Generally in life, the adage that “you get what you pay for” remains true. But every now and then, either through a lucky good investment or just a second hand seller who doesn’t know what they are doing, people end up striking gold.
Someone asked “What is the cheapest thing you bought that turned out to be very valuable or expensive?” and netizens share their best stories. From lucky cash finds in lost envelopes to folks who got something that ended up being massively popular, get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to comment your thoughts and experiences below.
After my office chair broke, I was going to go to a cheap furniture store (the range) to get another crappy chair for €150, which was the most I could spend at the time. But on the way there I stopped by a second hand furniture store in my town, and they had a sturdy looking office chairs (steel wheel frame instead of plastic, fairly comfy, seemed like they’ll last some time), for €50. I bought one, and few months later decided to look up what kind of chair is it. Turns out it’s a Herman Miller Mirra 2, which seem to retail for around **€1300 more** than I paid.
Bought a first edition of The Shining by Stephen King for $1 at a local library sale and sold it for $500 a few years later.
Not me, but my friend’s grandmother was at a yard sale and bought a framed sketch cause she thought it looked neat. Turned out to be a genuine Picasso sketch. No idea what it was worth, but she paid like a dollar for it. I should also add that his grandmother was already filthy rich, so she just hung it up and was like “meh, that’s neat”.
I purchased a tiny glass bird at a yard sale for .25 cent. Turned out be a signed hand blown Mirano piece that I sold on ebay for $800.
I went to an auction last year, looking for tools. They had an old busted up jukebox. I had no interest in it. They started bidding at $500 before going down to $25. I bid and no one else did. Dragged it home and was trying to figure out what I was going to do with it. A jukebox broker I had chatted with before the auction got a hold to see if I ended up buying it. He then gave me $2k for it. I owned it for about a week.
I got a box of vinyl records from a family friend. Went on Discogs to add them to my existing collection.
One was an original press of some obscure folk musician. Apparently pretty rare. They were going anywhere from $300-$900. I had a guy message me asking for photos/videos. I sent him some, he asked the price, I said name me an offer. He said $500, I said sold. He was a mega fan and super happy, and I was happy to have $500.
Once bought a box load of Christmas decorations at an auction house for $40. It was full of gold, silver, crystal and hand blown glass decorations from harrods and other fancy stores. I’m in New Zealand so they came half way round the world.
I bought a bra for a girl when I was 16, cost about $18 I think.
Well, 25 years and two kids later we joke about it every now and then, and I still think about my idiot self as a teen thinking I’d get to take that bra off some day if I was lucky.
I used to buy comic books for less than a dollar when I was a kid back in the 80s. I think most were like $.60. Anyway, my current collection is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars because I also bought those plastic bags and acid free cardboard backs and all of them are in mint condition.
Maybe not *cheap* but in 2012 I bought two bottles of high-quality bourbon (Pappy’s) for $250 each as I knew it was popular and reputed to be good, and I wanted to try it.
I drank one bottle over the course of the next year, but saved the other. Well that remaining bottle is now worth in the vicinity of $5k and I’m very hesitant to actually drink it.
A book by Don Miguel Ruiz called, “The Four Agreements.” $12.99 at Barnes and Noble.
The book sums up 4 life lessons to live by and ever since reading it, I can honestly say I’ve been a much happier person with little to no stress in my life.
For those who don’t want to read between the lines, the 4 agreements are:
Don’t take things personally.
Don’t make assumptions.
Be impeccable with your word.
Always do your best.
Bought a nice beach painting in a thrift store in Florida.
The artist was Alfred Hair https://www.floridahighwaymenpaintings.com/highwaymen/alfred-hair/
Of the Florida Highwaymen https://backusmuseum.org/highwaymen
The painting is a twin to one that hangs in the National Gallery. https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/highwaymen-segregation-era-florida-artists-sold-and-often-painted-roadside
More importantly to me is that the purchase led to me meeting and making friends with several of the Highwaymen. .
Nothing crazy but years ago I was throwing a mad hatter tea party for my daughter and decided to get teacups at the thrift store so kids could take them home after if they wanted.
Found a set of 11 cups and saucers for $0.99 each and loved them. I’d wanted mismatched for the kids but loved the design I bought them for myself. Tried to search them online to see if I could find a 12th and maybe a tea/coffee pot/carafe and found them listed individually for around $20-40 and the pots for over $150.
Didn’t ever buy the 12th and with my luck they’re full of lead but still pretty.
I won U2’s first single, 1000 of which were released only in Ireland in 1979 and hand-numbered, from the radio show competition that determined which track would be on the A-side. Had I paid for it, it would have been £1.49. Today I’m negotiating selling it for between $3000-$5000. Not too shabby.
1) studying for finals in college December 1989 I bought a six pack of Diet Pepsi….won a free 2L and the brand new Nintendo game boy (all for spending about $2.75) 2) bought a barely worn pair of Prada Mary Jane’s at a thift store in Chelsea NYC for $40. They were going for $800 brand new 2) bought a Russian fox fur hat for $12 At a thrift store…retaiing for $1200 4) won a lot of 6 silver necklaces at auction for $9.25….one was a vintage Tiffany and Co. worth about $300 5) found an inch long pin on the ground going out to catch a bus….cleaned it up, 18k Tiffany and Co. bumblebee pin with ruby eyes. My late father always said, “I’d rather be lucky than good,” and that is my motto as well!
A late 17th century printing of Ben Jonson’s play “The Alchemist”, found at a thrift store for fifty cents.
Mountain Dew limited edition flavors. Picked up a bunch of 20oz bottles and cases of 12 oz cans around 2005 after seeing collectors pay a lot for discontinued Surge and such. Ended up selling most for $100-200 apiece about a year ago. Ended up using most of the money to fix my drywall and carpet after most of the cans exploded.
Bought a comic for 2 bucks from a Lyft driver cleaned it pressed it then sent it to get pressed again and graded at cgc worth 2k last time I checked.
Got into the Game Stop short squeeze pretty early. Made several thousand dollars without any work or contributing to society. It was nice. I felt like a banker for a short time lording over the peasents
I wish I would have had more liquid money at the time to buy more :/.
I bought a lot of Nintendo DS / 3DS games for either retail or $10-$20 at p**n stores in the mid 2010’s.
Now the least expensive ones are going $75+, some over $500.
No, I am not going to sell them.
A few years ago I also got about $200 worth of Lego sets (new in the box/ still sealed) for $25.
