Woman Thrifts $20 Plates From Church, Then Learns What They’re Really Worth
A Tennessee woman could barely believe her luck after discovering a set of valuable plates at a local church bazaar.
Leah Rhodes, who is based in Nashville, told Newsweek she has always been drawn to thrifting because of the buzz she gets from “the hunt” for valuable pieces.
“I get an actual dopamine rush from walking into a thrift store with absolutely no idea what I’m going to find,” she said. “There is just something deeply satisfying about digging through 400 things you don't want and then suddenly finding the one thing you can't believe someone donated.”
Rhodes is not alone in finding herself increasingly drawn to thrift store finds.
According to figures published by Capital One Shopping, the thrifting industry has grown by a remarkable 143 percent since 2018.
Part of the appeal for Rhodes is that it serves as a throwback to a simpler era of shopping.
“You can’t just go online and add what you want to your cart. You have to hunt for it,” she said. “There’s a history to everything, maybe even a story behind it, and when you find something really special for a great deal, that little victory high is unmatched.”
Rhodes was certainly on a high after a visit to a church bazaar in nearby Franklin. While browsing the items on offer, she was immediately taken with a stack of eye-catching plates.
“I spotted the stack of plates and just thought they were super unique and fun,” she said. “I flipped one over and saw the MacKenzie-Childs stamp.”
Although Rhodes said she “knew the brand,” she admits she is far from an avid collector and did not immediately realize their true value.
Founded in 1983 by Victoria and Richard MacKenzie-Childs in Aurora, New York, MacKenzie-Childs is a luxury American home décor and tableware brand known for its hand-painted ceramics, colorful designs, and signature checkered patterns.
Its plates are highly collectible, particularly retired pieces from the 1980s and 1990s. Listings on Etsy suggest common examples can sell for between $50 and $150, while desirable retired patterns in excellent condition frequently command between $125 and $250 per plate.
“It wasn’t until I was sitting in my kids’ school pickup line a couple of hours later that I Googled them and was shocked to discover what I had found,” she said.
Rhodes bought eight plates for a total of $20. Based on her estimates, they could be worth as much as $1,000 if sold as a set.
How they ended up at a church bazaar is unclear.
“My best guess is that someone from the church donated them while cleaning out a home and either didn't know what they were worth or simply didn't care,” she said.
While the plates may be worth considerably more than she paid, Rhodes is in no hurry to sell them. Instead, she has hung them on a wall in a place of pride in her home.
“There are tons of people suggesting I keep them and several people suggesting I sell them for a profit,” Rhodes said. “If I did decide to sell one or two, I would donate that money back to the church that sold them to me as a way to say thank you for adding to our family keepsakes.”
