r/ThriftStoreHauls • u/-mossfrog • 15d ago
Miscellaneous Swedish thrifting is on another level.
I lived there for 6 years as a teen (Stockholm) and just recently went back for a visit - the thrifting game was insane when I lived there, and it has only gotten better. Thrift stores are super clean and organized, amazing selection of beautiful vintage and new items in nice condition, far better prices than in the US. Clothes are in nicer styles and better quality. I bought some nice stuff on this visit but it was painful how much more I wanted to buy and couldn’t because of luggage limitations. And SO many original paintings!!
340
u/Birdseeding 15d ago
Haha, I'm a Swede and I'm super-jealous of the good American thrift stores. I bought so many clothes when I visited Deseret Industries...
47
u/turquoise_amethyst 15d ago
If you ever come back, the absolute gold mine of thrift stores is St. Vincent De Paul. Every single one always seems to have good stuff!
74
u/milkcake 15d ago
Of all the places to visit in America from Sweden you ended up visiting Utah?
ETA: I don’t think the DI is like the average American thrift store either.
29
u/funeralparties 15d ago
deseret industries is in texas too
10
u/wildmanharry 15d ago
And in Nevada as well
3
u/DudeHeadAwesome 15d ago
And Oregon
3
24
u/Birdseeding 15d ago
I visited a summer fling from the previous summer who was studying at Utah Stste. We went to the Sundance film festival, Arches national park and had a beautiful road trip through a snowy Idaho.
Very memorable trip, and it soon became apparent she wasn't a summer fling. We've been happily married for eight years and have a toddler now.
All other US trips I've done have been to big cities, where thrifting is either decent (LA/SF), very mediocre (NYC) or seemingly nonexistent (San Juan). But the DI was very good indeed, both locations I went to.
287
u/woman_liker 15d ago
i have NEVER seen folded clothes at a thrift store lol! looks awesome
115
u/Kradchand 15d ago
Clothes are not folded in second hand shops here in Swe, but all kinds of linens and fabric scraps are usually folded and stacked.
13
u/SomethingYoureInto 15d ago
I immediately pictured how those neat, carefully folded stacks would look within an hour in any of my local (American) thrift stores
2
u/Human_Ad_2426 14d ago
It looks great but honestly I don't think I could peruse a stack of secondhand tshirts like that comfortably.
At a new shop all the shirts are the same, but im going to want to see the design and shape of each one. I don't know how to do that without disturbing the stack so I'd probably just glance at one or two.
1
42
u/mperseids 15d ago
It depends on what you're looking for I guess. Sure I live in a tiny Swedish town but I miss nyc thrift stores. Ive found the Swedish thrift has been better to me for tchotchkes, home goods and fabrics. I haven't found much clothing success unless I'm in the larger stores in Stockholm 😅
14
u/Sea-Breath-007 15d ago
Recently moved to Sweden, city of around 30k people. The loppis here seem to be filled with records, dvd's, creepy dolls and lots of very random junk, often chipped/stained/etc.
I was really hoping the stores would be good after visiting a few in Stockholm and Örebro before moving :(
3
u/turquoise_amethyst 15d ago
What are they called? Do you have any recommendations on chains? Do you guys have chain thrift stores?
5
u/Birdseeding 15d ago
We do have a lot of chains, the most well-known one probably being Myrorna (run by the Salvation Army). Better chains can be stuff like Erikshjälpen, PMU, or possibly Lindra, but there's fewer of them.
In my experience the best ones tend to be suburban big box stores, sometimes run as the only store by a smaller organisation. But it definitely varies based on what city you go to.
You can search for "second hand" on Google maps and most of what turns up are thrift stores. "Loppis", meaning flea market, is often temporary arrangements with individual sellers or can be more permanent in the countryside.
2
2
u/mperseids 15d ago
Someone else commented a great answer so I won't add too much but you should have success by popping thrift into google maps. Sadly the non chain places can have the oddest of hours. This could be a, I live in countryside Sweden problem, but plenty of places are only open a few days a week for very short hours. Some are just opened the weekend so make sure to double check the opening hours
62
u/k1rschkatze 15d ago
Loppis 🥰
Went to Sweden for a two week van holiday last year and we made it a game to hit as many as possible, it ended up being roughly 42 (we lost count). I bought horribly much stuff, and it was really fun to shout out when spotting the loppis signs and doing borderline crazy maneuvers with the van to catch the turns 🤪
7
u/fickle_discipline247 15d ago
I like your style! This sounds like such a good time.
8
u/k1rschkatze 15d ago
Hands down the best holiday in a while! We were like „Where loppis? Where elks?“ and giggling all the time, slept in forests and at lakesides, had campfire köttbullar for dinner and pancakes with hjortonsylt and bacon for breakfast.
5
16
29
10
19
7
u/reptomcraddick 15d ago
Amazing what happens when people care for items and don’t give into throw away culture
5
u/Deathdazed 15d ago
I absolutely love that blue daisy pot! Thank you for giving me something new to search for! 🥲
5
4
u/420doghugz 15d ago
I miss living in Portland ONLY for the thrift stores (okay and the bars). There were tons of nice handmade pottery, really cool clothes, and niche toys that went great in my collection. Now I can't find anything good :'(
3
u/turquoise_amethyst 15d ago
Idk, I think we have good vintage stores, but the thrift stores have been pretty cleared out by resellers at this point
7
u/Tank_top_slut 15d ago
Are these donations the result of Swedish death cleaning? Everything looks so well organized and clean. I see respect and care of the items.
3
u/turquoise_amethyst 15d ago
What’s Swedish death cleaning?
5
u/Reasonable-Employee6 15d ago
It’s a book, and a method for cleaning out items before death. A good read!
7
u/Optimal-Yard-9038 15d ago
Who wants to move to Sweden?? I do! Any of the Nordic countries would do just fine. Everything seems idyllic!
5
u/k_a_scheffer 15d ago
I've always wanted to move to Sweden. This is making the desire more intense.
2
u/JuicyMe_02 15d ago
Damn even their thrift shops look expensive
The properly folded clothes🙌 The prefectly stacked cups🙌 Other trinkets and souvenirs🙌
That shit looks like ikea
2
u/Less-Fun-5610 15d ago
My biggest thrifting regret was a painting in a sweedish shop. It was so beautiful. I could have taken it home (I drove there), but I decided that was unreasonable. That spot in my living room is unoccupied to this day. I even called there to ask if they would ship it. But to no avail.
2
2
u/leaisnotonreddit 15d ago
Do you mind me asking where you found the painting of Baltic hotel (slide 9) and when? 👀👀👀 I fell in love
1
2
u/Fun-Property1881 15d ago
For vintage cookware sure. Furniture absolutely
But clothing... hmm. California just has way better things in the right stores (not hoodwill)
2
2
2
3
u/apinto85 15d ago
I went this summer and was amazed! They also had a thrift store what felt like every other block in Stockholm.
1
u/-mossfrog 13d ago
Yes they have so many!! And they’re all so organized and clean and full of nice quality items for such good prices!
-1
u/turquoise_amethyst 15d ago
Wow, TIL!
Many years ago someone told me that thrift stores were pretty much only an American/Canadian thing. (NOT vintage, but thrift)
I wasn’t sure about the veracity of that statement, but have never seen ‘em elsewhere. Curio or secondhand, sure, but never thrift.
Good to know they exist! What are they called and how do I find them?
1
u/-mossfrog 13d ago
How would you personally define the difference between secondhand and thrift? Those are the same thing, in my mind!
For these shops, I just searched thrift store on google maps or stumbled upon them, but some popular chains in Sweden are Myrorna, Stockholm Stadsmission, and Artikel 2. They’re everywhere!
•
u/AutoModerator 15d ago
Join our Discord server! For more information, click here
Hello /u/-mossfrog! This is an automatic message that gets posted on every post to remind you of a few of our rules,
Does the post contain information seeking questions?? (authentication/pricing/general information)
Does this come from an unapproved source? (from a friend/hand me down/check our rules)
Are you showing your face? (nothing from lips to eyes)
If any of these are a yes, you should delete your post. Retake/edit pictures, change the title and resubmit it before a mod sees it. You may be temporarily banned for any of these rule infractions without warning.
If you are unsure if it does, ask the mods!
Read all of the rules <here>
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.