The price jump on old Stanley thermoses is nuts now

I used to grab the green steel ones for five bucks at any yard sale in Ohio. Last weekend, I saw a guy ask eighty dollars for a beat up one at the Springfield flea market. That change happened in maybe three years, tops. It's all because of those 'buy it for life' videos online making them a trend. Now every reseller thinks their rusty thermos is a gold mine. Anyone else seeing this with other basic old tools or gear?

3 comments

3 Comments

keith2641mo ago

It's the same story with old cast iron pans. A basic skillet used to be cheap junk at a garage sale, and now people treat them like rare antiques. The internet hype machine ruins all the good deals eventually.

derek_ramirez1mo agoTop Commenter

Honestly, what gets me is how people act like these things are magic now. Tbh, a cast iron pan is just a heavy piece of metal that holds heat. It's a good tool, but the internet turned it into some life-changing artifact. Ngl, the hype makes regular folks feel dumb for not knowing about "seasoning" or whatever. So now you can't just buy a cheap pan, you have to join a whole culture. It just takes the simple joy out of finding a good, basic thing.

the_william1mo ago

Ugh, tell me about it. Now every rusty pan at a flea market is a "vintage treasure" with a three-figure price tag. Thanks, internet.