Thrift stores in Hong Kong

If you like the hunt, Hong Kong, Hong Kong is worth a wander: 12 second-hand and charity shops are mapped here. 4 of them are charity shops and 8 are independent second-hand stores, so Hong Kong gives you both flavours of thrifting in one trip.

This guide covers every thrift store we could verify in and around Hong Kong (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include 救世軍家品店 The Salvation Army Family Store and 2nd Hand Shop, plus 救世軍家品店 The Salvation Army Family Store — each with its own personality, which is half the fun. If a shop's missing from Hong Kong's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet — the scene is bigger than any single dataset.

The Hong Kong thrift lineup

12 mapped within about 40 km:

What the map tells us about thrifting in Hong Kong

4 of the 12 shops list their opening hours, which is unusually helpful for Hong Kong — thrift stores are notorious for surprise closures. Still, call ahead if you're making a special trip to Hong Kong; volunteer-run shops sometimes close early on quiet days.

The Hong Kong thrift circuit

Plot these 12 on a map and the day plans itself: 救世軍家品店 The Salvation Army Family Store, 2nd Hand Shop on 艇街 Boat Street, 救世軍家品店 The Salvation Army Family Store on 英皇道 King's Road, Family Store on 卑路乍街 Belcher's Street, Green Ladies Green Little, 救世軍家品店 The Salvation Army Family Store on 777-781 彌敦道 Nathan Road, K, and 救世軍家品店 The Salvation Army Family Store. That's the full Hong Kong circuit in one sensible order. 4 more are listed below.

Thrifting tips for Hong Kong

A few things worth knowing before you work through Hong Kong's thrift stores:

• Measure the car, not just the room at 救世軍家品店 The Salvation Army Family Store. That bookshelf fits the wall but not the hatchback. Know your cargo space before you fall in love.
• Go often, buy rarely at 2nd Hand Shop. The regulars' secret: short frequent visits beat rare long ones. Ten minutes twice a week outperforms a monthly expedition.
• Ask about the back room. Some shops hold overflow donations out back. A polite question occasionally gets you first look at unprocessed boxes.
• Keep a running want-list. Write down what you're hunting for. Aimless browsing is fun, but a list turns luck into strategy.

Good to know

We searched about 40 km around Hong Kong — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to for a thrifting run. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new shop in Hong Kong can take a while to appear. The 12 above are only as current as the community map. A shop that's shut, or a new one nobody's added yet, gets fixed with a single OpenStreetMap edit.

Prices at Hong Kong's thrift stores are set by each shop and change constantly, so we don't list them. As a rough rule, charity shops are the cheapest, independents sit in the middle, and anything labelled vintage costs more everywhere — Hong Kong included.