Jessica Vincent made her way in June through a busy Goodwill thrift store in Hanover County, Va., passing VCRs, lamps and glassware commonly sold at big-box retailers. Nothing really caught her eye until she saw an iridescent glass vase.
After doing a lap around the store, she returned to the bottle-shaped vase with red and green swirls. She noticed a small “M” on the bottom that she believed stood for Murano, an island off Venice and the historical home of Italian glassware.
She had a feeling it might be worth something.
“I had a sense that it might be a $1,000 or $2,000 piece,” she said, adding, “but I had no clue how good it actually was until I did a little bit more research.”
There was no price on the vase. Ms. Vincent, 43, told herself she’d pay $8.99 and no more. When the cashier rang her up, it was $3.99.