Everything has value. That is a life mantra that can turn out quite lucrative. We may make fun of and cast judgement on the hoarders we see on tv, but some of them have hidden treasures that have a higher value than a lottery ticket all because they held on and believed everything is worth something. Of course it's sad they never knew it, hence hoarding not being healthy, but I digress. This is why 'Antiques Roadshow' has become such a phenomenon, we all have things that seem ordinary but could be worth a fortune.... or that's the dream. Let's find out....
Redditor u/onemangang15 was wondering who has discovered that the thing they believed was trash was a surprise pearl by asking.... What 'piece of junk' did you find that turned out to be valuable?600?! Dollars?!
Goosebumps Wow GIF by ANTIQUES ROADSHOW | PBSGiphyI found a small envelope with a few inches of wire in a junk shop. Bought it (US$2) because it had some faded penciling about troy oz. Turned out to about 1.5 troy ounces of platinum wire. Sold it for US $600!
I WIN!!
Years ago I bought a condo in foreclosure. We couldn't go inside, just look from outside and put in a bid. My bid won. When I went inside the place it was pretty trashed. I checked all the rooms, calculating the costs of getting it back into shape. At the end of my walk thru I went into the garage and saw there was a car under a tarp. Hmmm... I pulled the tarp back and saw a 1972 Barracuda in nearly mint condition.
Oregon Trails....
A first or second edition of the Oregon Trail book. It's a bit damaged, so not that valuable, but still a few hundred more than the $15 I paid for it.
The Wrist Buy
relapse records watch GIF by Red FangGiphyFound a "fake" Cartier watch in Goodwill for $10. Bought it because it still looked nice. But it's a real Cartier watch and it's worth $1000+. Keeping it because I'd never buy myself something like that.
Sunburst Ugly
Dad carried around a junk guitar for 50 years. Ugly as hell sunburst Gibson acoustic (circa 50's or 60's can't remember) that he eventually sanded down into something prettier. When I was learning he took it to be tuned up by our neighbor who owned a shop and was a collector.
Dude came back exasperated and told us that my dad had sanded about 50k off the guitar, and that it would have been totally worthless if he hadn't left the logo on.
Small Metals....
I found a very small, round piece of metal on the floor in my workplace. I couldn't figure out what the item was and knew I should just discard it, but felt compelled to keep it for some reason.
That afternoon my co-worker was distraught - the unique type of battery that her cochlear implant needed fell out, and was probably in a dumpster somewhere because the cleaners had come through. I gave her the weird piece of metal in my pocket, and she almost burst into tears from relief.
Jean Carlu
Old folded up piece of paper in the bottom of a box my dad had I found cleaning up the house, torn up and faded.
Turned out to be a 90 year old original Jean Carlu poster worth roughly $20,000 after spending $1,000 for restoration.
We have the English version of this making it worth more. Depending on the art market which is currently down it is worth less but still this range is about right. No plans on selling it yet, might go to a museum or exhibit first.
Karma Paid
Get Money Entrepreneur GIF by Smart Money MamasGiphyWell, a moron couch surfer who crashed in my guest room for a few months left behind a 1970s Fender Super Twin tube amp worth $1800 he didn't know about.
It made cleaning up his urine bottles worth it.
Dali Luck!
Typical not me but a friend - she found a copy of a Salvador Dali painting at goodwill. She loved him and it was a big print so she grabbed it for like $20. She took it home and took it out of the old junky frame and it had a stamp of authenticity on the back, and she had it assessed and it's worth 20k. Lucky B! Ha.
bidding in Texas....
A few years ago, I was looking through the goodwill website the let's you bid on stuff that you find. I stumbled across one of the Texas goodwills pages, and then saw an auction for a huge box of phone accessories, that no one was bidding on. I started looking through all the pictures, started researching some of the brands, and started realizing the whole box was worth a decent bit. I took a shot, and made my bid. Someone else saw what I saw, and started a bidding war with me, but I eventually won with a bid of $106, then $24 for shipping.
Few days go by, and I finally get the box, well 2 boxes, and they were both huge. Started taking inventory, and ended with 100 iPhone chargers, 100 android chargers, about 250 iPhone 8 cases in all different styles, 80 battery packs, a few iPad cases, and about 1000 screen protectors. Turned my $130 total investment into an EBay business, and made almost $8,000 in about 9 months.
Flip!
unimpressed viola davis GIFGiphySomeone gave me a hideous purse out of a box on its way to goodwill. I sold it on eBay for $1,100. I've had some good flips, but that was the best.
Paying Back the Cat
Weird painting of a cat with birds on its back no one wanted. Paid $20, worth $400. My mom thought it would be an investment. Bought a ton of stuff done by her fav artist. Kept saying she got it at a steal and it was worth way more. Artist got screwed when he got Alzheimer's and people took advantage somehow (I don't remember) but now his work isn't worth anything.
The Bracelet
My mom in college worked for a small grocery store. She was sweeping aisles one day when she found a bracelet and just threw it in the lost and found for someone to come back for later. Months went by and I guess the employees got to check the lost and found for anything they wanted if no one claimed it. She remembered the bracelet and just grabbed it. She got it home and cleaned it up. It ended up being a Tivol bracelet wrapped with real diamonds. Its since been turned into a new wedding band for her lol.
The Long Shot
My friends and I were at a concert and found this broken bracelet under a merch table as we were about to leave the venue. It had an interesting engraving on it, something about being a son and friend. Because it was broken we were thinking about just tossing it, but ended up throwing it in our backpack to bring to the office later (my friend worked at the venue so she was going to turn it in). The next week I was browsing reddit on a thread of the same kind of music we were listening to at the show and just as I was about to fall asleep, someone's post caught my eye.
It said something like "This is a long shot but I lost something..." and it piqued my interest so I clicked it. It was someone from that same show asking if anyone had found a silver bracelet. Turns out it was the same one we found and it seemed to be a special gift from the person's parent and they were looking for it. We connected and got the bracelet returned to the guy, and the whole interaction is actually in my reddit history, it's a fun (albeit quick) read!
A cheap Matin....
snoopy rock star GIFGiphyBought a cheap Martin guitar because I was broke and wanted to play. I didn't think much of it at the time, but it's worth a few grand now because it was a limited edition thing. It's still appreciating to the point where I had to insure it.
Calcium for the Win
So my family went to a nearby town's vintage sale thing. My dad found this dirty old glass milk bottle, and he got excited when he found it. I didn't know what he found so exciting since it was just a milk bottle. After we got home, he explained that it was a a milk bottle from a dairy farm. One of the cofounders of that farm was my great great grandfather (on my dad's side). When one of the world wars began, he sold it off to the other founder.
Tl;dr my dad found a glass milk bottle, and I found out I'm a descendant of wealthy dairy farmers.
All for 30....
I was at an estate sale and bought a few paintings sweet lady told me to take the last one I liked as package deal since I ran out of cash, turns out one of them is a pretty rare original print worth about 3500$ and I paid maybe 30$ for all 4 prints and paintings I wanted.
Priceless....
When I was younger, I would rummage around the drawers and cabinets in my grandmother's house, just "adventuring" and "discovering", which is what I called it. I happened to find this old folded piece of paper, but it only took three seconds for me to just disregard it and push it aside. I think I was trying to get something else that I saw.
After I finished with whatever I had, I picked up the piece of paper to throw it away. Out of childlike curiosity, I opened it up and saw the words in it. It looked like a letter. It seemed important, so I gave it to my grandmother who gave it to my mother when she came to pick me up (my grandmother is blind).
Come to find out, it was a love letter from my grandfather to my grandmother. That really made their day.
EDIT: Some of y'all need to chill. I was three-years-old. My grandmother and grandfather (who isn't blind) were fine with me doing that, as long as I cleaned up after myself. I didn't give her hell. She isn't some stereotypical "poor old blind grandma". She has the hearing of a bat and a hand of iron.
Unexpected Juice
My father in law goes junking occasionally for side cash and strange gifts. One day he shows up randomly with a 1st gen fatboy ps3 with backwards compatibility. He goes "hey I don't know if you can use this but I thought you might enjoy it. Somebody had it sitting out for garbage."
I fired it up fully expecting to have to do some repairs but it booted up and plays just fine! He refused to take any money for it. He can be a real stand up guy.
In the Bin....
Trash Bin GIF by EmmerdaleGiphyI found a book at a trash bin. The Wind in the Willows I never got to read it as a kid... after finishing it I googled the edition date turns out its a collectible worth $300...? Who knew.
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“'Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience'.” What's your best real life example of this?"
They Literally Won't be "Shut Down"
"When I tell people to just reboot your computer and it will fix all their problems and yet they won't because they said if you wait long enough it will shut down, when in reality it only goes to sleep."
"Then when I tell them they have to completely shut it down they look at me like I'm an idiot and say they did."
"I tell them it seems like it but it only went to sleep."
"They argue back."- niallaa
Some People Just Don't Get It...
"I used to argue a lot with my sister when we were kids."
"She would do this thing where she would say something, and then I would reference back to it literally a minute or two later to prove a point and she would say 'I never said that' or 'that’s not what I said'."
"Absolutely impossible to argue with someone who will just deny having said things that could hurt their argument."
"Also, trying to change the course of an argument if they feel like they are 'losing'."
"A coworker once called me an idiot for doing something 'incorrectly' when I was actually doing it the right way."
"When I politely explained to them that the way they suggested doing the task didn’t actually work, they started asking 'why are you getting so angry?? I was just trying to help' etc."
"So now we’re arguing about whether I’m angry or not instead of the right way to complete the task."- themightypianocat
Facts Are Facts...
"Arguing is pointless if you do not agree on a set of facts."- niallaa
Facts GIF by Judge JerryGiphyYou Can't Have It Both Ways...
"For a short while, I worked as a line cook at a Cracker Barrel, and there was a little saloon style door that led to the staff section (kitchen, bathroom, etc)."
"There was a staff only sign on the door, above the doors, and on the wall behind the doors at eye level."
"Usually if someone from the customer side comes in, they said, 'Coming in' before opening the door, so they didn't hit anyone, but of course customers didn't know that."
"So when this dude opened the door and hit a waitress carrying a ton of drinks, we were reasonably upset with him."
"He said, ;You should really put a sign up'."
"We showed him all the signs, and he goes, 'That seems a bit excessive'."- GreyFoxHound1
So Wrong.
"Had an employee sign an NDA about an upcoming art installation that had investors."
"He told everyone."
"He argued with me the NDA only meant he couldn’t disclose anything with the people in the company."- BosskHogg
He Knew What He Was Talking About
This was best said:
“'Never wrestle with pigs'."
"'You both get dirty and the pig likes it'.― George Bernard Shaw"- Zerowantuthri·
pigs GIFGiphySome Outdated Inventions Are Definitely Not Missed...
"I’m showing my age here but I used to work for an estate agency, and we had sales offices set up at the site of large new housing developments."
"Our primary method of communication was fax."
"One of the sales associates telephoned our office to say that the fax machine had run out of paper."
"No problem, I said, one of the guys is coming your way later for a house tour, I’ll give him a box of paper to give to you."
"We then had an almost 20 minute long argument when they kept insisting 'NO, YOU JUST SEND ME A BLANK FAX BECAUSE I NEED THE PAPER, IT WILL JUST COME OUT OF MY FAX MACHINE'.”
"It was like trying to nail jelly to a tree."
"Difficult, irritating, and it achieved nothing."- BettieKat
Very Few Hills Are Worth Dying On...
"I had a friend in university who was a world-class high school debater."
"Over meals, she liked to pick a ridiculous proposition and then talk circles around people until they had to concede to her point, no matter how absurd."
"When she tried it with me, I just stonewalled her."
"Met every point with a solid 'I don't think that's true'." or 'That doesn't make sense'."
"Eventually she gave up and never tried it with me again."
"It was the only time I've ever used the tactics of the stupid to win an argument."
"But, to be fair, if you're not arguing with me in good faith, I feel no obligation to respond in good faith."- kitskill
IS The Customer Always Right?...
"Working retail."
"Especially when I worked in the tech shop or a computer store."
" Trying to convince someone their $500 laptop is never going to be a gaming system no matter how many of the very few replaceable parts we throw at it can be exhausting."- MOS95B
happy episode 7 GIFGiphyEducation Only Matters If You Learned Something....
"Was arguing with this dude about something math-related."
"He didn’t know how to read a study that involved statistics. claimed he was in multiple AP math classes."
"Tried saying that I 'probably don’t even know basic integration'."
"Gave me a common integration problem."
"He wrote it but forgot the minus sign, making it unsolvable."
"I pointed it out and he edited the comment to make it correct."
"Told him that some people can see when you edit comments."
"He claimed that he just capitalized a letter. on and on and on."- SaturdayNightCity
Good Legal Counsel Might Be Worth The Splurge...
"I asked a representative from the Friend of the Court to explain something she said and she told me that I understood what she was saying."
"I replied that I wouldn't have asked her to explain if I had understood."
"She said if I was going to be difficult, she would hold me in contempt."
"My X chimed in that she didn't quite understand what she had said and was greeted with a smile and an explanation."
"From that point on I always disagreed with the Friend of the Court on EVERYTHING, so that I could be seen by the 'Actual Court' and a Judge."- PURPLEPEE
Season 4 Episode 21 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphySore Winners Are No More Attractive Than Sore Losers...
"Once worked with a guy who, by his own admission, got his rocks off by picking fights."
"He'd start an argument over the smallest thing."
"If you said it was white, he'd say it was black, just to try to start something."
"The one that always stood out for me was the weather app competition."
"One day he asked me what temperature it was, so I read it off my weather app."
"He got all offended, because his weather app said it was a couple degrees warmer."
"So he decides we're going to have a weather app competition."
"He was going to chart what our apps said the temperature was, and at the end of the week, whichever one was closest to that day's high would be the winner."
"And the loser would have to start using the winner's app."
"To which I said, "What is your f*cking problem?'"
"So, yeah."
"For the first few days, he'd make a big performance about marching into my office, recording the temperature off my app, jotting down some notes, and walking off."
"This started on a Monday."
"He gave up after Wednesday."
"Either because I was winning, or he was disappointed because, despite his best efforts, I just did not give a f*ck about weather apps."
"Or maybe the boss told him to stop because I filed a complaint that this was bordering on harassment."- originalchaosinabox
Im Always Right GIF by ZionGiphyIt should perhaps be said calling someone an idiot, or even thinking it, is not a particularly nice thing to do.
Even so, if you're tempted to do so when you're in the presence of a particular individual, probably best not to provoke them.
After all, if you're so determined to "win," does it really make you any better than them?