Woman Spots $16 Shoes at the Thrift Store—Shocked by ‘Rare’ Find

A video of a woman who “hit the jackpot” during her recent thrift-store excursions has gone viral on YouTube.

Macy Eleni, a Los Angeles-based content creator, who calls herself “Thrift Queen of the Internet,” shared a video of her “insane designer” finds on her YouTube channel @blazedandglazed. The clip has garnered over 48,000 views since it was shared on April 1.

Eleni is the author of Second Chances: The Ultimate Guide to Thrifting, Sustainable Style and Expressing Your Most Authentic Self. She found a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes in “fantastic condition” for just $16 at a local thrift store in Pomona, California, on March 26, the YouTuber told Newsweek.

Eleni noted that it is “pretty rare” to find these designer shoes at this price, noting that she usually finds her secondhand Manolo Blahnik shoes on the Poshmark or The RealReal websites.

“But this wasn’t the first time I’ve found them out in the IRL [in real life] thrift world,” Eleni said. “I have a pretty-extensive collection of secondhand Manolos, so I can almost always tell a real pair from fake.”

Thrifter holding Manolo Blahnik shoe at store. — A screenshot from a YouTube video of a woman holding up a Manolo Blahnik shoe at a thrift store.

@blazedandglazed on YouTube

Eleni also noted that, “compared to designer bags, there are far less fake pairs of Manolo Blahniks out there. I don’t know the original retail cost, but the same pair is going for from what I can see $150 to $400 on resale sites.”

Thrift store revenue was projected to have increased at a compound annual growth rate of 4.5 percent to $14.2 billion over the past five years, including a rise of 1.4 percent in 2023, noted an August 2024 report by Research and Markets.

The thrifter says in the video: “I just found so much insane designer at the thrift store today—well, two thrift stores actually—and honestly some of the most-crazy thrift manifestation dream pieces come to life. This was one of those thrift days that just did not feel real.”

At a second thrift store, called Community Thrift, which she visited on the same day that she found the Manolo Blahnik shoes, Eleni “hit the jackpot” spotting a pair of sunglasses from Dolce & Gabbana for $69.99. “You bet your bottom dollar absolutely yes, you are coming home with me,” she says in the video.

The shades, which were on sale for half the price that day, were in “pretty fabulous condition,” Eleni said. “I don’t know the original retail price, but they are going on resale sites for around $150 to $250.”

Eleni also bagged a pair of black Stuart Weitzman boots before coming across the “gorgeous” Manolo Blahniks.

“What is going on here?” Eleni asks in disbelief at her luxury thrift finds as the clip ends.