A regular thrift store visit turned into a moneymaking endeavor when one shopper found several bills — $40 in total — tucked inside a gumball machine at Goodwill.

They shared the happy find on the subreddit r/ThriftStoreHauls, where other shoppers celebrated their unexpected win.

"For $15 that's not bad at all!" one person enthused.

"Lucky you!" another agreed.

Finding a rare or high-value item — or even a wad of cash — isn't totally uncommon for dedicated thrift shoppers, but it's just one reason why shopping secondhand has become more and more popular in recent years.

From saving on daily commodities like home goods, shoes, and clothes to saving substantially on bigger-ticket items like furniture and electronics, buying pre-owned items is particularly popular with price-conscious shoppers. 

On average, shopping secondhand can save a person nearly $150 a month, or approximately $1,800 per year, according to CouponFollow. Given the rising rates of inflation in the U.S., it's no wonder that this is top of mind for many shoppers.

If that wasn't reason enough to feel good about thrift shopping, there's also the environmental benefit to consider. 

Fast fashion — the practice of manufacturing and selling high volumes of cheaply made clothes — is notoriously awful for the environment, generating a tremendous amount of waste and wastewater. 

Even worse, many of the clothes and textiles that are manufactured each year end up being discarded, and they can contaminate soil, rivers, and oceans with microplastics and other chemicals.

Would you buy your wedding dress from a thrift store? Absolutely 💯 I did 👰 Only if I found one I loved 😍 Nope 🙅 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Alternatively, buying existing clothes and items decreases the amount of money pouring into fast fashion, instead incentivizing a more environmentally-friendly economy and keeping clothes out of landfills and oceans.

For all of these reasons, thrift shopping is booming in the U.S. and beyond. Globally, the secondhand apparel market is outpacing growth of the general apparel market by nearly three times, and in the U.S., secondhand retail is growing five times as fast as broader retail, per ThredUp's 2025 Resale Report. 

For some lucky shoppers, like this gumball machine buyer, a quick thrift store visit might just end up making them a profit.

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