Thrift shop shopping WDUBT

ghce · Dec 4, 2024

Well we don't seem to have a specific thread for thrift shopping and as I am always browsing the many thrift shop / charity shops in my area I will kick it off with my WDUBT ( what did you buy today).

I am always attracted to Asian crafts and related and came across this pure silver (1000) Japanese Saki drinking bowl for US$0.60 and at exactly 80 grams was a steal for melt value of US$80.00.
And this lovely Japanese ceramic plate for 60 cents.

I know many others here share the collecting bug for things other than fine Horological pieces so show us your recent finds.

lindo · Dec 5, 2024

My wife has been a charity shop prowler for decades. It is a rare week when she does not come home with nice quality things (including watches) at silly prices. That encompasses Danish silver jewellery (eg Georg Jensen), Japanese and Chinese ceramics, silver and other nice objects, European silver trays sold as silver plate which are actually .800 fine (80% silver), paintings, and even fine small pieces of furniture - like recently a superb bedside table retailing for $900 that she bought for $25.

I guess a lot of it comes from deceased estates, when executors just want to clear a house.

She has been doing this for fifty years, so she can quickly distinguish the 1% good stuff amongst 99% ordinary discards. One of her great buys was a ladies compact from the 1950s. It was sold as a gold plated compact but she noticed tiny gold hallmarks - a $38 buy was worth over $1200 in scrap value.

The only downside is that our house is full of stuff....

lucreative · Dec 5, 2024

Had an amazing Goodwill in Hollywood, CA that many wealthy people and celebs donated to and I worked nearby so I went almost every week during a lunch break. The list of items I "bought", and bought is in parenthesis, since it's more like found for the price I purchased. For example, Salvador Dali signed woodblock print with cert of authenticity, Montblanc pen, sterling silver galore like a Shreve and Co vase, plates, and cups, Baccarat crystal, gold jewelry. Those days are gone. But WDUBT, a nice First Edition Stephen King IT book.

But I still haven't found that barn watch yet.

ghce · Dec 5, 2024

lindo
My wife has been a charity shop prowler for decades. It is a rare week when she does not come home with nice quality things (including watches) at silly prices. That encompasses Danish silver jewellery (eg Georg Jensen), Japanese and Chinese ceramics, silver and other nice objects, European silver trays sold as silver plate which are actually .800 fine (80% silver), paintings, and even fine small pieces of furniture - like recently a superb bedside table retailing for $900 that she bought for $25.

I guess a lot of it comes from deceased estates, when executors just want to clear a house.

She has been doing this for fifty years, so she can quickly distinguish the 1% good stuff amongst 99% ordinary discards. One of her great buys was a ladies compact from the 1950s. It was sold as a gold plated compact but she noticed tiny gold hallmarks - a $38 buy was worth over $1200 in scrap value.

The only downside is that our house is full of stuff....

Yeah that's the major downside, room to display ie a bigger house!

Our family have been doing this for the last 2 generations and over the last 60 plus years have had some amazing finds such as ancient Egyptian ceramics officially dated to before 500BC ( that was bit of a highlight and hard to top) about 2 years ago I bought a 9.5 out of 10 or better mans Omega Deville for $3.00 in good working order. But most weeks we come away with some amazing finds.

Thrift shop shopping WDUBT

ghce

lindo

lucreative

ghce

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