Steals are items purchased significantly below market value—you got such a good deal it almost feels like stealing. Finding steals requires knowledge (knowing what things are worth), patience (monitoring listings), and sometimes luck (right place, right time). Steals happen through uninformed sellers, desperate sales, overlooked listings, and thrift/vintage finds. Sharing steals is community tradition—posting exceptional deals provides vicarious satisfaction and demonstrates hunting skill. The ethics of steals can be complicated: profiting from uninformed sellers feels different from finding overlooked thrift gems. Experienced collectors develop steal-finding instincts: checking certain places, knowing what's undervalued, acting quickly when opportunities appear. 'Steal' is relative to market value—paying $200 for something worth $500 is a steal; paying $200 for something worth $220 is just a decent price.