Prague Thrift Stores

If times are hard and you need to make the money go a little further or whether you are somebody who doesn’t feel the need to keep paying out for brand new stuff or possibly you are passionate about the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle concept or just on the lookout for a bargain then Prague Thrift Stores may be an option for you.

The US-Style Prague Thrift Stores

The name gives it away. Thrift Store is a very American term that we would not recognise in the UK where we would basically call them a Charity Shop. It’s usually set up for the same reasons though i.e. people donate belongings which are then sold and the money used to help good causes. They are very community-based businesses. They carry a wide-ranging inventory of books, jewellery, clothes, electricals, sportswear, sports items, shoes, kitchenware etc. Pretty much it’s “house clearance”.

With the Czech Republic opening up to foreigners after 1990 there was in influx of Americans (especially language teachers). These people would have been familiar with the “Thrift” business model but would not have found it here. The most they would have found were small second-hand clothes shops.

prague thrift stores content and clothes racks — Prague Thrift Stores content is eclectic to say the least

This is a family story. A lady goes to the USA but with little money she is introduced to a network of Thrift stores to meet her limited needs. She meets a man from Hungary who had been sent to the USA by his company. In 2005 the company then moves him to Prague and she goes with him and the idea starts for opening a Thrift Store here. In 2010 Thomas and Barbara Szende opened their first US-style Thrift store. The first of their “Praha Thrift Stores” opened at Dukelskych Hrdinu 21 in the Holesovice district. Although it has now more Czech donators and clientele it was set up primarily to give those US expats (and primarily language teachers) an option to buy discounted homeware items. Although not a charity itself, the Praha Thrift Store supports several charities and runs community-based projects. It has other locations in the city.

TIP: Avoid Fridays because it’s a special day for students and seniors to get even more discount on already discounted stock but DEFINITELY visit on Mondays because they will have restocked over the weekend.

You’ll find their website with details of all locations plus details of projects they support at https://www.thriftshop.cz/.