The phrase "treasure hunting" is likely one that conjures images of long-ago fantasy stories, fictional pirates, or child's play in a sandbox. For some, however, treasure hunting has just taken on a new name: thrifting.
Just as a seasoned pirate scans the sea for hidden gems, thrifters scour racks and shelves for unique finds much like one Redditor's incredible jewelry find.
In a post on the r/ThriftStoreHauls subreddit, the Redditor shared a photo of themselves modeling a reportedly 18K gold ring with an emerald surrounded by a ring of diamonds, which cost just $16.
"I honestly didn't know if this was real or not. I saw it as we were checking out and thought it was so pretty!" the Redditor shared in a comment.
While it is likely not every day a thrifter will find a $16 gold ring, many are recognizing that thrift stores still offer a treasure trove of benefits.
In 2023, Earthday.org reported a forecast that the thrifting market would see a modest increase of 1.4% in annual revenue, but longer time-span forecasts predict that the market will continue to grow to 127% by 2026 (as Fashion United reported), which is three times faster than the apparel market overall.
One driver of this growth is an increase in consumer consciousness, reported Earthday.org. The strategy and consulting company Simon-Kucher & Partners has reported that 60% of global consumers have indicated that a top priority in making a purchase decision is sustainability.
By shopping secondhand, we can reduce the 11.3 million tons of textile waste that goes into landfills each year, as reported by Retail Dive.
Additionally, according to a ThredUp report, if every consumer in 2023 bought one secondhand item that year, it would equate to taking 76 million cars off the road for a day, saving nearly 35,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water, and the equivalent of turning off electricity in about 380,000 homes for a year.
As thrifting becomes more and more popular, you may want to brush up on ways you can become an expert thrifter and save as much as $1,700 a year. If shopping in stores is not your thing, you may want to explore various online thrifting services.
Companies like ThredUp allow shoppers to trade in aisle navigation for search navigation. They offer over 55,000 brands, with items marked up to 90% off the retail price. Other companies eliminate the search for you and send you a whole box of personally curated thrift finds.
Regardless of how you choose to thrift, the comments under the Reddit post prove that one thing will remain constant: the excitement you share with others over a great find.
"Holy smokes that is beautiful!" praised one commenter.
"As a jeweler, that's an absolutely insane quality emerald to find or own in general. Congratulations, you have an extremely NICE AF emerald, you almost never seen them with clarity and luster like that. Wow!" gushed another.
"Okay, I'm literally drooling over this. It's so gorgeous. Congrats on this amazing find!" a third shared.
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