Thrifting is a great way to score stunning finds at shockingly low prices — but dumpster diving can also yield unbelievable treasures, as a post on Reddit's r/Gold deftly illustrated.
"Finished going through the bag of 'junk' jewelry a thrift shop chucked in the dumpster," the original poster's title began.
The user didn't provide much more detail beyond a photograph and a title. "7.57 grams of 14k gold. Free gold is the best gold lol," they added, quantifying their incredibly lucky find.
At least one fellow user claimed to have had a similar experience when doing what might be a treasure hunter's dream gig — working for a junk removal company.
"Free gold is always the best gold. Used to work for got-junk years ago and the things you'd find … I still have about 2 oz of 14k found in the exact same scenario — a box of junk jewelry with it mixed in," they fondly recalled.
"Also found $500 in 1970s bills in an armoire, a baseball signed by most of the big red machine sometime in the late 70s. Expensive camera lenses of all sizes. Old collectible magazines and video games. Coins. Art. More than I can name. All in about 1 year," the user continued, describing a handful of valuables they encountered in their "junk" hauling job.
"It was the most fun job I ever had, [and I] made more selling things I had found than the job paid," the user added.
Selling your old stuff — or someone else's old stuff, from clothing to electronics — is a fantastic way to turn the chore of decluttering into a bit of extra money. In that respect, it's kind of the opposite of fast fashion.
Thrift shopping and dumpster diving are both excellent ways to save money and support a circular economy, keeping items out of landfills and enabling one-of-a-kind finds that are only possible in a secondhand market.
In today's volatile retail environment, thrifting has been much trendier in recent months, per USA Today. But as the original poster's anecdote showed, savvy thrifters can earn money on top of saving it.
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
|
What's your primary motivation in shopping at thrift stores?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Cheaper clothes 🤑 "What's your $ estimate?" a user asked, referring to the estimated value of the discarded gold.
"I will get 92% of the current melt value, so approximately $235," the original poster replied.
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
