A shopper has shared her remarkable charity shop find after bagging five Le Creuset pots and pans for a total price that has surprised social media users.
Posting in the Le Creuset forum on Reddit, she said: "Marketplace find of my life. All of this for $350 (£262), basically new," accompanied by a photograph showing three casserole pots and two frying pans.
A fraction of the retail price
A set of three pots and two pans from the brand could cost anywhere between £630 and over £1,450, depending on whether you choose the premium enamelled cast iron range or lightweight non-stick and stainless steel options.
That essentially means the buyer secured herself quite the steal – having nabbed it for under £300. And it appears people on Reddit were equally impressed by the find.
One said: "Great find," while another added: "I'm so jealous." And a third admitted: "Is this Ocean colour? What a find wow! You should play lotto with that luck."
Why Le Creuset commands a premium price
The cookware brand commands a premium price tag due to its handcrafted production in France, which utilises top-quality materials alongside rigorous quality control and high labour and environmental standards.
Its stringent quality control process involves skilled artisans manually examining every single item, meaning any piece found to have even a minor imperfection is recycled and remelted.
Additionally, molten iron is poured into a sand mould that is broken apart after cooling, so each mould is only ever used once. Prices for Le Creuset items vary considerably, ranging from £28 for small stoneware pieces to upwards of £350 for large signature cast iron cookware.
What the same purchase would cost new
Had the woman made the very same purchase directly from the official website, she could have easily spent £1,000. With most pots retailing at around £300 each, picking up three makes her remarkably fortunate.
And that's before considering she also managed to get her hands on a cast iron round skillet, which retails at approximately £169, while the grill pan is priced at around £179.
It's worth bearing in mind that dishes and pans come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, so prices can differ considerably. Second-hand Le Creuset pieces can be found at local charity shops or through Amazon, though securing a bargain largely depends on being in the right place at the right time.
Even so, walking away with several pieces from the brand for under £300 is a remarkable find.
