30 Times People Came Across The Most Incredible Things When Thrift Store Shopping (New Pics)
It's amazing to see what incredible things you can find in thrift stores for no more than a few dollars.
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Thrift store shopping can be a real hit-or-miss. On some days you might stumble upon nothing than musty old clothes and broken electronics, while other times you could hit the jackpot and go home with a beautiful painting or even some unique vintage furniture that you wouldn't find anywhere else. And today we're all about the latter.
By now you probably know that the Weird (and Wonderful) Secondhand Finds That Just Need To Be Shared Facebook group is the place to be if thrift store shopping is your thing. Its members regularly share all the incredible items they purchased or spotted, and they'll inspire you to go our there and sift through every Goodwill and garage sale you can find in your city. See the latest batch of people's amazing finds in the gallery below, and if you want more, make sure to check out our previous posts here, here, and here!
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Image source: Michael James
August, my Himalayan, also knew what he needed to do.
Image source: Sam Matthews
Thinking about putting a strip of light underneath or behind them.
Image source: Jess Connolly MacLeod
Today I brought home my greatest find to date. I noticed this beauty as soon as I walked through the door. One of the tentacles is slightly damaged (but easily fixed) so the homeowner didn't want it. It will someday hang in our future tiki bar.
Image source: Jenna Arcidiacono
Image source: Jane Vargas
Got at my local Goodwill in Worcester, MA last year for only $6.99!!!! I don’t even plan to have a big wedding but I could not leave this Edwardian beauty behind
Image source: Erin P Jadin Christie
STEP RIGHT UP AND WITNESS THE MOST FEARSOME AND FEROCIOUS FELINE THIS SIDE OF THE MISSISSIP. HAILING FROM THE WILDS OF A WEST MILWAUKEE USED BOOKSTORE BASEMENT, THE WOVEN WICKER WONDER WILL SHOCK AND AWE YOU. WATCH AS ESTHER JELLYBEAN AND HER LOVELY ASSISTANT EUNICE MARSHMALLOW BRAVE THE JAWS OF THE THE RATTAN RASCAL, BARELY ESCAPING WITH THEIR LIVES AND A FANCY FEAST CRAB AND BEEF TREAT SQUARE. DARE YOU TANGLE WITH THE MILWAUKEE MANED MANIAC? THE TOOTHY TYRANT? THE PLANT PANNIERED BLOODTHIRSTY BOOKSTORE BEAST?
Image source: Christian Beeker Rothwell
A little back story: my Dad left the poor family farm during the Depression to pursue his education at Appalachian State deep in the NC mountains. He earned his tuition by living in a basement boiler room and keeping the boilers fired for that building. He frequently ate on 10 cents a day: a nickel for a Coke, a nickel for a can of sardines, and the soda crackers that were free with the sardines. He picked up a bit of pocket money by playing his guitar for the little mountain churches on Sundays, and playing saxophone with a local dance band on Saturday nights. 75 years later, with my Daddy long gone, we were cleaning out the house I grew up in, preparing to sell it. Among the artifacts that turned up - Daddy's saxophone. It was never a high quality instrument, and 75+ years in basement storage had not been kind to it. It didn't make sense to try to restore it, but I couldn't bear to throw it out. It came home with me and collected dust for a couple of years, until I came home from school one day to find that my brilliant husband had transformed it into this awesome lamp
Image source: Carrie Ann Nau
Someone was throwing these windows away on a house demolition so we created this little room with them. Most of the decor came from my thrifted treasures or items I made.
Image source: Sylvia Colbert
Image source: Dorian Graycat
Image source: Kayla Smith
Image source: Jin Cho
Image source: Sandi Slattery
Image source: Sarala Sameera Morusupalli
5 extremely strong individuals, a truck, and days of haggling later, I finally was able to bring this beauty home.
The table is all single solid wood, and is EXTREMELY heavy. Just a chair takes 2 people to lift up (or I guess one if you’re really really strong). No clue what type of wood it is or how old it is. It was supposedly purchased at an auction a decade or so ago and given as a gift to the last owners who decided to sell because and I quote “when you have kids, you just can’t have nice things.”.
Image source: Cynthia Craig
Image source: Crystal Scott
Image source: Colin Hutson
Image source: Vinny DiPonio
It was my first antique I ever aquired and I spent 2 years restoring it. We later moved and I moved it all over wherever I moved to, it went with me.
Now its in my parlor, in my house back in my hometown in Michigan, only about 8 mins from where I first found it over 10 years ago.
Image source: Odessa Cooley
A hydraulics shop was selling it and a coworker spotted it on her way in. I RAN to go get it. P.S. we are librarians
Image source: Veronica Silva
Image source: Chrystal Ollenberger Armstrong
My great grandmother started making this quilt when my mom was pregnant with me for a baby gift. She cut out all of the pieces but passed away before it was completed. Years after her death my grandmother decided she should complete the quilt for me. She worked on putting the small pieces together to form the large diamonds that would make up the star. At this time she realized that her mother had cut the pieces wrong and instead of being a 8 pointed star it was going to be a 7 pointed star. She became frustrated trying to figure it out and packed it back up in it's bag. Some time after that she passed the pieces to my Mom, who had limited experience and didn't attempt to work on it. Once I hit adulthood the bag was passed to me. I put the large diamonds together to form the 7 pointed star, but did not know how to complete the quilt. A few years later I got married, and my mother in law is a master quilt maker, so she took the 7 pointed star and put it on a beautiful white background and completed the quilt (she used the 8th large diamond to do the edging of the quilt. I think by the time I received the finished project I was around 40. I think that all of the hands and minds that worked together to make this beautiful piece, only make it more valuable. It fits a king size bed, which is a funny thing to make for a baby gift and has never been used on a bed (due to the color and nostalgia connected, and since I have 3 dogs) but I have had it hung up at different times over the years to enjoy. Sorry for such a long winded story, but I hope you enjoyed it. I took some of your advice and decided to use it for the first time ever, I put it on our bed and slept like a baby last night.
Image source: Tess Sayers
Image source: Meredith Schramm Mannebach
Image source: Ted Hayes
Image source: Dana Denise
Image source: Amy Eisenschenk Kern
Image source: Jenny Kovach
Image source: Wendee Heikkila
Image source: Liz Holt
Image source: Melinda Messineo
My father works at a school and I've got an unhealthy dinosaur obsession (yes, I'm an adult). They were removing this dino ride from the playground there and he convinced them to let him take it instead of destroying it. As my boyfriend and I were pulling up to our house, he was less enthusiastic about the new addition than I was . My parents thought it was a HYSTERICAL belated birthday present. After some back and forth about where he belongs, the agreement was that I'm *supposed* to be moving him to the back yard... (so no one can see it? or so no one can steal it? who knows!!) but currently I kind of shuffle him around for dramatic effect and majestic photo ops. PS - I've started calling him Stuart.
#1 I Found This Fantastic Antique Salesman’s Sample Chair Off Of Facebook Marketplace A Few Months Back. I Knew What I Needed To Do
Image source: Michael James
August, my Himalayan, also knew what he needed to do.
#2 Filled My Mantle As Much As I Can With Found Colored Glass! Some Thrifted, Some From My Grandparents, Some From Family. I’ve Loved Making This Collection!
Image source: Sam Matthews
Thinking about putting a strip of light underneath or behind them.
#3 I'm An Electrician And I'm Constantly Saving Old Fixtures From The Dumpster, I Have A Whole Collection In My Basement
Image source: Jess Connolly MacLeod
Today I brought home my greatest find to date. I noticed this beauty as soon as I walked through the door. One of the tentacles is slightly damaged (but easily fixed) so the homeowner didn't want it. It will someday hang in our future tiki bar.
#4 This May Be The Coolest Thing I Have Ever Found In A Second Hand Store!
Image source: Jenna Arcidiacono
#5 Here’s My Vintage Thrifted Wedding Dress
Image source: Jane Vargas
Got at my local Goodwill in Worcester, MA last year for only $6.99!!!! I don’t even plan to have a big wedding but I could not leave this Edwardian beauty behind
#6 If Any Of You Are Of A Fragile Constitution, Look Away Now
Image source: Erin P Jadin Christie
STEP RIGHT UP AND WITNESS THE MOST FEARSOME AND FEROCIOUS FELINE THIS SIDE OF THE MISSISSIP. HAILING FROM THE WILDS OF A WEST MILWAUKEE USED BOOKSTORE BASEMENT, THE WOVEN WICKER WONDER WILL SHOCK AND AWE YOU. WATCH AS ESTHER JELLYBEAN AND HER LOVELY ASSISTANT EUNICE MARSHMALLOW BRAVE THE JAWS OF THE THE RATTAN RASCAL, BARELY ESCAPING WITH THEIR LIVES AND A FANCY FEAST CRAB AND BEEF TREAT SQUARE. DARE YOU TANGLE WITH THE MILWAUKEE MANED MANIAC? THE TOOTHY TYRANT? THE PLANT PANNIERED BLOODTHIRSTY BOOKSTORE BEAST?
#7 I've Wanted To Share The Story Of My Special Lamp For Some Time
Image source: Christian Beeker Rothwell
A little back story: my Dad left the poor family farm during the Depression to pursue his education at Appalachian State deep in the NC mountains. He earned his tuition by living in a basement boiler room and keeping the boilers fired for that building. He frequently ate on 10 cents a day: a nickel for a Coke, a nickel for a can of sardines, and the soda crackers that were free with the sardines. He picked up a bit of pocket money by playing his guitar for the little mountain churches on Sundays, and playing saxophone with a local dance band on Saturday nights. 75 years later, with my Daddy long gone, we were cleaning out the house I grew up in, preparing to sell it. Among the artifacts that turned up - Daddy's saxophone. It was never a high quality instrument, and 75+ years in basement storage had not been kind to it. It didn't make sense to try to restore it, but I couldn't bear to throw it out. It came home with me and collected dust for a couple of years, until I came home from school one day to find that my brilliant husband had transformed it into this awesome lamp
#8 This Is My Little Thrifted Garden Room
Image source: Carrie Ann Nau
Someone was throwing these windows away on a house demolition so we created this little room with them. Most of the decor came from my thrifted treasures or items I made.
#9 Lamp I Found At An Antique Store, Loved It So Much I Had It Repurposed And Hung It From The Ceiling In My Bathroom. $120 Well Spent!
Image source: Sylvia Colbert
#10 Our New Repurposed Lawn Flamingos. Picked Them Up At A Yard Sale Not Long Go. The Skeletons Last Year Off The Marketplace. And Well This Is What Happened
Image source: Dorian Graycat
#11 What Do You Do When You Find A Mini Coleman Tent Meant For An 18" Doll At Goodwill And You Don't Have Any Kids Or Dolls? You Get It For Your Dog, Of Course
Image source: Kayla Smith
#12 Happy Hippo Day! Here’s Mine. Found At An Estate Sale
Image source: Jin Cho
#13 Found At My Local Thrift Store. Needed It For My Cats!!
Image source: Sandi Slattery
#14 I Found My Dream Dining Table On Marketplace In Minneapolis
Image source: Sarala Sameera Morusupalli
5 extremely strong individuals, a truck, and days of haggling later, I finally was able to bring this beauty home.
The table is all single solid wood, and is EXTREMELY heavy. Just a chair takes 2 people to lift up (or I guess one if you’re really really strong). No clue what type of wood it is or how old it is. It was supposedly purchased at an auction a decade or so ago and given as a gift to the last owners who decided to sell because and I quote “when you have kids, you just can’t have nice things.”.
#15 Found This Sitting By My Neighbors Trash Can, She Thought I Had Lost My Mind Over How Excited I Was And Was More Than Happy To Let Me Dig It Out Of Her Trash. I’ve Named Her Peggy
Image source: Cynthia Craig
#16 Saw This At Treasures And Junk In Ontario, California. It Was Sold Already, For 500$. What An Amazing Chair And It’s Purple & Black!
Image source: Crystal Scott
#17 I Just Picked Up This Life Size Sheep From An Auction House. It Will Be My Ice Bucket To Keep Drinks Cold
Image source: Colin Hutson
#18 Got This Piano From A Friends Barn For Free When I Was In Middle School, It Was Built In 1920 And It Was Full Of Mice And Falling Apart
Image source: Vinny DiPonio
It was my first antique I ever aquired and I spent 2 years restoring it. We later moved and I moved it all over wherever I moved to, it went with me.
Now its in my parlor, in my house back in my hometown in Michigan, only about 8 mins from where I first found it over 10 years ago.
#19 This Beut Is Mine!
Image source: Odessa Cooley
A hydraulics shop was selling it and a coworker spotted it on her way in. I RAN to go get it. P.S. we are librarians
#20 Here's My Vintage Dress Find For $15 Bucks From The Salvation Army. I Bought It To Dye Black For Halloween But Decided Against It When I Realized What A Beautiful Dress It Is. I'm In Love With It
Image source: Veronica Silva
#21 This Quilt Was Is Not A Second Hand Find But Rather Has A Long Family History And A Unique Story
Image source: Chrystal Ollenberger Armstrong
My great grandmother started making this quilt when my mom was pregnant with me for a baby gift. She cut out all of the pieces but passed away before it was completed. Years after her death my grandmother decided she should complete the quilt for me. She worked on putting the small pieces together to form the large diamonds that would make up the star. At this time she realized that her mother had cut the pieces wrong and instead of being a 8 pointed star it was going to be a 7 pointed star. She became frustrated trying to figure it out and packed it back up in it's bag. Some time after that she passed the pieces to my Mom, who had limited experience and didn't attempt to work on it. Once I hit adulthood the bag was passed to me. I put the large diamonds together to form the 7 pointed star, but did not know how to complete the quilt. A few years later I got married, and my mother in law is a master quilt maker, so she took the 7 pointed star and put it on a beautiful white background and completed the quilt (she used the 8th large diamond to do the edging of the quilt. I think by the time I received the finished project I was around 40. I think that all of the hands and minds that worked together to make this beautiful piece, only make it more valuable. It fits a king size bed, which is a funny thing to make for a baby gift and has never been used on a bed (due to the color and nostalgia connected, and since I have 3 dogs) but I have had it hung up at different times over the years to enjoy. Sorry for such a long winded story, but I hope you enjoyed it. I took some of your advice and decided to use it for the first time ever, I put it on our bed and slept like a baby last night.
#22 Found At Goodwill Battle Creek, Mi
Image source: Tess Sayers
#23 Every Single One Thrifted (It Took 2 Years Of Gathering While We Built)! Even The Pics In Them Were Thrifted
Image source: Meredith Schramm Mannebach
#24 My Brother Found These In The Trash In Boston. Set Of Five (One Not Shown), Hand-Painted In India
Image source: Ted Hayes
#25 I Found This Card Catalog Gem Years Ago At An Antique Show Here In Tx And It's By Far My Favorite Piece! I Call It My "Cdf" (Cold Dead Fingers) Because I'll Have It Til I Die. It Needed A Lot Of Love But I Think It Was Worth It
Image source: Dana Denise
#26 This Is In The Game Room At My Boyfriends House. It Came With The House And Looks Incredible When The Light Comes Through
Image source: Amy Eisenschenk Kern
#27 Snailed It!!! Got This Gorgeous Gastropod Lamp From Facebook Marketplace Today!!!
Image source: Jenny Kovach
#28 My $5 Swag Lamp. Found Her At A Yard Sale A Few Summers Ago And Rediscovered It In The Back Of My Barn This Winter!
Image source: Wendee Heikkila
#29 Got This Finely Crafted Ladies’ Handbag From An Estate Auction A Few Months Back
Image source: Liz Holt
#30 We Came Home From Vacation To Find This Dinosaur "Planted" In My Garden
Image source: Melinda Messineo
My father works at a school and I've got an unhealthy dinosaur obsession (yes, I'm an adult). They were removing this dino ride from the playground there and he convinced them to let him take it instead of destroying it. As my boyfriend and I were pulling up to our house, he was less enthusiastic about the new addition than I was . My parents thought it was a HYSTERICAL belated birthday present. After some back and forth about where he belongs, the agreement was that I'm *supposed* to be moving him to the back yard... (so no one can see it? or so no one can steal it? who knows!!) but currently I kind of shuffle him around for dramatic effect and majestic photo ops. PS - I've started calling him Stuart.DE
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