Whenever I’m in Tallinn, I’m gonna pop some tags, as Macklemore put it. This city has great secondhand shops!

It seems that thrift (or secondhand) shopping can be either very trendy or non-existent depending on the country. In the United States for example, there are all kinds of shops for used goods and people from all socio-economic classes can be seen in them. In Germany though, one can have a hard time finding thrift shops; it doesn’t seem to be a habit that has caught on for some reason.

There can be a social stigma attached to buying used goods (clothing, housewares, furniture etc.) in some places, which I believe affects the popularity of thrift shops. However, I like thrift shopping because it takes items which people might normally throw away and puts them in the hands of people who need them, like students or others on a budget. It also creates community businesses and many shops are owned by churches or other charities where the profits make a positive impact. Plus, I personally find thrift shops to have the most interesting selection of random treasures – you never know what you’ll find!

Tallinn, the capital of Estonia is one place where you can thrift shop to your heart’s desire. Check out my top three thrift stores in Tallinn, and go on a little treasure hunt of your own!

Humana Second Hand
With locations all over Tallinn, there is likely to be a Humana shop near you. Prices are usually mid-range for used clothing and shoes, however during sale periods, campaigns change from 50% off everything to 3€ a piece to 1€, decreasing every day. The shop on Tartu maantee 29 is an exclusively vintage shop, for those of you who like to kick it old school.

Paavli Kaltsukas
This thrift shop is the jackpot. Tucked away in a hidden spot, a 20 minute bus ride out of the city center, this shop is large and full of clothing, shoes, accessories, outerwear and books. Most easily accessible by trolley #9, stop “Ehte”.

American Second Hand
USA Today, US 2 U and several other shops in Tallinn advertise used “American” goods. I checked them out myself to see if this was really true, and to my surprise I found brands like American Eagle, Gap, Banana Republic, Victoria’s Secret and Juicy Couture there. I even picked up several genuine leather Coach handbags for under 10€ each (for those of you who aren’t familiar with Coach, their bags usually retail for hundreds of dollars)!
US 2 U is located right across the street from Tallinn University, get off the tram #1 at the stop “Tallinna ülikool”.

If you’d like a more thorough overview of Tallinn’s thrift shops, check out Triinu’s blog written by a local, and for more tips about visiting Tallinn, see my post Tallinn Quick Picks.