People Share Their Crazy and Weird Thrift Store Finds That You Couldn't Get Anywhere Else

They say one man's trash is another man's treasure...

Ariana

• Published in Interesting
• January 24, 2020

Are you a thrifter? Do you love to walk around antique stores? Pawnshops? Any kind of secondhand good exchange? I can't saw I own a lot of old stuff, but I definitely love to browse.

I think there's something pretty relaxing about wandering around an antique store, and it looks like I'm not the only one! There's a Facebook group called, Weird Secondhand Finds, and this name doesn't mislead!

Everyone in this group lives by the mentality that one man's trash is another's treasure and people post the CRAZIEST thrift finds you'll ever see. Theres artefacts, super valuable stuff... and LOTS of crap.

Check out some of the weirdest of the 'Weird Secondhand Finds' below.

Imagine a parent being this bad-ass!

"My mom recently passed. She left me some very interesting items. For starters, this jewellery.

Edit: I can't tell you how wonderful all of your comments are and how much they mean to me. I've been so sad and every one of you has put a smile on my face today. I added a picture of my mom so you can see how really cool she was. I hope I'm not breaking the rules by having 4 photos."

"He lives in the bathroom and holds period products..."

"He lives in the bathroom and holds period products. He’s The Bloodhound. This wasn’t his first job, he previously lived in an all male house. Given to me by a friend moving out of town. Long Island, NY."

Imagine having no idea that your toaster left a mark on your bread until you first made toast.

"My bf and I went to a thrift store to get a toaster for our new apartment, didn't realise the toaster made a duck until I went to toast some bread".

This settles the debate.

"Found at an antique shop. The prototype for toilet paper showing that it clearly is supposed to be OVER"

Shiiiiiiiiiit.

"This is a box of mortuary lipsticks (make up that was used on the people being prepared for burial) that were taken from a funeral home that closed in 1997. These lipsticks were originally in a display case but for ease they now live in this box. They are all in various stages of use.

Edit: Just to clarify, I am NOT using 20+ year old lipsticks that are used regardless of the fact they were used on the deceased.

They are indeed mostly samples from places like Avon, I imagine it was a cost effective way to get a wide range of colours etc.

This was my first post so I'm looking forward to sharing more of my unusual collections"

Tiny little thrift store cafe!

"Update: omg, you are all so wonderful! Thank you so much for your kindness! I am completely amazed and overwhelmed that this is at nearly 40,000 likes.

This photo is two years old, their names are Snuffles and Zelda, they are African Pygmy Hedgehogs. I live in Canada, and we can buy them at the pet stores here. They eat mostly cat food and chicken, but canned mealworms are a treat. They are pretty much like keeping any smaller caged animal, but they need to be really warm all the time, (similar to keeping a basking lizard).

The furniture and backdrop is from an IKEA doll set. I'm also really excited to hear that so many of you have the same tiny ducky tea cups, so cute!

Thank you for liking my photo!

~just joining in on the pet posts: my hedgehogs eating mealworms from a tiny thrift shop teacup

( I bought the whole tea set for 50 cents!)"

3. A watch that apparently makes you walk 'silly'.

"I'm afraid my walk has become rather silly now.."

I try to avoid having bugs in my tea-cups...

"My new lucky cricket tea cup and if you don't like it... Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow

Thrifted in Alberta Canada for 2.00

Edit* apparently you can still buy him at hot topic or store called lunch box."

Kinda feel like there's a reason this was at the thrift-store....

"Merry Christmas.. Found my dress for the Christmas Party.."

I feel like this was in every high school manual arts classroom ever.

"Oops. Someone didn't listen."

Just a taste..

"My mom found this and said, “I should bring this to sample things, ‘I just want a spoonful.’”

Edit: We went back for it, and found the fork too!"

LOTR fans will go nuts for this.

"The envious cashier as we laid this beauty down on the checkout: "You... bastards..."

Lord of the Rings poster mounted on a wooden plaque circa 1970s found at Value Village in Hamilton, Ontario. Only $7!"

Animal people take it to the extremes.

"I see your tiny pets with mini furniture- I give you “my giant hare on a Victorian chair!”

I found this Victorian chair at a thrift store and decided quickly I couldn’t live without it! It’s antique velvet with carved wood.

This is my Flemish Giant Rabbit, Leroux, aka Big Bun. He sadly passed away last year at the age of 9. He was about 19 lbs. and such a character! (Picture on the left for size comparison). He lived everywhere with me including downtown Chicago! He was my world.

Update: THANK YOU ALL FOR THE LOVE!! Big Bun was always a house rabbit. He even had his own room (included in the photos)! He lived a little longer than normal (lifespan is 7 years or so.) I fed him the best of the best food (Oxbow brand) with plenty of Timothy hay, fresh veggies, and digestive tablets. He was litter box trained and never had accidents in the house. He loved to snuggle and would watch tv with me! Flemish Giants are a wonderful breed of rabbit and make fantastic pets!

I included a picture of him with his dog brothers and my favorite photo of him in his Christmas bow tie. He was always a legend. "

Last week my daughter brought me a CD and asked what it was. I'll have to show her this bad boy!

"At $29.99, this was the most expensive thing I've ever bought at Goodwill. A Mr. Christmas musical bell symphonium. It came with 8 disks, and even had the velvet pouch for the discs, the instructions, order information paper for additional disks, and a survey."

I'm and English teacher... and this made me cry tears of actual joy.

"I see all of your tiny things and raise you one 1890s "Smallest English Dictionary in the World Comprising, besides the ordinary and newest words in the language short explanations of a large number of scientific, philosophical, literary and technical terms"

in a locket with built in magnifying glass

($ estate sale find that I did bring home for me)."

Freaky but kinda cool, too.

"Found at the Goodwill Dunn Ave. Jacksonville, FL".

This is cool and i'd actually buy this...

"Fridge magnet find! It’s okay, you can “call” me nostalgic. Push me—yep it does ring."

Bob Ross Pancakes. Get around it.

"Bob Ross pancakes anyone?! Delicious find by Steven Van Voorhis! Of course it came home with us!! "

THOU SHALL NOT PASS!

"My daughter was driving down the road and found this gem at the curb for trash pickup. He is now protecting her porch."

Imagine being good at art. Jealous.

"Found these red velvet chairs at a garage sale for $1 and had an overwhelming compulsion to paint crows on them"

Entire outfit thrifted. Kind of everything!

Her username is @nanny.maureen and she's 89 and ADORABLE!

"Update: because everyone loves her so much we’ve set up an Instagram for you all to follow her crazy little ass a round and give you all some much needed Joy and granny spam

Her username is nanny.maureen and we’ll be using it to log and post how much of a joy she is so make sure to follow

Everyone is sharing their mini finds, here’s my 89 year old grandmother and her “camera” she is also a mini find as she is she is 4ft 5 inches in height

Edit wow I can’t believe how everyone fell in love with her she is the most amazing women alive and too many comments to reply to lol,

Her name is Maureen, my nanny and to her great grandchildren they call her big granny lol, she’s 89 lives here in little old Dublin Ireland with my grandfather Thomas married over 60 years and she loves life and everyone in it

Also she will adopt everyone asking".

Kinda perfect for if you're ever in a rush...

"So I picked this up today at Goodwill. My daughter And I love it. My mom thinks it’s gross. I am a nurse I think I should take my lunch in it."

I immediately saw the cow... You can't un-see the cow? Right?

"I bought a painting of what I thought was a flower in a pond at the Goodwill in Glendora, Ca and hung it up. Only my husband fixed it lol. It's a cow."

2. A super cool looking book!

"Found at a thrift store on Whidbey Island, WA—this old battered book caught my eye because it looked like it fell off a pirate ship. Upon further inspection, I found it was a Mark Twain, first edition, printed in 1883 which makes it 137 YEARS OLD.

I bought it for $5.

It is a delicate old thing. The pages are chipping with age, and like all secondhand finds, I wonder about its history. How did it get from Little Rock, AR (per the handwriting) to a little island in the Pacific Northwest? Who’s hands have touched it over the course of 100+ years? At one point it rolled out of a printing press into a world that still utilized horse-drawn carriages. I’m unsure of its value, but I treasure this battered old book and will continue to keep it safe.

*****Edit: This was found at Senior Thrift on Whidbey a year or so ago in one of the glass display cases—I’m in the process of packing up my belongings to move so I ended up sitting down to admire it all over again. I wasn’t a part of this group when I found it, but I’m overjoyed to share it with you guys now as I’ve learned so many cool historical tidbits! Also, I was practically leaping out of my skin with excitement when I bought it—the woman who accepted my $5 bill definitely took it slowly and with a lingering look at the book, wondering what she had missed lol

As for the book itself—my dad had the spine restored for me as a birthday gift. That’s why there’s so much of that accursed tape, and why the tape’s cut cleanly through the middle. The spine was so ravaged someone had attempted to keep it together at one time—but it’s now reconstructed. I will try to take a good picture and add it.

The value of the book is an interesting debate but is non-consequential in the end—it’s priceless to me for its age and my joy upon discovering it. I guiltily brushed some dust off the cover as I read comments about plastic bags and gloved hands though—I will definitely look into some of the preservation tactics that were suggested to me. Thanks for all your kind comments!"

Is there anything better than pet furniture?

"In the spirit of keeping the tiny chair posts going here’s my boy Bax looking regal AF in his tiny chair that I found at the goodwill. Someone serve this king some tea & crumpets already."

Larping costume if ever I saw one!

"Pardon my ridiculous "I just paid $20 for full chainmail" face.

Edit to add: woah this blew up! Just in case anyone is worried, I know this isn't combat ready! It is not handmade, or I would have insisted on paying more. It weighs about 20lbs and will be great for costuming/reenactment! I work at OKRF and do reenactment/acting, so this is perfect for me! Thanks for all the love! I'm off to find a Grail!"

Pretty heartwarming story, honestly worth the read.

"Not a great photo but a good story!

2015, I found this lovely and large portrait in a local 2nd hand story.

The card on it really caught my attention.

I’m very familiar with Manazanar, the former WW II U.S. interment camp for Japanese American residents and citizens.

My grandfather was a farmer in coastal San Diego county and some of his fellow farmers were Japanese. At the time of the war, only US born Japanese Americans could buy land for farming. My grandfather stored their belongings when his neighbors were sent away. Many others, including churches also stored internees personal possessions.

I had a feeling that this portrait might have been stored for a family and for some reason, they had not recovered it.

A few calls and emails, I was able to get help from the ranger at Manzanar.

Although Itoko was a newlywed when she arrived at Manzanar with her husband, parents and in-laws, the ranger was able to connect me with her nephew Fred who lives in San Diego, not far from me.

He told me that they had never returned to their home in Pacific Palisades and instead relocated to San Diego where they farmed celery. She and her husband never had children and Nephew Fred took care of them in their older years.

Most amazing of all! Itoko was still alive! She was in a nursing home and has memory issues but she recognized her portrait immediately. She told Fred that it was her and that it hung in her bedroom when she was a child."

Kind of an awesome deal for $20!!!

"First time post: I saw this stunning piece of stained glass on the side of the road off Route 9 in Berkeley Springs, WV. I turned around because I couldn't just leave it there. I paid $20 and struggled to fit it into the back of my car as it is about 30.5" x 42", catching the pieces as they fell out along the way. I took this beauty to Fogal Glassworks in Chambersburg, PA to be repaired. I spent $320 on the repairs and was informed by the shop that if I wanted this piece made from scratch today it would cost over $1500. I am so glad I could save this beautiful piece of art."

1. I feel like this is actually super 'on brand' right now with the celestial trend.

"It started with one dinner plate in a Oregon thrift store in 2003. I thought, oh that's nice! and bought it. Then I found the tea cups about 6 months later... Piece by piece, every one of them hunted up at a thrift store in the PNW, building up to this marvelous collect you see today. 17 years in the making. I didn't find anything for years, then recently found a second serving platter and serving bowl.

Most pieces are Vitromaster by Sakura Galaxy 1993

A couple pieces are knock offs

Please message me if you have a piece you would like to send, or if you are in Portland, arrange a place you can take it. If shipping charges aren't outrageous, I will reimburse you. Thank you everyone who has offered pieces, I can't wait to repost in 3 months or so and show how much of the set grew exclusive from this group. You folks are great!"

Little art piece finds.

"Found for $15 dollars, signed by an (unknown) artist. I absolutley love it, would like to find more pieces like this one!"

Her daughter wearing her mother's WEDDING DRESS from the '50s!!!

"First time posting! My mother and father were married in September of 1954. She was a seamstress and made her own honeymoon dress (first picture). My parents both have since passed away so we kept the dress in storage for all these years. My sister thought it would be neat to have my oldest daughter try the dress on and it fit her beautifully.

Edit #1: wow!!! I’m feeling the love!! Thank you so much! My mom also made her wedding dress, sadly that was lost but I am going to post a picture of her in it and post to the comments! Thank you ALL for making my first posting so wonderful!

Edit#2. I have posted the wedding dress in the comments (on the original post and on the pictures too). Thank you again for the love!

If you cannot see the wedding dress in the comments, feel free to let me know. This group ROCKS"

Going as a PNG for Halloween sounds awesome.

"I found a 2 dollar morph suit at my local Goodwill! I'm now either a PNG, a SKA band stage backdrop, or maybe I'm the floor of a fifties-styled diner! The possibilities are endless!"

I Raise You One 1890s "Bryce's English Dictionary"

Hands down the best caption ever.

"Was looking through the ugly sweater section at goodwill, and found the sweater, I was wearing !! I definitely got a good laugh out of it, and so did the people around me !!!".

Why the heck wouldn't ya?

"$12. Damn straight I bought it!:

Her grandmothers uniform from the 1940s!

"My grandmother passed this year and my aunt was kind enough to give me her school uniform from the 1940s. It fits! I feel very proper.

EDIT: Everyone is super nice! Thank you so much!

2nd EDIT: The crystal macrame thingy is a necklace tangled up with a Vivienne Westwood lighter.

3rd EDIT: The phone case is from Case Dolls, sold by Dolls Kill. Not sure if I'm allowed to post links, so I won't."

They need to start making these again.

"The most wonderful thing happened today. After recently moving to a different state, we just happened to go to an antique expo in town where we found a Silly Cycle. My grandfather, Reedy Ellington McLellan Sr., invented them. There are probably only a handful left in existence. I burst into tears when I saw it. I had to bring it home with me, and the guy was nice enough to cut me a deal. I couldn't be happier.

Edited to add: I'm afraid I'm too big to ride it. It's very much child sized and relatively delicate in it's old age. If I ever find a properly sized rider, I promise I will update with a video."

This. How cute!

"Here's my dog in the tiny chair I recently got at a flea market in Western MA."

UM OMG!

"My wife picked this up at a thrift store years ago for $2. It’s been hanging on our porch for almost 10 years. I’ve never thought much of it.... Today while watching Edward Scissorhands I see this! Is it the same one?! Now I like it more."

Fun.

"Found this fairy dress in a second hand thift store called twice as nice in Tucson. Rainbow antler headband is the best. It's my favorite outfit, I donned it out for my birthday last February with my best friends. We like to dress up and feel fancy. It seems hand stitched"

A PEACOCK CHAIR FOR A FREAKIN' CAT!

"Tiny Peacock Chair I picked up today.

Edit--- thank you guys for all of the love! Her name is Tofu and she is a very, very good girl! She basically poses for me and makes my heart cry 24/7."

I need this.

"Got a $1 trump mask at a yard sale in Australia. My god I have never got such comedic value from a sale."

I can't tell you how many times I've looked for Docs at the thrift store and I've NEVER found them. Ever!

"The other day i saw someone post some really cool Limited Edition Doc Martens, so I would like to raise you these Limited Edition BMO Doc's.

Found at a Salem, OR Goodwill

They definitely came home with me! No one sells them anywhere anymore, theyre super rare!!

Update: I forgot to include the price. They were only $12!! I truly didnt expect this much of a response on this post. Just wow!! Im glad you guys love them as much as i do."

AN ENTIRE THRIFTED COLLECTION!!

"Second edit- I’m amazed at the response, thank you for all the compliments. I’ve added a photo of all of them, including doubles, and a lighter for size reference.

Edit- the shelf is also thrifted, I have more than what is photographed but it sounds like I need to continue my hunt as there are some that are missing. They are tucked away in a box for the time being as my young children are also drawn to them and they have been used as toys too many times.

Brass miniatures, all thrifted. I think I have the whole collection."

Inception. Amazing.

"Thanks for adding me to the group. This is a portrait of my grandmother seated in a chair that she needlepointed. I am sitting in a chair she helped me to needlepoint wearing the same suit. I inherited all."

Girl will slay this.

"Crocheted maxi skirt. Yes it’s ugly, but I will rock it with Leather and Chanel.

Edit: Thanks for all compliments. I did buy this skirt and l’m loving it."

This was a kids toy. Let that sink it.

"I'm normally a lurker but I found this kids Chemcraft chemistry set at a flea market in Nashville, Tennessee two or three years ago and I had to share.

People would lose their minds if something like this was released today for kids to play with.

And yes, that's real yellowcake and radioactive uranium ore in the two atomic energy vials.

She was asking $22 for it but I think I ended up paying $10. She put a sticker on it saying it's from the 60's but the booklets that came with it state that this is kit No. 10 which was produced in 1947.

According to research done in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in mid to late 1947, Porter Chemical Company produced laboratory kits for children that included an atomic energy component. Initially, they produced two kits. The No. 10 kit and the No. 25 kit.

It's not in the greatest shape and I'm sure there are items missing, but I worked at a uranium enrichment plant for years so I had to have it."

Have said it once and i'll say it again... pet furniture is everything.

"Since we're doing tiny couches, I found this beautiful chaise for 6 dollars at a church thrift store.

It was my cat's favorite and when she passed we retired it to a shelf in our library in her honor."

Ariana