A former charity shop volunteer turned a dusty set of objects into £2,500 – and sparked a wave of stories from Reddit users who have unearthed their own hidden gems
A former charity shop volunteer shared the story of how a dusty box of china ended up making a small fortune.
The volunteer posted on Reddit that a man had brought the box in while clearing out his late mother-in-law’s house.
They wrote: “He just wanted rid of the stuff. I have an Etsy shop which specialises in vintage items, and thought I had seen that style of china before – what had been donated to the shop was not stamped, but the early editions weren’t always marked. I asked the manager if I could take one of the pieces to the local auction house to let the owner have a look, and was told I could.”
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At that suggestion, the man’s face “lit up like a Christmas tree”. The volunteer added: “I’d known him for years and never seen him smile before. The plate I’d taken in sold for £300, and the entire box full of china made over £2,500.”
The story prompted others to share their own charity-shop finds, as reported by Manchester Evening News. One Reddit user wrote: “I bought a 1991 Stranglers tour T-shirt in the 2000s for £2.50, it goes for up to £200 on eBay. I also have a first edition White Box Thoth tarot deck which go for variable amount but around £500, for £5, not in a charity shop though.
“Friend of a friend recently bought a Tupperware container from a car boot that contained an almost complete hand painted tarot/early playing card deck (not sure if Victorian or Georgian) for 50p worth at least £1,000, £5,000 if it had been complete. Its up for auction at a fancy London auction house.”
Another user added: “Many years ago, when my daughter was at primary school, I used to sell stuff on Amazon/eBay just to earn a little extra cash. I was selling mainly her old books and toys. I went in a charity shop for a browse and found a book, can’t remember what it was called or who it was written by, but it had a white cover with pastel blue writing on it.
“I didn’t think it was worth anything but I just liked the look of it. I paid 50p for it and sold it on the bay for £50. I was quite surprised at how much it sold for and I don’t/didn’t have the knowledge to continue seeking out charity shop hidden treasures, I think I was just very lucky that one time.
“Don’t know if it’s still true now but some old VHS video’s are worth quite a few bob. Which just reminded me of the Disney DVDs. The first lot of the Disney movies that were released on DVD sold for a bit, I remember I had snow white and it sold for £80.”