Secondhand shopping in Berlin

Berlin has a superb secondhand, vintage and preloved shopping scene. My friend recently moved to Berlin and needed a table for her new flat and some winter clothing. We went to explore to see if we could find any cute, special pieces.

Hackescher Mark

We met at Hackescher Markt Station, a square in the centre of Mitte, where there’s a great atmosphere. Mitte showcases many cool shops, galleries, architecture and explosions of colour in the form of graffiti street art.

PICKNWEIGHT

PICKNWEIGHT in Mitte boasts curated, on-trend pieces for both men and women interested in an alternative to today’s fast fashion culture. The majority of their vintage clothing is from Europe with some goods from the US and Japan. Each item has a colour tag and depending on this colour a set price. For example, Red = DE €25/kg. At the end of your shopping experience, you weigh your items at checkout, and they price it by the kilo, based on a specific weight category, depending on the colour of the tag.

Noch Mall

Noch Mall is situated quite far out in the suburbs. To get there, you need to take the Bus (Auguste-Viktoria-A./Humboldtstr: M21, 122) U-Bahn (Kurt-Schumacher-Platz: U6). Noch Mall’s arty interior does have an Ikea-ish vibe (minus the flatpack) with big warehouse, light and bright space. The items for sale are on display in neat sections; furniture, electronics, clothes, childrenswear, toys, books, art, office and jewellery. There’s also a place for events and cafe overlooking the venue on the second floor.

Antique Funiture

We also stumbled on Antik Center Berlin, a street of antique furniture as we walked to visit Charlottenburg Palace on Suarezstraße street. The owner was incredibly sweet and accomodating, walking us up and down the street between all the stores. There are lots of hidden gems in these shops and well worth a look if you’re interested in solid wooden furniture.

Yummy Vintage

The infamous street style of Berlin inspires the collection at Yummy Vintage. The owners handpick unique vintage pieces from sellers all over Europe making this a great spot for secondhand shopping in Berlin. Their mission is to showcase the best, cutting edge wardrobe upgrades out there. The shop had an event on as we visited. The curation is presented exquisitely with shoes and cute trinkets of jewellery.

Mauerpark Flea Market

Mauerpark Flea Market is an incredible mix of artists showcasing their talent and secondhand items. You can spend hours looking through all the different pieces. I walked away with a men’s jumper as a present for a 30th birthday. The black printed sweater is inspired by local architecture. I also purchased handcrafted, flowerpetal printed earrings and some Moroccan doorknobs to improve a sad chest of draws. All package free.

Local Flea Market

Melanie makes her own plastic free, organic lip balm, so I went to get my hands on one while she was selling personal items at a local flea market. I ended up leaving with her old white coat, which was so comfortable for my train home and swimming costume. It’s nice to get a secondhand costume from someone you know.

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If you’re seeking out some secondhand, preloved or vintage items, Berlin will not disappoint. As I only had two days where I packed secondhand shopping in between catching up with a close friend, art galleries and delicious food, it would be great to hear of some other recommendations of where people have found unique markets in Berlin, big or small. Let me know what you have discovered in the comment section below.