A thrifter is being celebrated on Reddit after sharing what many users called a jaw-dropping secondhand find -- a Waterford crystal ball ornament purchased for just $5.50.
The post, shared to r/ThriftStoreHauls by u/butterflygirl1980, was titled: "Somebody pinch me...I just walked out of my local thrift store with a Waterford crystal ball for $5.50!" Images in the Reddit post show the crystal ornament in detail, including a Waterford label and a marking that reads: "Times Square 2001."
The thrifter told Newsweek that they found the ornament at a thrift store in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and immediately recognized the Waterford name, noting: "I was familiar with the brand."
Waterford is the company that has been fitting the crystal panels forming the massive Times Square Ball used for the annual New Year's Eve ball drop in New York City since 2000, according to the Waterford website.
The poster also noted the value difference between thrift pricing and the retail market. The poster told Newsweek: "These balls sold for over $100 new and still resell for $40 or more, especially if you still have the original box," adding that they will keep the ornament instead of reselling it.
The iconic Times Square crystal ball is 12 feet in diameter, weighs 11,875 pounds, and is covered with a total of 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles. The company says the structure is capable of producing "more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns," creating a "spectacular kaleidoscope effect."
Waterford also notes that the ball's design changes with yearly themes. For the upcoming 2026 New Year's Eve celebration, the company says the crystal discs will reflect the ideas of "Infinite Life, Infinite Liberty, and Infinite Happiness," meant to highlight "the bright possibility of the chapters ahead."
In the caption, the Reddit poster explained that the crystal ball wasn't even originally priced that low. "It was originally priced at 10.99," they wrote, noting that it "easily would've sold for that" if the store had displayed it in a glass case.
Instead, they said, the item was placed "into a plastic bag and hid it on the rack with all the other misc [miscellaneous] bagged Christmas stuff," allowing it to sit unnoticed until the poster spotted it on a half-off day.
Fellow Redditors were quick to applaud the deal.
One user, u/PhyzziksGirl, commented: "That is a stunning find! Nice."
Another, u/utahnicorn, wrote: "Amazing find! I just toured Waterford last month and treated myself to a tiny seahorse ornament. Paid 99€ for mine."
u/CommitteeNo5958 added: "Wow!!! What a lucky find! I hope you enjoy!"
And u/Jbscott68 summed up the mood with: "That is beautiful. Great find!"
For u/butterflygirl1980, the discovery was both a bargain and a keepsake -- an unexpected piece of New Year's Eve history tucked away in a plastic bag, waiting for the right shopper to come along.