Best charity shop find.

[Theearthisntflat]

I love me a charity shop and I was in one the other day and I randomly said to my mother 'I think we need a new pic for your husbands room 'cause the deers are old'. I went to the picture bin and found an oil painting in a semi decent frame signed by an artist called Alan Thompson, it was about 45cmx30 so not small small. It was a beautiful painting of a river and scenery, all very pink and green which was ideal for the bedroom and for the bargain price of £3!

When I got home I thought I'd google the artist as it had his card still attached to the back and I couldn't believe it when I saw a lot of his paintings sell from £600-£2.5k.......

Obviously not selling it but it's good to know that some good buys are out there!

Bought a set of three books for £35. Looked them up afterwards, volumes 1 and 2 generally sell at about £30-40 each, volume 3 however is rare and I've seen copies on eBay sell @ £300 plus.

Last summer we were on a watersports holiday in the Lake District and the weather was awful. DDs had wetsuits, we didn't...

Found two of the right size in a charity shop, £5 each! Made the holiday a lot more pleasant. Could spend an hour plus on the water instead of 5 minutes!

Literally just popped into a shop now and saw an interesting jacket that I picked up for 12.99 , checked online and they are £229 new
Now sadly it isn't my size but is going to my sister

I had a specialist book for many years - saw they were going for over £200 on eBay - got my son to sell it for me on eBay - he said no one would buy it - I got £180. The next day he went to a charity shop and saw a tatty copy for 99p - he sold it for £95 on eBay.

@Lifeetc don't believe you. A charity shop sold a FULL set of le creuset for a fiver? Yeah sure

A Stella McCartney handbag, still currently for sale in Selfridges at £850!

@battyowl my apologies it was at a charity stall/table top sale, but still five pounds. Why would I make that up "to impress strangers on the internet"

It consists of the stand three pans with lids and two skillet/frying pans.

Jacques Verte dress and jacket, £20. Exactly my size and preferred colours. Worn it to son's graduation, a wedding and a funeral. Will get more outings this summer!
Brand new full length coat - 80% wool. Bright pink/purple. I don't wear it often, but to have a smart coat for the odd occasion I need one rather than a waterproof or a padded jacket it was definitely worth the £20!

In late 90's I found an original Yves Saint Laurent bag but didn't recognise the branding, just liked bag. Kept it in wardrobe using a couple of times. Then YSL had a comeback and these vintage bags were in the media but I had given it back to charity by that time. Darn.

Last time I went to our local tip there were about 10 Le Creuset pots on the metal skip. Green, and in reasonable condition.

Sadly, we are not allowed to fish things out.

Today's bargains are 2 pure cotton jumpers, fiver each and 5 skeins of pure alpaca wool for 99p each. Oh, and an oversized hoody for £6.

Always one.
Always one worthy.

My best find was also a painting - cost £4.99 and they are selling on eBay for £2-3,000. That and a perfect condition leather Radley tote bag for £10. I still have both of them.
I did consider taking the painting back, but I probably single handedly keep the charity shops in our area going by the amount I spend in them! The painters signature was clearly visible on the front and it came up straight away on Google

Some lovely vintage Coach bags.
Tory Burch dark green ballet flats.
Tory Burch wrap dress.
Brand new Sorel snowboots for me.
Brand new Sorel leather Chelsea boots for a DD.
Lands End down filled coat.
Pashmina scarves that I gave to my mum.
Numerous hardcover cookbooks and a lot of other books.

Currently looking for something nice to wear to a wedding in May.

Agree, if the shop wanted to, they could hire staff who look into the costs of things. My cousin use to run a charity shop, mainly furniture, she educated herself on what to look for in certain items and would auction them if she came across something worth something.

Plus some shops know they aren’t getting the full costs, 2 shops this week both myself and my DH pointed finds out to the staff. I was in a Red Cross shop when staff were putting out a vintage sheepskin coat, I told them there was a Vintage shop in the next town over selling the coats for £80+, they were happy to still put out for £5 and said I should buy and resell. A couple of days later in a local RNFL shop there were signed football shirts for one of the bigger local teams, some dating back to the 90s when the team was in the premier league, my DH stood for ages doing research on his phone, told the lady his finding, 2 shirts had a particular signature that alone would get £40 each not including the other signatures, locally they would definitely sell for £200 plus, the lady we spoke to told her manager who wasn’t interested. There was an old lady stood next to my DH listening, she took 2 of the shirts to see if her son was interested in selling them or keep them as they are his team.

I think some shops just want to get stock out quickly as they are overwhelmed.

It's the possibility of finding a real bargain that draws people into thrift shops. A lot of the time, people will buy something once they've crossed the threshold, even if it isn't the Rembrandt they were hoping for.

I frequently go back to the place I found the bargains I listed, and rarely leave empty handed. I've bought lots of baskets, a good few scarves, candles, some serving dishes, wine glasses, old Pyrex, cushion covers - nothing fancy, just stuff I needed.

To add to my list:
A Rebecca Minkoff leather tote bag.
A lovely blue knitted cashmere scarf.
Pewter candlesticks.
A cashmere/ wool coat.

A full set of le creuset pand £5 (yes they did know what they were)
@Lifeetc I saw one very small LeCreuset lid on its own in a charity shop today—- £4. Very envious of your £5 find.

My best bargain was a leather Tula bag, immaculate, £3.50.

@Andthereyougo thank you! I've had it about nine years, it get used every day! We've got loads,some inherited some secondhand. It's virtually indestructible unless dropped!
It massively varies in price (nowadays) where I am,I bought a mug in a charity shop 50p went to another and they wanted £7! You can buy it at outlet stores for about that price

This week's finds
Perfect bag for hospital £1.50
Cashmere wrap £3
Three books £1
Dinosaur earrings x 2 pairs £1
Phin £1.50
Silver bracelet £1
Sheepskin mittens (child's) £1
Waterproof jacket (mans) £3
Handknit scarf £1
I have a mental list of things I need or want or have been asked to keep an eye out for.