Rent A Shelf To Sell Your Stuff At Flohpalast

In Munich we discovered this interesting innovative second hand retail concept called Flohpalast. Flohpalast is an idea based on a mixture between the atmosphere of a second hand store and the diversity of a flea market. The shop rents shelves to people who want to make money by selling their old stuff, but don’t have the time to go to a flea market or sell their stuff online.

At Flohpalast clients pay 38 euros for each month they rent a 1 meter shelf. They can freely decide what they want to sell and how much they want to charge. Payment is done at a desk in the shop and the money earned will be transferred to the product seller, free of provision. Flohmarket also rents hangers for 1 euro a week to sell clothes, as well as more exclusive showroom spots.

Flohpalast has already four shops in different cities in Germany. The store chain calls itself ‘der Flohmarkt in Laden’, which can be translated as ‘a flea market on shelves’, referring to the shelf each individual second hand retailer rents. The shop seems to be very busy and has a great variety of interesting second hand stuff and different clients. The initiative is part of a bigger development in shopping and retailing, that we could call social selling rather than social shopping. We spot a trend of retail formulas that are based on joined forces of product providers. They collectively create a sales platform, mostly at flexible spaces and stores to be adaptable to rapid change.