A woman who bought a glass vase for $3.99 at a local Goodwill charity shop has seen the piece auctioned off for more than $100,000 after it turned out to be a rare and valuable piece of Italian glassware.
Jessica Vincent had bought the item at a Goodwill thrift store in Hanover county, Virginia, and had an inkling that it might have been worth a little more than was usual, she told the New York Times.
“I had a sense that it might be a $1,000 or $2,000 piece, but I had no clue how good it actually was until I did a little bit more research,” she told the paper after noticing a small ‘M’ on its bottom which she suspected might stand for Murano, an Italian island near Venice famed for glasswork.
Thrifting W. I haven’t been thrift shopping but I do want to go try it.
Honestly thrifting sucks hard these days.
I went to one of those goodwills that bring out totes of items and you buy things by the pound. There was at least 15 people just waiting like little gremlins waiting for the next tote to come out.
Definitely had a feeling they were all there to resell
This makes me think of the gold shoes that a thrift store recognized and sold for $20k. I’d much rather that money go to the shop than that lady.
Thrift stores in America are usually corporate and not for charity. Or, they pretend to be charities (but aren’t)
Goodwill is fucking evil.
There’s a lot that I could say, but it simply boils down to them always favoring their corporate and ceo’s interests over their charitable ones.
Their ceo (and branch ceo’s) make obscene amounts of money.
Theres also that case and probably even more about an autistic woman being paid like less than 25c an hour.
Probably “evil” isn’t the right word, but they absolutely do not have “good-will”
Serious question: how is this pricing model different from speculative value as it applies to real estate or stocks?
I mean, the price of anything luxury is just stupid, and you should be aware you are always getting scammed (which is why they want to sell you “luxury” apartments or whatever. It’s the same as a normal apartment, but costs twice as much).
As for, in this case, it’s just happenstance. I don’t think she finds designer art at goodwill as her job. Also, I don’t care if there’s speculation on art pieces, as long as we start closing tax break loopholes connected to art pieces.
The speculation on homes is a much more egregious problem, as nobody needs an Italian designer vase, but everyone needs a home.
Potentially, the labor and skill involved in the production. While speculation does play a part, so does the rarity, difficulty of production, & skill needed in the creation of the art. You may argue whether that justifies the price, but at least there is labor and material evidence, while stocks and property don’t necessarily need any real evidence of value to be valued, especially in our current economic climate.
Phht. Amateurs. I’ll buy a vase for 100 grand only to later discover it’s true worth of 3,99.
That’s pretty ugly for something worth $100,000.
Photos alway look 5% compared seeing glasswork. Could be valued for the techniques, materials, the art’s story, or even someone’s favorite kind of ugly.
If I paid $50 at a flea market for it I’d eventually feel like i got ripped off, so I see what you mean.
I assume the value is based on its history and popularity of the original artist. I still don’t think it’s anything special.
