Braderie solidaire ADM in Guyancourt, selling new at knock-down prices as well as second-hand goods (78)

In Guyancourt in the Yvelines, near the Place du Marché, you'll find a solidarity store offering new goods for three times less, as well as second-hand goods for even less. From clothes to crockery, household linen and even cellophane, you'll find it all. For 3 months, until June, a second adjacent store is also offering furniture and other large-volume items. Chairs for €5, shelves and other beds still wrapped at bargain prices, how about that?

Always on the lookout for good deals, this time we're off to Guyancourt in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to discover theAMD (Aide matérielle aux personnes en difficulté) charity store. Nestled in a courtyard just a stone's throw from the Pont du Routoir market square, between a tobacco shop and a fast-food restaurant, the boutique will open in 2020.

In this first Braderie Solidaire, you'll find clothes (men's, women's and children's), masquerade costume, handicrafts, toys, crockery, decorative items, paper napkins, tablecloths, comforters and bed linen, ironing boards, books and picture frames... And most of it brand new.

In fact, the association's boutique is supplied with unsold goods from major retailers such as Auchan Vélizy and Leclerc Bois d'Arcy. Initially, the store only sold new items. Gradually, people began to donate, so the store also began to sellsecond-hand goods from donations, making the circular economy work. While the market prices of new products are systematically divided by 3, second-hand items are sold for even less, depending on the product and its condition.

Among the best-sellers are new bed linen. Sheets between €4 and €6, comforter covers between €5 and €8, pillows and undersheets between €3 and €6, but also pillows and comforters at bargain prices. Kitchen utensils and pots and pans are also in demand. New and second-hand crockery is also a big hit.

Clothing ranges from 50 cents to €2.50 for children.

From April 3 to June, the association has opened a second 80m2 boutique, opposite and around the corner from the first. The team decided to open a temporary boutique to sell off its stock of large volumes that were not available at the braderie. Furniture such as tables, chairs, shelves, armchairs, desks, screens and beds, as well as baby carriages and paint pots, are all on sale.

For example, new children's beds priced at €300 go for €100, and chairs for as little as €5. Many of these items are brand-new and still in their original packaging. Some are assembled for you to see. There are also older pieces of donated furniture with a certain cachet. On the day of our visit, the volunteer on duty told us that this Saturday, they would be emptying an old bourgeois home that had been completely donated, so there could be some pearls in there. The boutique solidaire accepts all kinds of donations, with the exception of adult books for which there are no takers. As mentioned above, they also collect bulky furniture.

Profits from sales are used to run the association and to purchase foodstuffs for the Versailles distribution center, which helps people in need when donations run short.

Please note that the stores are only open 2 days a week (due to volunteer work), on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 11am to 4pm.