I would really miss them, too.

I remember, before leaving Scotland, how sad I was with how the charity shops had changed their direction, all those bargains and real treasures which used to make a visit so exciting somehow gone. There was a super book sale once or twice a year in one of the churches, but that felt like a holdout from another age.

Here, as you say, the trade in second (or more) hand goods is strong, a deep part of the culture. There are some huge brocantes, but I really like the hyper-local ones, in school playgrounds, for example—they really do have an array of wonderful treats for next to no money.