Shopper makes exciting find inside recent thrift store purchase: 'Maybe it's like a pay-it-forward'

Thrifting is one of the best ways to save money on shopping. Case in point: One shopper ended up making money off a thrift store purchase.

In a post on the r/ThriftStoreHauls subreddit, a user shared a photo of a Starbucks tumbler with a gift card inside. "Brand new Starbucks tumbler for $2.99. The gift card left inside wasn't empty like I suspected. It had $10 on it!" the user explained in their caption.

The user also confirmed that the cup appeared to be a donated gift. "It was a thank you for something and had to be pretty recent because the gift card was a newer print," they explained in a comment.

The user was especially excited because they were already a big fan of this particular type of cup. "They are the BEST. My husband worked at Starbucks for 7 years so we have a lot of cool mugs. But these have always been my favorite!" they wrote.

Thrifting is one of the easiest ways to save money on purchases big and small. Recently, thrifters have been surprised by incredible deals on designer furniture, brand-name purses, and gorgeous vintage fashion. If saving money isn't enough, thrifting is also environmentally friendly because buying secondhand goods ensures that items won't end up wasting away in a landfill, instead keeping products in the circular economy.

According to Capital One Shopping, in the United States every year, 6% to 18% of people shop at thrift stores and save $1,760 annually with their secondhand purchases. And the market isn't expected to slow down in the U.S., with the market pulling in around $53 billion in revenue last year alone.  

In 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency reported the United States accounted for 292 million tons of waste. 

For more information on thrifting and its personal and environmental benefits, visit TCD's thrifting guide. 

Users shared similar experiences in the comment section. 

"Maybe it's like a pay it forward," one user said. "Now I totally want to start slipping loose change or dollar bills in weird stuff at the thrift store, and watch people find it, and then see what they do."

"I love finding donated gifts! I found a copy of the Nasty Gal book with a birthday card stuck inside. It had $20 in it!" another user wrote.

"Just last week I picked up a box that said 'earwax candle making kit' (it was one of those gag gift boxes), and inside was a $25 Google Play Gift Card from Aunt DJ. I think Nicholas thought it was really an Earwax candle kit. Score!" a third user commented.

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