Shopping
An empty room needs a bed, a desk, a lamp, plates and a drying rack, and it needs them in the same week a deposit ate your savings. Almost none of that has to be bought new in Toulouse, and the students leaving in June are the reason why.
Worth knowing before you spend
Emmaüs figures from their own site. The two rights below are national law and apply to every shop, on the street or online.
Kitting out an empty room
Furnishing a room, in order
Ask before you buy anything
The cheapest desk is the one a departing member is trying to get rid of this week. Post what you need in the AEGEE WhatsApp group and check the giveaway apps before you open a shopping site at all. June and early September are when both fill up, so if you arrive then, wait a few days before spending.
Measure the room, and the way into it
Second-hand furniture comes with no returns, so measure the wall, then measure the doorway, the stairwell and the lift. A wardrobe that fits the bedroom but not the landing is the classic and expensive mistake, and student buildings in the centre have narrow old staircases.
Sort transport before the trip, not after
The Emmaüs sites sit out of the centre, at Sesquières inside Toulouse and at Escalquens and Labarthe-sur-Lèze beyond it, and you carry your purchases home yourself. Borrow a car, hire a van for an afternoon between several of you, or bring a bike trailer for the small things. Emmaüs collects donations for free when you move out, which is the opposite direction.
Test it before you hand over money
Plug the fridge in, open the laptop, switch the lamp on. Buying from a shop, Emmaüs included, means a professional seller who owes you a legal guarantee if the thing turns out faulty. Buying from someone on a classifieds site means no guarantee at all, so pay on collection and never in advance.
Buy new only where it matters
The mattress and the pillow, and the list ends about there. Everything else in a student room is worth having second-hand, and Emmaüs runs a solidarity back-to-school offer for students each autumn, from 18 August to 3 October in 2026. Their opening hours shift with the season, so check their site before crossing the city.
Where to find it
- Emmaüs 31Furniture, white goods, kitchenware, books, clothes and bikes across three sites: Sesquières inside Toulouse, plus Escalquens and Labarthe-sur-Lèze. They advertise a student offer at the start of term, and they collect bulky donations for free when you move out.4 chemin de la Glacière, 31200 Toulouse (Sesquières)
- GeevAn app for things people are giving away outright, furniture included. Free, and busiest at the end of term.
- Le Bon CoinThe French classifieds site, used by everyone for second-hand everything. Private sales, so nothing is guaranteed: inspect before you pay.
- VintedSecond-hand clothes, sold between individuals and posted to you.
- ActionDiscount general store for the non-food half of moving in: cleaning kit, storage, kitchen basics, stationery. Several branches around the metropolitan area.
- IKEA ToulouseFlat-pack furniture, at the edge of the metropolitan area. Worth it for a mattress, rarely worth it once you add delivery to a second-hand alternative.
Frequently asked questions
The mattress and the pillow, and that is close to the whole list. Everything else in a student room, desk, chair, shelves, lamp, pans, plates, drying rack, turns up second-hand in good condition, and a full room from Emmaüs costs a fraction of the same room from a flat-pack store.
Depends who is selling. A shop, Emmaüs included, is a professional seller and owes you a legal guarantee if the thing turns out faulty. A stranger on Le Bon Coin owes you nothing, so test the fridge, open the laptop, and pay on collection rather than in advance.
You have at least 14 calendar days to withdraw from a distance purchase, counted from delivery, without giving a reason. The seller must refund what you paid, delivery charges included. This does not apply to anything bought in a shop, where a refund is a commercial gesture rather than a right.
June, when the previous cohort leaves and gives away everything it cannot take home, and the very start of September before the new arrivals clear the listings. If you land in October, Emmaüs is your friend.
Not here. The discounters and the cheapest weekly shop, the €1 Crous meal, the student solidarity groceries and food aid all live on Everyday Food, the covered halls on Markets, and eating out on Restaurants & Bars.
Moving in or moving out?
Ask the community on WhatsApp
This page is written and kept current by AEGEE Toulouse, the volunteer association that's welcomed international students to Toulouse since 2025. Every June, members leave Toulouse and give away a room's worth of furniture. Every September, someone needs exactly that. Post what you have or what you need in the WhatsApp group before you buy anything new.
Join the WhatsApp group