Second Hand shopping in Finland is super popular and a lot of fun!
It’s been great to see the second cycle movement grow stronger. In Finland, the recycling culture has always been active and present, and it shows from the re-use mentality in any kind of consumer goods all the way to repurposing buildings rather than new construction. Second-hand shopping is widely popular and encouraged, and possible both online or offline in stores. Here are my favourite tips for second-hand shopping in Helsinki, both in-store and online.
Table of Contents
Helsinki Vintage & Second Hand Shops - map
Second hand shops in Finland & Helsinki
Clothing
UFF: UFF has a bunch of stores around Finland that resell clothes that have been donated. You can also donate your items in-store or in collection containers. Items are carefully sorted and displayed in their respective categories, there are also dedicated vintage stores. Keep an eye on their social media for the “uusi valikoima” dates, which is when their new stock arrived, or also for the “tasarahapäivät” that happen shortly before. Then, all existing stock is sold for very little money – 1€ only on the last day!
Self-service flea markets
Relove: Relove has quickly become a local favourite for finding second-hand treasures. Here it’s a great spot for items of higher quality or from brands, and it’s pretty wonderful to browse through. Several locations.
Moody Monday: self-service flea market with good prices for mainly basic second hand items. Several locations.
Siisti kirppis: stylish and modern Neighbourhood flea market in Jätkäsaari for clothing, where you can find both trendy items as well as classics.
Bella Kirppis: large self-service flea market in the Pasila district. Great for exploring or selling your own things.
Birka: many high-quality clothing items for sale here, a good spot for some classic design deals as well.
Préporter: High-end clothing items and shoes, a good spot for occasionwear.
Punavuoren Patina: small and cozy self-service flea market where you can find clothes and homeware items, too. Also: excellent cinnamon buns!
OP Shop Helsinki: hidden gem in a conspicuous cellar at Hietalahti – self-service mainly but also some curated items – very underrated!
Vintage Clothing
Frida Marina: is a second hand and vintage shop located in Kallio, where you can often find old Marimekko items along genuine vintage garments.
Hoochie Mama Jane: well known for their great collections and outstanding customer service, the very knowledgeable staff will help you find the perfect piece.
Penny Lane: travel through time with Penny Lane and discover some truly unique vintage items.
Play it again, Sam: true vintage gems with fantastic service as well. For Finnish retro garments and high quality dresses, or also some oddities, these are your best bet.
Home, Furniture & Clothing
FIDA: Fida is great for home and interior stuff, but I have also found some great clothing pieces here. Most locations also have furniture on offer.
Kierrätyskeskus: these Recycling centers are all around the country, and the locations are huge, and therefore mostly out of the city centers. You can find anything from furniture to homeware here. I personally don’t recommend it for clothing. The Niihtisilta is enormous and amazing.
SPR-Kontti: the second hand outlets from the Finnish red cross, similar concept to the Kierrätyskeskus one, large stores and a variety of household and clothing items.
Tavara rahaksi: both in their Espoo store and online, you can find any kind of second hand and vintage items. Check their prices of the day online.
Design items & furniture
Mjuk: for online furniture second-hand shopping. They also deliver!
Franckly: an online marketplace for pre-owned design items. The alert-setting is really handy if you are looking for something specific to be sold.
Artek 2nd Cycle: second hand Artek items that have been refurbished.
Vintage Ceramics and Glassware
Retronomi: lovely small, and very wonderfully curated shop in the city. Very knowledgeable on anything Finnish vintage glass and design.
Astialiisa: quirky and beautiful, another treasure trove for vintage dishware lovers.
Muija: Great selection of vintage and newer second hand items from Finland. A bit further out but worth a trip.
Laatutavara: probably one of the most precious spot for collectors, Laatutavara is located in a cute old railway building of Kauklahti.
Astiataivas: Dishware heaven is the name that fits indeed, you can find all kinds of vintage homeware from Finland
Online & Apps
Tori.fi: the main marketplace that is used in Finland. Finnish only, but easy to use.
Facebook Marketplace: Is very popular here, but I recommend checking the neighbourhood specific groups instead.
Zadaa app: Mostly for clothing and accessories. Easy to browse and buy directly through the app without having to interact with a seller. Good option if you are into Finnish brands.
Tise app: Sales app for clothing and other items. Easy to use and full of treasures.
Vinted: app for mostly clothing, that allows you to easily browse second hand items also from abroad.
Facebook selling groups in Helsinki
Tips for online Second Hand Shopping in Finland
Look for specific things: most of the time when I see an item I want to buy, I search on all those online platforms for exactly that. An item of clothing in a specific colour or size, or even material; the exact model of the chair, aside from just mentioning the type of item or brand. You’d be surprised how much this helps your search results.
Search your radius: sometimes I forgot to set my search radius accordingly and was then disappointed when my glorious find ended up being in Oulu or something. Be realistic with where you search, depending on your options you might be able to pick your things up with public transport, or you might have have to get a car.
Area-specific groups: especially on Facebook, the generic Marketplace has not been the most successful for me. There you run the chance of coming across scammers, but it’s also over-crowded there. My tip: join the neighbourhood-specific Facebook groups. Also, for you, if you, for example, live in Eira, join the Eira recycling group, and you’ll only find things that are sold in your area. Greatly helpful, especially if you’re looking for or selling furniture! Also, there tend to be more serious offers and buyers in those smaller groups. Most of them are okay with English communication, although the posts tend to be in Finnish.
Search with typos: this is just a bit sneaky and can work sometimes – if you’re lucky (as the buyer, at least), but when sellers put typos in their item headline, you can sometimes find some lost treasures in the grammar trenches. Worth a try.
Make a purchase request: on Tori.fi for example, you can make an announcement with the intent of purchase. Instead of just selling something, you can this way put it out there that you’re buying something in particular (“Ostetaan”), and whoever has that for sale can contact you directly, without bothering to put it up for sale, to begin with. Has been greatly helpful!
Put in Search-alerts: at tori you can put in e-mail alerts for your searches, for Facebook marketplace it works too. This is great for specific items!
Be fast: not exactly a magical piece of advice, but if you are looking for something specific, you need to be fast, refreshing that page a lot and don’t hesitate with messaging that person asap. Things sell quickly around here.
