Thrift stores in Reykjavik

Reykjavik, Capital Region has 6 thrift and charity shops on the map right now. 2 of them are charity shops and 4 are independent second-hand stores, so Reykjavik gives you both flavours of thrifting in one trip. Stock turns over fast in all of them, so the shop that had nothing last month might have your thing this week.

This guide covers every thrift store we could verify in and around Reykjavik (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include Hringekjan and Basarinn, plus Búkolla nytjamarkaður — each with its own personality, which is half the fun. If a shop's missing from Reykjavik's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet — the scene is bigger than any single dataset.

The Reykjavik thrift lineup

6 mapped within about 40 km:

What the map tells us about thrifting in Reykjavik

5 of the 6 shops list their opening hours, which is unusually helpful for Reykjavik — thrift stores are notorious for surprise closures. Still, call ahead if you're making a special trip to Reykjavik; volunteer-run shops sometimes close early on quiet days.

The Reykjavik thrift circuit

Plot these 6 on a map and the day plans itself: Hringekjan, Basarinn on Háaleitisbraut, Búkolla nytjamarkaður on 9 Smiðjuvellir, Góði hirðirinn on 1 Köllunarklettsvegur, Nytjamarkaðurinn on 118 Laugavegur, and Góði hirðirinn on 8-10 Breiðhella. That's the full Reykjavik circuit in one sensible order.

Thrifting tips for Reykjavik

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

• Learn the colour-tag system at Hringekjan. Many charity shops discount by tag colour on rotation. Ask which colour is half price this week — it changes regularly.
• Weekday mornings beat Saturday crowds at Basarinn. Serious pickers go early on weekdays. Weekends are for browsers; the stock is the same but the competition isn't.
• Cash still talks. Some small shops prefer cash and a few will deal a little on big items if you're paying cash. Worth having some on you.
• Measure the car, not just the room. That bookshelf fits the wall but not the hatchback. Know your cargo space before you fall in love.

Good to know

We searched about 40 km around Reykjavik — 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 Reykjavik can take a while to appear. If you spot one of the 6 that's closed, or a great shop we missed, the fix is to update the map itself — that's where this guide reads from.

Prices at Reykjavik'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 — Reykjavik included.