There are those among us who have a keen sense for bargain hunting. Their laser focus for finding what they need at a price they are willing to pay can be quite extraordinary, while for the rest of us coming across a great bargain seems to be more of a happy accident than anything else. Then there are the experienced garage sale enthusiasts and thrift store shoppers who have a nose for spotting something others easily overlook.
It is estimated there are 165,000 garage sales held each week across the United States and that 690,000 people buy at least one item each week at such sales. Thrift stores meanwhile are a multi-billion dollar enterprise with much of that revenue coming from the resale of clothes, jewelry and furniture.
Sometimes this type of bargain hunting results in far more than the buyer anticipated. Like the student in Germany who bought a second-hand couch for $215. After getting it home a remarkable discovery was made. Tucked inside the couch was a 17th century Venetian painting which sold at an art auction for $27,630.
Then there's the shopper at a thrift store in Phoenix who came across a watch he suspected could be worth much more than the $5.99 price tag it carried. He was right. He sold it weeks later for $35,000.
Five years ago a family in New York visited a neighbourhood garage sale and paid $3 for a small bowl. Years later, on the advice of friends, they had it looked at by an expert. Their $3 bowl turned out to be a 1,000 year old Chinese treasure which they sold for a whopping $2.2 million.
But my favourite story, though not the financial windfall of others, is the couple who came upon a vintage West Point sweatshirt at their local Goodwill store which they bought for less than a dollar. One night they were watching a documentary on NFL coach Vince Lombardi and became convinced he was wearing the sweatshirt they had purchased. They were able to authenticate it and sold it a year later for $43, 020.
I wonder sometimes if we underestimate what we have or fail to recognize how truly valuable something is--not because of what it might fetch at auction, but because of what it represents in our lives. People can assess their homes, vehicles, stocks and bonds and get an accurate picture of what their monetary worth is, but there are so many other things that on their face don't seem like too much, but are actually extraordinarily valuable. Hidden treasures we may not fully realize are there.
Consider the bowl on a counter that keys might get tossed into at the end of the day. Certainly nothing from an ancient Chinese dynasty. But look again. The bowl holds proof that we have means to go where we want to go. It represents transitions in life. Freedom. Independence. Or the recognition that driving should now be someone else's responsibility. That space in between so filled with adventures, obligations, and the remarkable privilege to climb in and simply…go.
Then there's the cupboard or closet filled with a mishmash of storage containers. Odd colours. Maybe random lids…reminding us we often have more than we require at any given time. The treasure of needs being met…and then some. An abundance of food that gets stored as leftovers. Excess clothes and shoes. Blankets. Holiday decorations. We have so much we need to find ways to keep it.
Or the stack of note pads and scrap paper that sits on a desk or in a drawer, floating around with an assortment of pens and pencils. Indications that lists can be made or ideas jotted down. Reminders of what to buy, where to be and what to take. And at its root? A treasury of literacy allowing us to record what is important in the moment.
At the heart of finding treasure is seeing beyond the item into the circumstances that brought it into our lives. We may not see the value in something at first. We might need someone to point it out or draw us back in and remind us, but once we have discovered it we will see treasure everywhere. The deeply discounted things we have bought may not be turned around for profit, but they can demonstrate once again that most of what really matters doesn't start with a dollar sign. That's my outlook.
