Do you remember the thrill of accidentally finding a $5 note on the floor? Or discovering a bargain so good that you just had to go for it? While thrift shopping is a bit different, the feeling of ecstatic joy when stumbling into a jackpot – whether it’s a beat-up fiberglass carousel horse or vintage Sue Wong dress (score!) – is one and the same.
Exploring thrift stores, garage sales, and secondhand shops can be an exciting expedition. The feeling of stumbling upon unexpected gems is unmatched. And that’s why Americans reportedly host from 6.5 to 9 million garage sales each year. Which only explains why it’s inevitable that some curious-looking or downright wild items go from one household to another, giving us the pleasure of gathering the weirdest thrift finds on the “Weird (and Wonderful) Secondhand Finds That Just Need To Be Shared” community.
#1 I Have Wanted A Lenox Spice Village For 3 Or 4 Years Now But The Online Prices Skyrocketed So I Held Hope I’d Stumble Upon A Set At A Thrift Store One Day
But one popped up on my local FB marketplace this week. There was a lady with the set and no listed price so I reached out on the longest shot ever and was like hey I have wanted a spice village forever, by any chance would you be interested in a trade or partial trade for some of my art? TOTALLY expecting to be shot down but to my shock she said yes and we did a *straight trade with no money* and I am still in shock that she agreed and this went down and my dream village is now minneeeee. Other artists will truly get it – sometimes it feels like nobody sees the value in you and what you do. But she was so into all of it and was also so happy I was going to use it and not resell it.
Image source: Lisa Eff
#2 Some People Inherit Jewelry – Others, Ginormous Sofas!
In 1958, my grandparents moved into a beautiful, new mid-century modern home. To make the best use of the cavernous great room, my grandfather designed this gorgeous sofa with matching tables and three stools. If you look under the table on the right, you can just see one of the stools. When the time came to pass it along, I was the only one with a just-barely-large enough living room!
Image source: Deborah Bossen Lorber
#3 I Found This Sue Wong Dress At An Antique Store In Hagerstown, Md Last Month
Image source: Alanna Cristin
#4 My Late Mother Bought These At An Estate Sale In California And Then She Gifted It To Me. She Wasn’t Sure It Had Any “Value” But They Made Her Happy, So They Are Valuable To Me
Image source: Kerrie Reid
#5 This Weekend Fleemarket Find
Image source: Christer Grindhage
#6 A Weird And Amazing Secondhand Find
My dad passed away when I was 7. He left me most of what he had, but it wasn’t much even still. My favorite part of what he left me was his record collection. I didn’t have a turntable as a kid so I never got to listen to his prized vinyl. Unfortunately, when I was 21, someone stole all of his records from me. My heart was broken.
Fast forward 7 years, I finally get a turntable to play vinyl and start building up my own collection. My boyfriend and I go to vintage stock to look for different cards and to scope out the used records sometimes. One day recently we decided to go again. I’m flipping through the records and I see something written on the front of an album cover but it doesn’t click. I literally thought, “surely not.” And I kept moving. 3 flips later, I see another. And clear as day I read it. My dad’s name, Steve Norton. He wrote at least his last name on every record he owned, if not first and last. I immediately burst into tears and ran to find my boyfriend.
He helped me search through every record on the shelves. The only two we found were the originals I came across. But now, like I always dreamed as a kid, I get to listen to my dad’s records. What are the odds?
Image source: Shy Norton
#7 I Couldn’t Resist This Black Velvet Painting Of My Cat Phillip I Found While Thrifting Today
Image source: Kelley Jacobson
#8 The Best $2.99 I’ve Spent In A While. Someone Made This, And Sadly It Found Its Way To Goodwill. But It Found Its Way Into My Hands, And I Love It!
Image source: Libby Nye
#9 Found On Marketplace! So Very Unique
Image source: Linda Roldan
#10 My First Wonderful Find Of The Year. Found This Little Beautiful Turkish Set For $5 At A Garage Sale
Image source: Lori Erickson-Wick
#11 I Found This At Savers For 13 Dollars Today! I Don’t Know Much About It But I Thought It Was Pretty Cool
Image source: Taylor Pratt
#12 I Finally Have Something To Share. This Awesome Cross Stitch In A Corner Frame! Yard Sale Score For $1
Image source: Brittany Berge
#13 The Wonderful Game Of Oz (C. 1921) Here Is Something Weird And Wonderful: The First Board Game Related To The World Of Oz That Predates The Film By Nearly 20 Years!
It took me over a decade to put a full set together. From my search, I’ve ended up with two different variants. I found the first board (pictured open) at an antique mall around 2008. It was shoved in the back of a display case filled with vintage toys. About 10 years later I found the pewter character tokens inside an Oz trinket box I bought at a festival. Just last year, I snagged the dice, shaker cup, and rules from a fellow collector in a Facebook group. This set originally came boxed. The box is the only piece I’m missing.
Shortly before I found the accessories that matched my earlier version of the board, I bought a later variant of the game just to get the rule book. With it I got the wooden colored tokens and the board variant that features the artwork from the box glued onto the back of the board. This particular version of the game was released during the Great Depression. To save money, Parker Bros. did away with the box and simply sold the board with the atwork on the outside and all the other pieces in a paper bag. The rule book for this edition was also printed in black and white instead of color.
Image source: Zoe O'Haillin-Berne
#14 Just Got Home And Had To Share This Wonderful And Beautiful Crown I Found Today At St..vinnies In Albany, Oregon
Image source: Mayra Elisa Valencia
#15 Finally Remembered To Post This Amazing Find From A Community Garage Sale Last Year
It’s a hand blown glass jellyfish lamp by artist Joel Bloomberg. I originally passed it up like a CRAZY PERSON but I went back at the end of the sale and it was still available so it was meant to be!
Image source: Elizabeth Kremer
#16 Rotating Hardware Cabinet From 1904. Looking For A Good Home At Henley’s In Concord, Ca
Image source: Laura Barnes-Kadi
#17 Not Weird, But Certainly Wonderful!!! I Found These 2 Beautiful Stained Glass Pieces At Goodwill For $35 Each! I Nearly Died When I Turned The Corner And Saw Them!
Image source: Rennie Bond
#18 First Time Posting.. Found This At A Local Thrift Store For $6.00! The Whole Inner Lining Is A Blue And White Pan Am Logo And It Even Had The Hanging Pan Am Tag. My Absolute Favorite Thing Ever
Image source: Susan Surette Salie
#19 I Am A Librarian So I Encounter Fun Patrons And Items All Of The Time
I inherited a new work cabinet when I switched branches and we found this cleaning out the junk drawer. No one knows which predecessor left it but I like to imagine that it’s the same beautiful soul who also left Jeff and that we would be friends
Image source: Mary-Kate Haxton
#20 I Gasped When I Saw This Lamp At A Goodwill In Coral Springs Florida. And Only $10! I Grabbed It While Giggling And Ran. I Love Lamp
Image source: Melissa Jannen
#21 My Boyfriend Is Notorious For Coming Home With Random Stuff On The Regular
He was on a job site and saw this beat up fiberglass carousel horse just laying in the yard. He asked the home owner what she was doing with it, and needless to say, she had no plans for it, so it came home with us. It’s currently residing in our gazebo, but we intend to patch it up, give it a new leg and then put it in our arcade in the basement.
Image source: Kat Malkowski
#22 Could Not Walk By This Beauty, It Went Right In My Cart. Thanks Goodwill
Image source: Gma Joi
#23 Found At A Local Thrift Store! He Came Home With Me
Image source: Erica Aldrich
#24 Purchased From An Antique Store Near Me. Brass Unicorn Measuring Cups. Bottoms Have Measurement Markings
Image source: Amanda E Zellers
#25 Just Got These Amazing Gargoyles Off Facebook Market Place! Super Excited
Image source: Bridget Washburn
#26 My Local Thrift Store In Ne Ohio Never Disappoints
I saw this right before closing one night and couldn’t get it out of my head. I called right when they opened the next morning and had them put it on hold for Me. Several hours, several sore fingers, and a bazillion q-tips later, he’s looking stellar!! I’ve always stared wistfully whenever people posted their own stained glass lamp finds, and now I can join the club!
Image source: Christina Dimmick
#27 I Found This Brass Walnut Rolling Around In A Drawer Of Stuff At A Tiny Antique Shop By Me And Had To Have It, Quick Internet Search Says It’s An Estée Lauder Solid Perfume Locket!
Image source: Katy Broquard
#28 Found These Bat Wing, Wing Tips In A Vintage Thrift Store Today While Prom Dress Shopping With My Daughter. I Wanted Them To Come Home With Me So Bad But I’m Not Sure Where I’d Wear Them
Image source: Laura Latham
#29 Just Picked Up This Piece From Facebook Marketplace. The Detail Is Absolutely Stunning!!!
Image source: Roxanne Wolfe
#30 Look At This Couch. She’s A Beauty
Found at Funky Finds in Lemoyn PA
I only bought stickers at the store and my friend bought a carousel horse and the owner wasn’t selling his California raisins even though he had like 50 of them on a shelf. But anyway! I wish I had this couch!
Image source: Holly Bloom
#31 I Think He’s Meant For Kitchen Sponges But I Haven’t Decided What I Want To Use Him For Yet. My Husband Says He Belongs In Something From Jim Henson
Image source: Ashley Anderson
#32 I Have Been Searching For A Hutch To Display My Collection For Awhile Now
They are usually way too expensive or too far away, but I have finally found one on Facebook marketplace for a good deal! So excited
Image source: Nicole Fulliam
#33 I Found This Beautiful Glass Flask Thrifting. Apparently It’s The Face Of Bacchus 😈 Bacchus Was The Roman God Of Agriculture, Wine And Fertility
Image source: Aylin Justice
#34 For All Of You Goblin King Fanatics
Image source: Benjamin Elliott
#35 My Friend And I Went Thrifting Today. There Were Hundreds Of Statues. Many For Favorite Teachers, Parents, Siblings But This Was Our Favorite
We did both purchase World’s Best Cat statues. Going to use mine for social media posts for the cat rescue I volunteer with!
Image source: Leslie Knechtel
#36 Found This Really Cool Stool At The Goodwill In Lake City, Fl! Paid $5 For It
Image source: Kyle Green
#37 It’s Taken Me 25 Years To Complete My Collection Of Original Wuzzles From The Early 80’s
I’d originally had Butter bear when I was around 5 or 6 but she was lost in a move when I turned 18. Once I found her on a second hand site, I set out to find the rest of them at thrift shops, flea markets, and garage sales alike.
The last character I needed showed up on a regular thrift site I’m on about a week ago and I bought him immediately. Today Rhinokey joined Hoppopatmus, Bumblelion, Eleroo, Moosel, and yes, Butterbear.
Kind Edit: A lot of people are asking about the rest of the wuzzles like Koalakeet. The six seen here were the original six wuzzles from the 13 episodes that they aired. The show didn’t do as well as Disney wanted and was cancelled after its first run. Re-runs aired on various networks, but the rest of the Wuzzles were only added in as plush toys and in the books, not on TV as part of the original series.
Image source: Sarah Cooper
#38 Found At A Thrift Store In Leland, NC
I walked away from this several times, but kept going back to it. I couldn’t stop thinking about the person who collected all of these matchbooks, leaving a road map of what appears to be a very fun life in this jar.
There’s old books and newer books, but all are very cool. Someone needed to appreciate this collection and I’m so glad I get to be that person
Image source: Vanessa Greene
#39 Rainbow Brite Boots Spotted In Riverside, Ca At The Galleria Near Mission Inn
Image source: Aimee Diaz
#40 Saw This At A Yard Sale Yesterday
Today was discount day I got it for 9 dollars. I am retired and would love to be dancing on the beach. Maybe with bellbottoms and a halter top.
Note yardstick laying at bottom of picture
Image source: Vicki Rayfield
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