Saskatchewan thrift store workers share their wackiest finds
They say one man's trash is another man's treasure.
But according to some thrift store workers, some bizarre finds are better left unsold.
Earlier this month, envelopes filled with several thousands of dollars was found wrapped in a bundle of folded drapes in a Halifax Value Village store.
Over in a Value Village in Brampton, Ont., about $250 worth of cocaine was found in the pocket of a jacket.
Right here in Saskatchewan, thrift store workers have also come across their fair share of odd things while sifting through second-hand goods.
For Stacey Laing, owner of The Dress Form Vintage in Regina, it was a pair of teeth found in the pocket of a 1950s coat.
"They looked like they were adult teeth," she said. "I was totally grossed out. I threw them out almost immediately."
Travis Zacharias, a co-manager of Village Green Thrift Shop in Saskatoon, has also come across a number of strange finds. For instance, he once received a bag filled with hundreds of Campbell's soup labels. And another time, he received two pill bottles - one containing a moth, and the other containing a cockroach.
Zacharias also notes that some donors have come in with goods that are "really bad".
"[This guy] gave me a pair of socks that was very, very used," he said. "He also gave me a third sock that was only the top half of the sock, so he drove all the way to our store and gave us two and a half socks. So it's just like, 'Thank you, sir!.'"
But not all unusual donations end up in the garbage.
For Alvin Buhler, a store clerk at WorldServe Thrift Store in Saskatoon, he was able to return $13,000 of cash found in a spring jacket back to its donor.
"As it happened, we knew who had donated that jacket," Buhler said. "The jacket belonged to his wife who was deceased, and he donated her clothes to our store. We knew who he was and was able to call him back."
"He was just genuinely appreciative and surprised. It was a good experience for him and us both."
