If you're a frequent thrift store shopper, have you ever wondered about the random donations that these stores must receive on a daily basis?
1. "I was a receiving and loading lead at a thrift store for a few years. We had this guy that cleaned out storage units for a living, and then he’d dump whatever he couldn’t flip with us for a tax slip. He pulls up and we’re going through it all. Pretty nice stuff, looked like it was an estate sale."
2. "I found a grinder with weed still in it, and somehow a suitcase full of dildos made it onto the floor and was brought to our attention by an elderly lady who was wanting to purchase the suitcase but didn't want 'the extra stuff inside.'"
"I still think a customer had to have somehow snuck a bag of dildos in and dumped them there, since anything going to the floor is opened and sprayed with disinfectant. Plus it was heavy, so it definitely would've been opened if it arrived that way. Either way, it made for an interesting day at work." —u/ashbertollini
3. "I worked in donations. In the same day, we got a pickled baby tiger shark and a coin purse made from a kangaroo scrotum."
4. "I've seen it all — vibrators, boxes of dildos, a nunchuck collection, to name a few. On more than one occasion, we have found large amounts of money stashed away in hollowed-out books, usually $1,000-plus in new bills."
"The one story that sticks out the most was this middle-aged man who consistently came on Saturday evenings to donate used underwear. Bags and bags of men's used underwear, for almost three months straight, then suddenly he just stopped." —u/franz23
5. "I found a cup shaped like a man with a giant erect dick. Snickered at it and pointed it out to my coworkers while we were clocking out."
6. "Not something I've found particularly, but something very strange. Every month and a half or so, a man would come by right before we closed and would donate a single blank CD. Every single time. My coworkers and I would always put it in and see if anything was on it. There never was."
7. "Someone donated a high school diploma still in its leather case. We were selling it for $1.39."
8. "One time, someone donated a book (some country singer's autobiography, I believe) that had been massively defaced by a complete lunatic."
9. "Someone donated an entire trash bag full of dirty diapers."
10. "I was sorting out some donated items and come across an unusual set of tools. Through some research, we discovered that it was a full transorbital lobotomy tool set. It got donated to a local university for display. Apparently, a vintage set in good condition can sell for around $1,000."
11. "My aunt's a cop and had to go investigate a donated hand grenade."
12. "Lots of used journals. Highlights include someone recounting the time they bit someone and a tale of an explosive funeral. They make for a good read, but why wouldn't you throw them out?"
13. "My coworker found a 12-year-old’s journal. It was a gold mine of middle school drama. Also had a lot of stories about Jacob from Twilight and wishing she was a werewolf. We read through the whole book and cried laughing."
"I think, years from now, that same girl will wonder where that journal is and desperately wish she had it again." —u/BjorksFjorks
14. "A classmate of mine found a human skull that was donated. It still had remnants of human on it. They reported it to the police, and turns out it was part of an active murder investigation one state over."
15. "I once found a signed first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Strange, because why would anyone give it away?! Managed to buy it for 50 pence, and it’s honestly my prized possession today."
16. "My boyfriend volunteered at a local thrift shop for a little while. One day he was going through donation boxes and found a peculiar ceramic Mission with liquid in it. After a little research, it turned out to be 30-year-old Christian Brothers brandy."
"Only 100 bottles were made in celebration of their anniversary. Since the thrift store can't sell liquor, he was able to snag it. The brandy was soooo gooood." —u/eesaray
17. "Finally my time has come. So many weird donations that I won't even get into because y'all won't believe me, but the strangest time was when a young man donated a bag of clothes and a small gecko hopped out."
18. "Tampons. New and used. And a camel hair coat with $750 in one of the pockets."
"We knew who donated it, so we gave it right back." —u/Andygibb0305
19. "One day a Russian lady came in with about six gorgeous evening gowns. She kept saying to us that she'd had them since she was young, when she lived in Russia, that they were high-end designer dresses (we couldn't read the tags)."
20. "I was working at Goodwill in North Carolina, and someone traded In a boxed copy of Stadium Events for the original Nintendo. I didn’t know anything about it. A lady bought it and resold it to a nearby shop for something like $10,000. I found out because a news team came in to report the story, and I was the one who processed the donation. I really shit the bed on that one."
21. "Strangest thing I found was a lock of hair attached to a death certificate. We kept it for a while, but no one ever claimed it."
22. "My mum worked at a charity store, where wedding dresses were donated depressingly often. The strangest thing was some antique Victorian underwear in perfect condition. She ended up keeping that one after clearing it with her boss."
23. "A friend of mine worked at Goodwill, and someone dropped off a bag of clothes soaked in vomit and cat piss."
