One store after another is going bankrupt, but there is one store that is experiencing unprecedented growth: the thrift store. Meanwhile there are about 1700 in the Netherlands: small and large, from Maastricht to Buitenpost. Only the non-profit recycling companies affiliated with the trade association attracted 28 million visitors in 2016. The turnover of all thrift shops in the Netherlands is about 250 million and is growing every year. But the thrift store is not only a commercial success: it is above all the social success that is so special about the thrift store. It is a place where people talk to each other again, where they help solve each other's problems, where new talents are discovered. And that largely without the government's involvement. 'The Success of the Thrift Shop' follows the stories of ordinary and special people throughout the country.