Brocantes & Vide Greniers : Perfect Place to Get Rid of Your Stuff in France!

Moving out to a different city in France? Can’t find anyone on Boncoin? Well, Vide Grenier & Brocantes are the perfect places to get rid of your belongings!

1. What is Brocante or Vide Grenier ?

Brocantes orVide Grenier which means literally word to word ‘ empty attic’ is a garage sale where you can find nothing to almost everything. It offers you an opportunity to find a treasure from one’s trash: from soft toys to small electrical appliances to shoes, and just about anything else. 

Brocantes and Vide Greniers in France are amongst two well known occasional events. They are held on certain days during the week (depending on which city you are living in) and during the weekends! Normally it takes place by pedestrian walks, in a specific hall or parking lots!

Often, you could find gems and treasures amongst all the stuff being sold. And on top of that, it is the perfect occasion to meet people from the four corners of the world!

2. Where to search for an upcoming garage sale?

This is the website that I normally use to find upcoming Vide Grenier or Brocantes, VideGrenier. It is user-friendly, easy to navigate and it will give you details and information on the market depending on your département.

Just for information, the website is only available in French, as shown below. Just choose your département (in red boxes) and the website will give you the dates and the location of the next garage sale in your city.

Besides, if you are living in Switzerland, Belgium or Luxembourg, this website also proposes information on certain cities in these respective countries. Just scroll down to the bottom of the homepage and you’ll see it.

3. Can you participate in a french garage sale?

Yes, of course! Definitely. It is open to everyone.

However, you will need to do a small research on which garage sale you could participate in because there are a few garage sales that are open specifically for professionals. Therefore, if you are not a professional, you are not allowed to take part in that particular event.

Here is an example of a garage sale for professionals :

As you can see, important details are pretty much neat and clear. It is written in the time of the event section that it is Marché Professionnel.

I wrote down in English (words in blue, purple and green colors) for those of you who are not familiar with the French language.

If you are just an individual who is seeking a place to get rid of your stuff, to meet various kinds of people and to gain money from your unwanted trash, Brocantes and Vide Greniers in France are the place to be!

4. How to participate ?

Easy peasy. You just need to contact the agencies or the organizers who handle the markets that you prefer and sign up with them! They will normally provide all the details on the webpage. ( See photo above )

5. Tips for signing up !

1. Reservation options. These are two ways of reserving your place. One is to contact directly by a phone call, and the second one is to send a letter with documents and registration fees in the form of a cheque. I strongly suggest you find one where you could call them directly. It is so much easier than sending a letter!
2. Speak french. If you can’t speak french, have someone with you when you are calling the organizers during sign up. Most of them only speak French.
3. Be fast. You have to be fast on getting your place reserved. There are garage sales that are well established compared to others due to their location. This means that the place has a high number of passersby and therefore, higher chances of letting your stuff go. Call them straight to reserve your place!
4. Prepare your documents. When you want to sign up, make sure you ask organizers about documents needed to complete the reservation. They might not let you participate if they do not have all the documents in time.

Once you are signed up, you are ready to go! 🙂

I hope this article gives you a clear idea of a French garage sale in general and where you can find the right garage sale for you near your house!

Have you thought about participating? Have you ever participate in garage sales abroad? Drop a comment and let me know!

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