'I bought charity shop cups and plates and couldn't believe amount I made reselling them'

As the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure. The old adage turned out to be very true for one charity shop worker, who took a gamble on a box of china which had been donated. The volunteer explained how a man brought in the box, which was covered in "about an inch in dust", saying he was clearing out his mother-in-law's house after she passed away.

She said on Reddit: "He just wanted rid of the stuff. I have an Etsy shop which specialises in vintage items, and thought I had seen that style of china before - what had been donated to the shop was not stamped, but the early editions weren't always marked.

"I asked the manager if I could take one of the pieces to the local auction house to let the owner have a look, and was told I could."

• Cleaner says dust will disappear from wooden floors using 1 natural item
• Man checks every pebble on beach and can't believe what he finds inside one of them

With that, she says the man's face "lit up like a Christmas tree" - and he asked her how many other pieces she had in the collection.

She added: "I'd known him for years and never seen him smile before. The plate I'd taken in sold for £300, and the entire box full of china made over £2,500."

This prompted others to share the unsuspecting items they've discovered in a charity shop, with one user adding: "I bought a 1991 Stranglers tour T-shirt in the 2000s for £2.50, it goes for up to £200 on eBay.

"I also have a first edition White Box Thoth tarot deck which go for variable amount but around £500, for £5, not in a charity shop though.

"Friend of a friend recently bought a Tupperware container from a car boot that contained an almost complete hand painted tarot/early playing card deck (not sure if Victorian or Georgian) for 50p worth at least £1,000, £5,000 if it had been complete. Its up for auction at a fancy London auction house."

Another user added: "Many years ago, when my daughter was at primary school, I used to sell stuff on Amazon/eBay just to earn a little extra cash.

"I was selling mainly her old books and toys. I went in a charity shop for a browse and found a book, can't remember what it was called or who it was written by, but it had a white cover with pastel blue writing on it.

"I didn't think it was worth anything but I just liked the look of it. I paid 50p for it and sold it on the bay for £50.

"I was quite surprised at how much it sold for and I don't/didn't have the knowledge to continue seeking out charity shop hidden treasures, I think I was just very lucky that one time.

"Don't know if it's still true now but some old VHS video's are worth quite a few bob. Which just reminded me of the Disney DVDs.

"The first lot of the Disney movies that were released on DVD sold for a bit, I remember I had snow white and it sold for £80."