Like an oyster secretly containing a beautiful pearl, one lucky thrifter's secondhand find had another treasure hidden inside.
The thrifter shared their good fortune with the Reddit community, posting pictures in r/ThriftStoreHauls. The first one shows the outside of a Halliburton case — a kind of travel case with a hard exterior — decked out with stickers. The second picture shows the interior of the case, which contains an OM-2 camera and other accessories. The price for the whole kit and kaboodle? $4.99.
"I just popped it open with a flathead screwdriver," the Redditor said. "I'm not sure if it was locked or just stuck as it didn't damage anything."
Other Redditors jumped to point out fascinating details about the find. A nametag on the case that appears to read "Harvey Pastel MD" led one person to discover the obituary of an individual with the same name. He had a general surgery practice in Connecticut, where the case was found.
According to the obituary, this person was "fascinated by photography" and filled his home with photos he took of "flowers, pets and family." He also built and flew model airplanes and volunteered at the New England Air Museum, which matches the aviation theme to the case's stickers, as pointed out by another Redditor.
Others referenced the value of the camera stowed away inside the case.
"Looks like it's worth a couple hundred bucks maybe," posited one Redditor. "I've seen just the camera go for between 60 and 120 and this has a case and a bunch of accessories." Online, a used Olympus OM-2 camera sells for almost $200.
But it's not uncommon to make incredible finds such as this one thrift shopping. That's part of why the activity is so popular. According to BusinessDIT, about 16-18% of Americans shop at a thrift store. Doing so keeps treasures such as this case and camera in our lives and out of our landfills, where they would otherwise go.
In addition to investigating and price-estimating, other Redditors took to the comments to express their happiness for the thrifter.
🗣️ If you buy refurbished products, what's your primary motivation?
🔘 Saving money 💰
🔘 Salvaging old stuff 🗑️
🔘 Helping the planet 🌎
🔘 I don't buy refurbished products 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"This is prime content for me," said one individual. "Super Jealous. Congratulations."
"Very lucky find," commented another.
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