A woman has gone viral on TikTok after buying unclaimed parcels for just 76p - and you won't believe some of the things she's found inside. Have a look below:
Stephanie Grime, 40, a content creator from Las Vegas, came across a cash cow at a 'local swap meet' when she found a stall selling unclaimed mail packages.
Advert
In the UK at least, the Postal Services Act means it's an offence to wilfully open post which has been incorrectly delivered to them. But as Stephanie has explained, what she's doing is perfectly legal.
For a bit of a laugh, she bought 100 of the undelivered parcels for $1 a pop, and opened them on camera for her 1.5 million TikTok followers.
While coming across a fair amount of dross, she's also found $50 gift cards for a range of businesses, Nespresso coffee pods, high-end makeup, Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses and a Polaroid camera.
Unsurprisingly, her favourite item has been a three-carat tanzanite stone, 'which was so beautiful,' she said.
Advert
Stephanie said: "I knew as soon as I bought my first parcels that I wanted to make a series by opening them online, because I knew it would be something people wanted to see. I never imagined people would like it this much though.
“After my videos got popular, it became hard to find [these parcels] as they kept selling out, but I was able to go back and stock up with two pallets full to secure enough for content.”
After opening 99 packages, with 101 more still to go, she admitted there's a few she's regretted opening.
Stephanie explained: "I have found dead crickets, toenail clippings, a bag of rocks, a potato and even literal bags of air.
Advert
“One time I opened a package that had a note inside which read ‘Please enjoy your air guitar!’ so it’s definitely a gamble."
While her videos have amassed millions of views, there are some who believe it should be illegal, with one user writing: "What if the person who was missing that gift card watched this?"
Another wrote: "There’s no way this is legal? Where’s that lawyer TikTok guy?" while a third commented: "It’s all fun and games until you find your lost order from Amazon in there."
Not only has Stephanie made thousands of dollars from the parcels, selling most of the items on eBay at a discounted price, but she checked to make sure it's legal.
Advert
Stephanie said: "I had lawyers and mailmen duetting my videos, explaining to people that by law, this was perfectly legal once the mail has gone through the process of being dubbed and unclaimed.
“I also buy lost airline luggage and abandoned storage units, which is the same thing.
“Say you send a package to someone and it doesn’t get to them for whatever reason, such as if the address is scratched off, the mailbox is full or no-one is home to sign it, then this goes to the mail recovery centre.
“If they cannot find the rightful recipient or sender, the parcel is either destroyed, donated or sold [to a government dealer] where it is then auctioned off.
“It can be quite the wild goose chase, but I know many who [find these locally] and there are some states which have free standing stores that sell unclaimed mail too.”
Cameron Frew