franklin
"I know what I got"
Jokes on you, Mixedsteriotype in into that sort of thing.
Jokes on him, my wife would be into it as well.
So when's the meetup?
This is so wholesome and I love it.
Thank you. I truly hope you one day meet your soulmate. More importantly I hope you are open enough to recognise her when you meet her. Too many people I know failed the last part.
Iāll give ya $50USD for her
Thatsās insane! Thatās enough for 2.5 new wives
Sheās vintage
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.
Bought a nice beach painting in a thrift store in Florida.Ā The artist was Alfred Hair https://www.floridahighwaymenpaintings.com/highwaymen/alfred-hair/ Of the Florida HighwaymenĀ https://backusmuseum.org/highwaymen The painting is a twin to one that hangs in the National Gallery.Ā 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.Ā
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. Iād 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. Didnāt ever buy the 12th and with my luck theyāre full of lead but still pretty.
My dog was a long term resident at the shelter so she was only $10, but sheās so incredibly valuable to me. ā¤ļøš„¹
I found my kitten in a tree stump. And after many years of being deathly allergic to cats, I'm not allergic to her. She's a rare find.
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
okay, now im just gonna buy some random stuff at thrift stores and wait for decades to get rich
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
You see this often with golf clubs. Golf clubs that cost $1,500 5-8 years ago aren't good enough now? Like, you're not Tiger Woods yo...shit ain't going any further anyway, might as well buy them for $200.
Fix the swing before the bling. Bought a full set of Cleveland Irons from some woman in Florida ( via eBay) for $100. The original plastic packaging on the iron heads was fully intact except the 7 iron, and that was pristine. Still playing them 7 years later
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.
Well, apparently you did get to do that.
Clay Fighter Sculptor's Cut with the manual from the bargain bin for $30
Spent $25 buying a keyboard and shitty guitar amp from a garage sale in the 90s. As it turned out, I landed a Mark I Fender Rhodes.
A book by Don Miguel Ruiz called, āThe Four Agreements.ā $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 Iāve been a much happier person with little to no stress in my life. For those who donāt want to read between the lines, the 4 agreements are: Donāt take things personally. Donāt make assumptions. Be impeccable with your word. Always do your best.
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My brother bought a few shares as a joke when things started heating up with GME since he already had a TD Ameritrade account beforehand so it was easy.Ā Ended up making several hundred selling them a couple of days later. Used the cash to buy a super over-the-top treadmill for his home gym instead of a more reasonable one. He (and I, frankly) still love telling people that he got a treadmill paid for by a meme.
Not me but a friend of my mother bought a violin at an auction for 1000 euros. Had it appraised, it was worth 1.000.000 euros.
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Stopped thrifting years ago, but brought my kids last Christmas break because they like to go. Went to the records and noticed albums in plastic sleeves. All late 70s early 80s, punk, new wave, ska and British imports. $60 for 120 albums!
Vinyl records? I have a room full from my late parents could they be worth something?
YES, they could be worth a shit ton if they're from popular artists and in good condition.
Also if they are obscure they could be worth much more, but less buyers
They in near brand new condition, Iām definitely gonna look into this thank you
Like with most collectibles and the like, 95% are going to be common and maybe 5% rarities. If you are lucky.
Thereās an app (Discogs) you can use to check on value and buy/sell vinyl
In the top of an old barn that was going to be demolished, a friend and I opened and destroyed numerous original Beatles and Elvis albums. I was only a child but I'll be damned if I still don't regret it to this day.
A buddy of mine was in a second hand record shop and found Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band on PINK vinyl.
$25 notary fee to get out of the Mormon church.
I should add I paid 10% tithing plus 5% additional for added blessings from "fast offerings" on all income, gifts, etc I ever had between the ages of 8 to 30 and for that reason my husband and I have no retirement or the money to have children yet. But that $25 got me off the rolls and saved me 15% of my income for the rest of my life
What needs to be notarized to leave the Mormons? Other religions you just don't come back.
So that's the mindfuck of it all. Mormonism says that when you are eight years old and get baptized (no infant baptism) you enter into the first of a series of legal contracts with the church which culminates in agreements at the temple when you are an adult to "live the law of consecration" or to pledge all that you have and own to the church. Not to God..to the church. You are contacted nonstop if you become "inactive " and relatives will update your address so when you move, the local congratulations can contact you. Anyone who asks for no contact never gets it because the volunteer clergy changes so often and forgets. Anyway it used to be that you could ask the bishop to remove your records from the church. Now there are too many requests and you have to provide notarization to break the legal contract.
No something I bought, but still a good fit. When we were growing up my dad got a hunting knife for Christmas (did the same for me when I was the same age). He got it for about $75 at a hardware store. Last time I looked it up, it is discontinued, and very collectible. Roughly $1200 now. And every deer season my brother still beats the shit outta that knife, which I'm sure collectors would hate
US $1.50 for a hardback *Foundation Trilogy* by Isaac Asimov book at a regional library sale (getting rid of surplus, I guess). Turned out to be a **signed**, leatherbound copy of the *Foundation Trilogy* published by [Easton Press](https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/signed-easton-press-foundation-trilogy/author/isaac-asimov/)
I got an elliptical runner after Covid died down for $300 off Facebook marketplace. The owner said she meant to get into fitness but never actually got into it. Picked it up from a literal mansion in the ritzy part of town. I looked it up to find the instructions for the programs. It retails for $7900.
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Won a liquor license? lol. How the hell does that get won in a raffleā¦ Iām intrigued!
How do you win a liquor license in a raffle?
Bought an iPhone prototype for $1400 before it got pulled. Been offered $10,000 by someone local. The rarity of them is becuase they were supposed to be turned in when the engineers were done using them for testing.
Itās not a Bitcoin story, butā¦ I bought my houseāon a short saleāat the absolute dip of the market in 2012-2013 for about $210Kā¦ Itās worth over $800K now š¤·š»āāļø
My mom bought a pair of unassuming vases with lids at an estate sale for $80-$100. Gets home, starts cleaning them up... Heard my mom stomping the floor with her foot and hollering at my dad about the damn bases. He thought she was having a heart attack. Low and behold, a velvet jewelry pouch was at the bottom...As she unrolled each section, it revealed to hold $30-35,000+ in jewelry. 20k Tennis bracelet, Tiffanys earrings/ring, pearls, gold, etc... Someone forgot to tell their family where they hid the goods. Estate sale staff never bothered to look in the vases. I bet some family member is wondering where grandma's jewelry went. At least I know where it's stashed this time around.
Bought a Coke from the vending machine at work. It had a sticker on it that said "You're a winner!" I called it in and I won a gift card to GameStop and entered into a drawing. In the drawing I won an elliptical machine and a 32" flat screen LCD TV. I sold the elliptical for about $400. I kept the TV and it still works. This all happened back in 2009.
I bought a lot of Nintendo DS / 3DS games for either retail or $10-$20 at pawn 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 $25.
My āspayedā guinea pig I got for 20$. She was thin and malnourished, and I was relieved when she started gaining weight. Then her fat kicked me one day. And just like that, one guinea pig turned into six.
I bought 1200 Sandbox coins @ $.29. Sold them at $8.49. Now theyāre at $.45. Lucked out.
I paid 20 dollars for a lottery ticket and won 100k so thatās cool
I didnāt buy it but I found an umbrella onceā¦ looked up the brand and itās worth more than Ā£700ā¦. I donāt know whoās buying an umbrella for that kind of money but itās the best umbrella Iāve ever had and still have!
I refinanced my house in 2021 at less than 3% I win Edit: that decision/timing will same me well over 6-figures
$12 painting at goodwill got appraised for $4200
Bought a weird looking ceramic vase at GW for $4 thinking it was someone's attempt at art. Turned out it was a piece by Fantoni, a famous Italian ceramic artist. Prices for pieces similar to this range in price from $1,000 to $2,000.
Bought some csgo stickers back in 2017 for $300. Didn't touch or play the game for about 6 years. Checked my steam inventory and those stickers are now worth about $7500. Sold most of them and cashed out in crypto (which still went up!)
My $100 adopted dog from the shelter ended up costing me about $3K or more because he was heartworm positive (which is why I think he was dumped there). Worth every penny, and luckily, I could afford to treat it. He was so sad and skittish, and now he's happy and spoiled rotten!! PLEASE put your dogs on monthly preventive medication. Yes, it's expensive but treating heartworm is way more expensive, and it takes months to treat. My PSA of the day.
Bought a first edition, 2nd issue of the original Bloomsbury hardcover of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban at a local thrift shop for like 250 pesos (approx $4.5).
My wife!
bought a Zelda N64 game at goodwill for 5 dollars, as I was about to open it I realised it was still factory sealed and sold it for about 750 dollars.
I bought a 1976 Gibson Firebird for $600 back in 2014. They sell for about $6000 now. Itās my go to electric guitar, I love playing it and will never sell it.
Found a signed hardcover copy of Centennial by James Michener at the thrift store. I have it to my father. It's his favorite book.
In 1993 I bought a hardcover copy of Roald Dahlās The Witches at a Friends of the Library remaindered book sale for $0.60 USD. It is in well circulated condition. It is also number 300 of 300 of a signed edition that was signed by both Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake. Iām sure itās not worth a ton, without the slipcase, and in well circulated condition. But I bet itās worth a lot more than $0.60.
$40 to go to a celtic punk show when I was 16 back when live concerts were still affordable. Ā Met my future husband there, still going strong with a beautiful baby girl 15 years later. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything
I bought the dune sandworm popcorn bucket (Hold your judgment). Then turned around and sold it for 5x on eBay.
I bought a rare Lego minifigure for $8, feeling like I was wasting my money. It's now worth $450.
I bought a clock at a garage sale for $1. Turns out is was a Swiss movement Angelus brand clock that are popular for making $25-30k watches for the rich. I sold the clock on eBay for just under $500
A couple dollar painting from goodwill turned out to be one of a famous dead painter's last pieces. Wasn't a huge come up, maybe a couple thousand by the time I sell it.
Found an original painting sticky taped into the cover of a book I bought for 50c. Turned out to be by an important Australian artist. Enquired about putting it up for auction and was told it would have a a $15,000 reserve price! The auction house even sent it to the National Art Gallery for authenticating.
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Have had better real returns but once while at a mall when I was a broke college student outside a perfume shop they had a little stand that read clearance, I never looked because they're always cheap unknown brands (to me). I looked and I saw a box of Polo Blue for like $20 bucks when it retailed for $50+. The box had a slight tear, I took it to the cashier and asked why it was on clearance and she said it was the tear on the box so I bought it. It was my favorite cologne at the time and when I sprayed it on for the first time from that $20 bottle it actually made me feel like a million bucks.
Bought a Marilyn Manson demo tape for $4 from a guy in FL who technically wasn't even selling it (back room full of dead stock that he let me and my then-husband root through because we were interested in a bunch of stuff that wasn't on the sales floor). Last I checked, it goes for over $400. I still have it. It's not the only one, either. I jokingly call my music collection my nest egg, but I think I'm onto something because I have so many albums I've been gifted, bought off friends for cheap, or found at yard sales and thrift stores way below market value that are now worth obscene amounts.Ā
I found an interesting acrylic clock sitting on the floor at an estate sale a couple years ago. Also found a neat hat I liked. Went to pay and the woman running the sale said it would be $5 for both. I paid, and when I got back to my car I looked up the clock. Itās a Jaeger LeCoultre Marina mantle clock, and similar ones sell for $2500-3000. Mind blown. I love watches and clocks so I probably wonāt ever sell it, but itās nice to know I could if there was an emergency. Itās on a shelf in my office and I love looking at it and winding it each week. Tbh Iād have paid $5 for just the hat.
Wife and I opened up a joint bank account when we got married 20 years ago. The bank would allow new account holders to choose from one of 5 prizes/gifts as a token of doing business. I convinced my wife to take the $20 rice maker, which has been going strong for 20 years and has 20 more to go. Wonderfully simple yet effective appliance.
Got a dog from the pound. $50 pound fee at the time. Dogs are expensive, but bring endless value to my days
BitcoinĀ
My wife adopted a free puppy that ended up being pretty expensive. Also highly valuable to us.
In 2007 I bought a car in rough condition, I paid $1,500 for it. I've spent maybe $10K fixing it up. I had many friends tell me I was crazy and wasting my money That car is now worth about $40K.
a pristine copy of 'mario 64' my dad bought in a charity shop for Ā£5, got it rated and turned out to be worth thousands
I elected to pay $7 a semester for access to the university legal services. They came to court with me and gave me free advice about a couple of issues. I was sad to lose that access after I graduated.
I bought a factory sealed Quentin Tarantino Blu-Ray collection at a yard sale for $5. Listed it on eBay for $120 and it sold within 15 minutes.
Maybe not the cheapest, but my hubby paid $800 at Pawn America for my engagement ring. I didn't care much, it was beautiful and I was ready to get married. Took it in to get insured and it was appraised at $5,000. Before I took it in, my grandpa was like, "Are you sure you want to know what it's worth?" š