$700 sunglasses go for $2
A $700 pair of prescription sunglasses were accidentally sold at a Hamilton op shop ... for a gold coin.
The deal of the decade occurred last week at Hamilton’s newest Hospice Shop, located on Grey Street.
The glasses were parted from their owner, Rose McCarroll, for mere minutes before they were mistakenly sold off for $2.
McCarroll is philosophical and doesn’t blame anyone - she just wants her sunnies back.
Purchased from Paterson Burn Optometrists, McCarroll only had the glasses for 10 days. They are described as being tortoise- coloured and square-framed.
‘‘I agonised over it for ages. We tried on about three million pairs,’’ she said.
‘‘I finally get them, $698 ... and I was thinking I’ll really look after these, I’ll put them in their case ...’’
But at 10.30am on Thursday, McCarroll was eager to show her daughter the new Hospice Shop, so the two browsed the shelves at length.
McCarroll recalls taking the sunglasses off, and their last known location was by the books to the right of the store.
‘‘Almost as soon as I got into the car, I realised I didn’t have my sunglasses. I checked my pockets, checked my bag ...
‘‘We came back and had a look where I thought they’d be. I went to the young assistant and said ‘I think I’ve lost my sunglasses.’ She says, ‘Oh my god!’
‘‘She offered me $2, which is what she charged this woman.’’
Hospice provided a rough description of the buyer: a middleaged woman - but that is all McCarroll knows.
‘‘[The assistant] came running out to see if she was still here.
‘‘She was just distraught, so I don’t blame her. I don’t blame anyone, because she was just so sorry.’’
The glasses have prescription lenses, and though there is a chance the buyer could return them, McCarroll wonders whether someone would return something they only paid $2 for.
However, after hearing about McCarroll’s misfortune, Paterson Burn Optometrists offered to replace her glasses for free.
‘‘She had taken so long to find a pair she really liked and barely had them a week, so we looked into it and contacted the lens supplier and frame supplier.
‘‘They felt for her and said absolutely,’’ marketing director Martine Wong said.
‘‘They’re also not a pair of glasses you can just pick off the shelf. They were made especially for her, so unless the person wearing them has the same vision issues as her they won’t be reacting well with them.’’
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