Looking for a luxury vase but don't want to break the bank? Try poking around your local thrift store.
A Redditor shared a photo of their find on r/ThriftStoreHauls, a subreddit dedicated to sharing shoppers' secondhand finds.
The poster stumbled upon a Murano glass vase going for $15. "I gasped when I saw it," they wrote.
Murano glass is an artisanal style of glassware that originates in Venice, Italy. Venetian artisans have been producing Murano glass since at least the eighth century. Unlike many kinds of glasses today, Murano glass is not mass-produced. Instead, each piece is made by hand by a highly skilled artisan.
Because of the rarity and craftsmanship of products made with Murano glass, Murano glass pieces can go for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. One vase similar to the one the Redditor found is priced at $899.95.
Buying your clothes, furniture, dishware, and decor secondhand is a great way to save money. It's also a great way to keep products out of landfills. Americans send roughly 140 million tons of waste to landfills every year, even though many of the items they're throwing out could be reused or recycled.
Thrift stores give gently used items a second life, keeping them out of landfills where they could leach chemicals into the soil and groundwater.
As consumers come to recognize the widespread waste in the United States, more companies are cropping up to provide innovative solutions to prevent hard-to-recycle items from ending up in the trash. In some cases, you can even get paid for products you're no longer using.
Commenters were impressed with the poster's find. "That is gorgeous! I love artisanal glass. Congratulations!" one wrote.
"Is it valuable?" one commenter wanted to know.
"From my research, it's sold at the island for $275," the original poster replied.
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