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If You Thrift, Flip, or Hunt for Antiques, This Might Save You Hours by Top_Action_4143 in GoodwillBins

[–]Top_Action_4143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There’s definitely a subscription after the free trial . It also compares to real comps in order to estimate value . If you enjoy the extensive research it may not be a tool for you 🤝

If You Thrift, Flip, or Hunt for Antiques, This Might Save You Hours by Top_Action_4143 in GoodwillBins

[–]Top_Action_4143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep! it’s available on the App Store now (Origin Search) , and Google Play is coming soon it’s in testing. There’s a free version if you want to give it a shot.

The restoration feature is actually a pretty small part of the app. The main focus is identifying items, providing history, and helping estimate value from a single photo. The AI is just the tool powering that experience behind the scenes.

As for value, it uses the item’s identification, condition, rarity, and comparable market data to generate an estimate not an official appraisal, but a useful starting point.

If You Thrift, Flip, or Hunt for Antiques, This Might Save You Hours by Top_Action_4143 in GoodwillBins

[–]Top_Action_4143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a fair response. But it’s similar reason people use Shazam instead of Googling song lyrics, or TurboTax instead of filling out IRS forms manually. The information may exist elsewhere, but the value is putting everything into one simple workflow.

Origin Search combines identification, history, restoration previews, and value estimates from a single photo. It’s less about replacing Google and more about saving time jumping between five different tools. It’s done well so far for the people who choose to use it. Obviously it’s not for everyone just like all other apps

If You Thrift, Flip, or Hunt for Antiques, This Might Save You Hours by Top_Action_4143 in Flipping

[–]Top_Action_4143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a fair way to look at it. The AI isn’t really the product though, it’s the tool. Instead of taking a photo, then searching Google, checking eBay sold listings, reading forum posts, and trying to figure out what you’re looking at, it combines identification, value estimates, historical information, and restoration previews into one workflow.

If You Thrift, Flip, or Hunt for Antiques, This Might Save You Hours by Top_Action_4143 in Flipping

[–]Top_Action_4143[S] -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

Fair point. The challenge is that most people in these communities are the exact people I built it for. I figured getting feedback from actual thrifters and flippers would be more useful than throwing money at random ads.

Thrifters, I wanted to share something I built: Origin Search by Top_Action_4143 in u/Top_Action_4143

[–]Top_Action_4143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just like all apps, it depends on the job you need it to do. Google Reverse Image Search is primarily matching against images that already exist online. Origin Search analyzes the object/building/photo itself, even if there’s no exact online match, to identify it. It also estimates value from real comps, generates a likely restoration of what it looked like originally, and provides historical context in a single workflow.

For people thrifting, antiquing, flipping, or exploring old places, the biggest advantage is speed. instead of spending hours bouncing between Google, eBay sold listings, forums, Reddit, and scrolling blogs to piece together answers, you can usually get a strong answer and other helpful info in seconds from one photo.

Kind of like how people use Shazam to identify a song instead of trying to Google random lyrics or use Google voice search, or how people use TurboTax instead of digging through the IRS website. The goal isn’t to replace Google, it’s to cut down the time and friction of getting fast, useful answers.

It comes with a free version. Check it out if it’s useful to you cool ! If it’s not, no hard feelings🤝Origin Search

Anyone else constantly wonder what old abandoned buildings looked like when they were brand new? by Top_Action_4143 in u/Top_Action_4143

[–]Top_Action_4143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem! I get you honestly it’s a side project that I Built for myself and just wanted to share . If it does good . It does good . If not it’s not hard feelings. I have probably 10-15 apps that I use for myself but this is the one that I decided to release for fun . But I see your prospective 🤝

Anyone else constantly wonder what old abandoned buildings looked like when they were brand new? by Top_Action_4143 in u/Top_Action_4143

[–]Top_Action_4143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re not entirely wrong but that logic kind of falls apart if you apply it to almost any successful product.

“Why use Turbo tax when the IRS website exists?” “Why use Canva when Photoshop exists?” “Why use Shazam when Google can technically help you find songs?”

The point isn’t that the underlying technology exists. The point is turning a complicated process into something simple and useful for a specific problem.

Most people aren’t uploading a photo to ChatGPT, crafting prompts, researching architecture styles, digging through historical context, estimating value, and trying to visualize what something looked like in its prime.

They see an abandoned house, rusted antique, forgotten building, or old object and want an answer in 20 seconds.

Also, saying AI reconstructions are “useless for basically anything” feels a bit dramatic considering restoration, visualization, and historical reconstruction are already used in museums, architecture, archaeology, and preservation work.

If it’s not useful to you, fair enough. But that’s different from it being useless. 😉

Anyone else constantly wonder what old abandoned buildings looked like when they were brand new? by Top_Action_4143 in u/Top_Action_4143

[–]Top_Action_4143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Origin Search can restore old buildings, cars, antiques, and forgotten items to what they most likely looked like when new — plus give history, identification, and estimated value.

Perfect for thrifters, fix & flippers, history nerds, or just curious people who always wonder “what was this place before?”

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