Old or Gold?

Old or Gold? / Thrift store

Thrift store

Donated things, sorted and sold again. Who runs the big charity stores, where the money goes, and the rules they follow on used goods, then a few things to guess.

Good to know

  • Product safety law covers secondhand sellers such as thrift stores, consignment stores and charities; it does not treat used products differently from new ones.1,2 #
  • Resellers are told to check recall lists before taking a used product into inventory or selling it.3,4 #
  • Drop-side cribs must not be resold in secondhand stores in the U.S. or Canada.3,5 #
  • Charity thrift stores mostly sell donated, gently used clothing and household goods.6,7 #
  • Goodwill stores sell donated goods, and the money supports local Goodwill programs such as job training and employment services.6,8 #
  • Goodwill is a network of independent, community-based local organizations in the United States and Canada (and other countries).6,9 #
  • Habitat for Humanity ReStores are reuse stores run by local Habitat organizations; they sell donated building materials and household items to the public, and the sales help fund Habitat's home building.10,11 #
  • Salvation Army thrift stores sell donated used items, and the proceeds fund the Salvation Army's adult rehabilitation programs.7,12 #

Your sale-day kit

Tick them off as you go; each line links to the fact behind it.

Old or Gold? Guess first

How we checked this page

Checked on October 17, 2026. We kept a fact only when two independent sources agree, and each one is numbered to its sources below; every fact has its own link (#). We never write a price: the listings come straight from eBay and show what sellers ask. This page was written with an AI assistant and checked against the sources below.

Sources

  1. Resale/Thrift Stores information center, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
  2. Facts for Garage Sale Vendors, Health Canada
  3. Reseller's Guide to Selling Safer Products, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
  4. Information for shoppers of second-hand products, Health Canada
  5. Buying and selling second-hand products, Health Canada
  6. Goodwill Industries, Wikipedia
  7. Salvation Army Family Stores, The Salvation Army
  8. Donate, Goodwill Industries International
  9. About Us, Goodwill Industries International
  10. Habitat for Humanity ReStores, Habitat for Humanity International
  11. Habitat for Humanity, Wikipedia
  12. The Salvation Army, Wikipedia

Other places: Estate sale Flea market Garage sale Police and government auction Storage unit auction

Rooms: Kids' room Jewelry box Coin jar and stamp album Attic Living room shelves Bookcase and media Kitchen and basement

How we decide

The verdict is our own, written from public sources (coin specifications, maker histories, collector guides). It is not computed from eBay listings. OLD: a typical one found at home is worth little; rare dates, errors or editions are the exception. IT DEPENDS: maker, date, model and condition make a real difference. GOLD: even ordinary ones are worth real money, usually for their precious metal. The eBay listings we show are a few current asking prices, not sold prices and not an appraisal. For anything valuable, ask a certified appraiser.