Missouri woman buys a $150 watch at thrift store — then she found out its real value
You never know what you might end up finding in a thrift store, and that is exactly what one person realized recently. She had gambled what may seem like a high price to some on an item and was quite nervous about her purchase. However, the gamble paid off. The item, in this case a watch, was worth a lot more than what the buyer had paid for it.
As per a Newsweek report, the buyer was a woman named Kayla Russina from Missouri. She was out shopping in downtown St. Louis with her boyfriend when a watch caught her eye. It is not uncommon to see watches at thrift stores. In fact, it is one of the most collectable items in the world today. However, this watch had something special about it. It was in a Gucci box and was quite old.
Gucci watches are sold online for anything from $80 to $800, as per the report, but Russina had a gut feeling that this one was towards the higher end of the spectrum. Not only did the watch come with the original Gucci box, but it also came complete with a selection of bezels, which the wearer could customize. The watch is also dated to the 1990s, which might be attractive to a lot of collectors.
“It caught my eye because I had seen these watches online before, and I knew that they were highly sought after. When I saw it, I immediately went and grabbed my boyfriend to show him, and we decided to buy it,” she said. The watch was priced at $200, but Russina was able to get it down to $150. Still, she was unsure of whether she had overpaid for the product. “We were worried initially,” she said.
However, she said that she took the item to get it authenticated, and it turned out to be the real deal. Russina said that she expected to get around $500 to $700 for it. “We just got a new battery for it today, and it is working,” she added. After the authentication was done, she posted a picture of the watch on Reddit, in which she wrote that she was blessed by the thrift gods. A lot of people agreed with that assessment.
“One of my white whales. Good price too, because I regularly check prices online for this item (and similar). Congrats, I hope it brings you joy for years to come,” one user commented. “So jealous. Someone was selling one on FB marketplace for $1,100, and it sold last week,” quipped another. “That's pretty much what it cost new in the early 90s. I had the chain band one instead of a bangle. I miss that watch so much,” a third user wrote.
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