Picked up a $15 soldering iron from a thrift store in Phoenix and fixed my monitor

I was in Phoenix last month visiting my brother and stopped at a Goodwill near his place. Found a soldering iron for $15 and figured why not, it looked barely used. Got home and my monitor had a dead power light, turned out to be a busted capacitor on the board, $2 fix. Has anyone else had good luck finding cheap tools at thrift stores for repairs?

2 comments

2 Comments

charlesj465d ago

I read somewhere that thrift store tools are often barely used because people buy them for one project and then donate them, which makes a lot of sense with that soldering iron. Nice find on the monitor fix.

hunt.rowan5d ago

Man that's so true. I swear half the stuff at my local thrift store looks like it was opened once and then sat in a drawer for years. People buy tools thinking they'll get into a hobby and then just never touch them again. It's basically a goldmine for anyone who actually uses them regularly. You ever find any other hidden gems that way?