Have You Ever Bought Something At A Charity Shop That Turned Out To Be Valuable?

[RabbitsRock]

Watching Antiques Roadshow last night where an item bought in a charity shop for £6 turned out to be worth £1500 - £2000. Guessing it doesn’t happen as often as it used to as people are more aware of the value of things. Have you ever bought something from a charity shop, auction etc which turned out to be worth a lot more than you paid for it?

I bloody wish

My husband did. He bought a book (he has bought thousands of charity shop books!), but this was a first edition, co-authored, signed by both authors (both now dead), with a clipping of the event where they both appeared and signed it. Its worth a few hundred quid. He will never sell it though as he loves both the authors and he was so delighted with himself.

I bought an old fur coat for about 10 quid and sold it for 700. it was an antique.

I also bought a puppet once for a fiver and it was bought by a Japanese collector for over 700 quid too.

I don't think these qualify as " valuable" but I have bought a couple of Le creuset items which were vastly under priced imo.
The first was a free standing saucepan rack. The man in the charity shop was really pleased I bought it because he said none of the staff had a clue what it's purpose was. I wasn't totaly sure myself but it was only £3. I was standing holding it waiting for my bus home outside an antique shop type place and the guy who.owned the shop actually came and asked me about the rack and told me what a bargain I'd got. So I looked on line when I.got home and there were a couple of identical ones on Ebay being sold for £ 60 or so.
The second item was a Le creuset hob kettle. I'd actually been looking for a kettle on line the week before and I knew that this kettle in the Oxfam shop, was retailing for £70 or so new. This one was as good as new and was priced at £7.
I told the guy behind the counter but he wasn't interested. He thought it wasn't worth anything because it wasn't electric.

I bought a plate in a charity shop for £1 and sold it for £50, but this was the fruit of many a year rummaging and finding nothing else of worth. Now the local charity shops are charging silly money for everything there are no bargains to be had.

About 30 years ago I bought a chest of drawers with the intention of stripping them, as was the fashion. When I took the drawers out a pair of stud earrings were wedged by the bit that goes through your ear, in the seam where the back and the bottom of the drawers meet. IYSWIM. They were quite small, clear stones. Turned out to be quarter carat diamonds, not terribly valuble, but a nice free gift. I still wear them, and still have the chest of drawers.

Nothing valuable but I did get a very nice, party dress for £5 before I'd ever heard of Mint Velvet.
And a Radley purse for £8. Looked new and I couldn't find any signs of wear and tear. Looked it up later and it was still on sale for £80.

Eta Turned out to be quarter carat diamonds, not terribly valuble, but a nice free gift.
Wow! That's pretty impressive

Various antique drinking glasses through rummaging on the shelves where all glassware is massed, mostly of the liqueur/cordial type (larger ones were used and broken more) A few 18th century, some handblown.

They're not massively valuable and I would say if I found one I thought was, but worth more than the 20p or so paid for each.

Not exactly valuable but many moons ago I bought a nearly new Duallit toaster with 4 slots for £10. The lady in the shop asked me if that was ok (the price) and she could knock more off but I declined. It's still going strong some 20 years later.

A couple of Sasha dolls. I pointed out their value to the counter staff who were aloofly sceptical. I returned to shop the next day and bought them both for six pounds. They are worth at least £120.

A fresh water pearl necklace, I think I aid £1.50. Not a huge bargain but I was pleased.

My brother told me a story, I don't know how true it is but according to him his friend bought a cheap knock off watch in Asia. When the battery went he took it to a jeweller and said, I know it's a fake, but I like it can you fit a new battery?

It turns out it wasn't a fake.

The only logical explanation we could think of was that the forgers need an original to copy and that the original was misplaced and sold.

I bought a handbag for a fiver that sells new for five hundred quid.

I posted a few weeks ago about a handbag DD bought for under £100 that was probably worth around £3-600
I did see a lady on FB who bought a Hermes Bag in a charity shop in Italy for e800 that they valued at £15000!!!

Bought dd some 90’s punk memorabilia. Ummed and erred at £8. Looked on eBay a few months later , bidding for one was over £100.

Never been lucky enough to find anything but my Ddad accidentally donated loads of gold jewellery. He put all his gold in a pair of balled up socks when he started chemotherapy and left it in the wardrobe. Months later his cleaner helped him clear out the wardrobe and the socks got put in the bag for the charity shop.

I've never made big big bucks but often found clothes, bags and tableware worth a lot more than I paid for them. Always on the lookout as I adore vintage stuff.

I once bought a book with some cash in it. I took the cash back. I figured someone might go back to ask for it.

Dh bought two Nintendo game at watch for £2.50 each at a charity shop. He sold one on ebay and it sold for £120. He still has the other one