Secondhand shopping
Moving to a new place is never easy, especially because you have to establish your daily life in order. Upon arrival at Lappeenranta, you will see the empty apartment without a mattress. The furniture in LOAS Apartments includes a table, chairs, racks, and bed frames. As a result, you must find some essential household items, such as clothes, a bicycle, cookware, and possibly additional furniture.
One of the Finnish YouTubers described here how the Finnish secondhand system works and why it is so good here. Not all countries have good reputations for thrift shops, but in Finland, this is a very interesting and rich culture!
Kirppis
Buying and selling secondhand goods is common in Finland, particularly for international students visiting university towns. That is even a part of the Finnish culture: to visit kirppis sometimes and wonder around if there is something is interesting. In Lappeenranta, you can buy used things from secondhand shops as well.
Kirppis or kirpputori is a Finnish word for a thrift store where you can find clothing, home appliances, furniture, or construction materials. Remember that throwing old but functional things into the trash bin is not sustainable, as they can serve a long life for other people. If you don’t want to sell anything yourself, you can always speak about it to secondhand stores or donate your stuff to them.
Kirpputori Vilma’s Second Hand
Location: Ratakatu 33 (Google Maps)
Website: https://www.vilmas.fi
Goodwill Lappeenranta
Location: Kivenkatu 2-4 (Google Maps)
Website: https://www.goodwill.fi
Metsäsaimaankatu Hyötyhalli
Location: Metsäsaimaankatu 2 (Google Maps)
Website: https://hyotyhalli.fi
SPR Kontti Secondhand
Location: Kauppakatu 61 (Google Maps)
Website: https://sprkontti.fi
Tacci Second Hand Lappeenranta
Location: Hyrymäenkatu 3 (Google Maps)
Website: https://www.tacci-lpr.fi
Tori.fi
The biggest website for secondhand sales in Finland is Tori.fi. To use the website, you must have a Finnish phone number. The website is in Finnish only, and many people also communicate in Finnish. Hopefully, online translators will help you with that. Beware of scammers and arrange your meeting to check the product if possible.
Website: https://www.tori.fi
Facebook groups
There are some helpful Facebook groups where you can buy and sell anything you need for a living: