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What if you found an item you bought in a charity shop was worth thousands of pounds?

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  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    A friend of mine is an author and shared a platform with JK Rowling, unheard of at the time, at a literary event. They gave one another signed copies of their books and my friend gave her signed first edition first print run of the Philosopher’s Stone to her niece. The niece read it and binned it. A similar one sold for £220,000.
    Rutland, England
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Oops
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    edited July 2023
    Similar for us, and many others I suppose, are houses you could have bought on the Barclaycard back in the day that are going for hundreds of thousands. Whitstable and Lewis spring to mind - and a house across the road from our old house
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    There is an entire industry of people who tour charity shops to buy things they then put on ebay and sell to the highest bidder.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Thats of course after all the staff that work/volunteer there have had first dibs.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited July 2023
    Many charity shops have experts visiting who check over their intake for items that may be of real value. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Yes, some charities also sell on ebay.
  • Yes, some charities also sell on ebay.
    When it comes to ebay, there are still people who don't always appreciate the value of what they are selling. I bought four engravings from the 1700's, and saved myself the postage by meeting the seller at a nearby railway station. No extra cost to me, as I already had a season ticket that covered the journey.
    I got the four engravings for a combined price somewhat below what I would have expected to pay for one. But they are added to my collection, and aren't likely to be sold while I'm still alive. 
    But the seller was trying to offload them, and thought they'd done well to get the price. I saw the price and knew I had a bargain. That's the best way, when both parties are satisfied.
    Same applies to items bought from charity shops.
  • I picked up a wad of paper money blowing along the pavement near a market. £60.00. Handed it in to the police station, went back 6 weeks later to discover it had not been claimed. The policeman on duty made it clear he thought I should give it to the police charity but on the spur of the moment I kept it. I have never felt guilty about it.
    I would probably make a donation to the shop where I had bought an item and keep the rest.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Other
    Good for you @Joyce Goldenlily . Why should the police charity keep money that the finder has been honest enough to hand in?
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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