Chapter 5
FLEA MARKETS
One of the seven wonders of America. They have popped up everywhere, from California to New York. The flea markets have even taken over the buildings once used by
Walmarts, Kmart, Hecks and other discount stores that have either moved to better locations or went out of business.
Some flea markets are open seven days a week and some are just weekend affairs. Where the vendors will come in and set up for a couple of days and then pack up until
the next weekend.
Fleamarkets have also become big business for business owners who will build a large building, sometimes two stories high and three city blocks long to house hundreds
of individual booths for vendors to setup in. I have been to this type of fleamarket and have saw clean large restrooms, nice restaurants and even stages where local
bands could come and play during the day to entertain the customers. In most cases you will find an equal amount of new items as you will old items, but still a nice
place to visit if you are just a sometime person in antiquing.
Flea markets range in size from a few booths in an open field beside a rural road to one that will have hundreds of booths. These formats can be a haven for the
bargain hunter if they know the rules and how to play the game. If you are spending the day working only flea markets don't be shy, go into them with your kit
and be bold and brassy. The owners of these booths are there to deal with you so haggle haggle haggle.
As with any type of antique hunting there are several things that you must NEVER DO when working a flea market.
NEVER go into a flea market with a book on antiques in hand You are playing right into their hands when you do. They will know instantly that you are looking
for antiques. AND you will be giving them a free education on the value of their items.
NEVER hand over the asking price at a flea market unless you have made the determination that the vendor is to independent to lower his or her price. Bargain
until you turn blue in the face or the vendor gets rude, I have had both happen, usually I get the item I am working on. We will go into the buying at a later
time in this section.
NEVER continue to carry around items that you purchased from another booth. Take the time to return to your car and put away the items you have just bought
AND MAKE SURE YOU LOCK THAT CAR DOOR. If you walk up to a booth with arms full the vendor will have one of two thoughts you are a big spender or you have
bought out and are just looking.
NEVER take children to a flea market if you are on a serious buying trip. Sounds harsh but children can play havoc in a flea market and from experience with
my own grandchildren most vendors do not like children around their booths. I have even saw signs at booths stating that children must be kept either under
control or away from the booth. Which is logical if the vendor is selling glassware such as small figurines or cups and saucers.
NEVER mess with a vendors items without their permission. If you want to give an item a good going over, Then ask the vendor if it is all right to give the
item a closer inspection. Keeping the vendors goodwill will save you money in the long run.
That is a short list of things not to do at a flea market. You will come up with more on your own as you become more familiar with working flea markets.
I have worked flea markets for many years and have yet to find one I did not like. There may have been some I walked away from empty handed but I always come
away with more knowledge than I had when I got there.
Flea markets can he good source of antiques, but you have to learn which one to attend. Don't pick the biggest one in your area and think you are going to get
the best buys, there are good buys but you have to work hard to get them or wait until the right time. The right time depends on many factors. Two of the most
important are weather and foot traffic through the flea market on any given day.
First we will cover the right type of flea market and then cover the weather and foot traffic. As stated above there are many sizes of flea markets, ranging from
2 or 3 booths to hundreds of booths. Some are permanently open seven days a week and some just on the weekend.
I find the best deals are to be found at the weekend flea market.
The vendor will pay from 10 to 30 dollars to set up his wares for one or two days, packing up each night and then setting up again the next day.
This type of flea market is for the person who has retired and likes to spend his or her weekends selling used articles they have collected over the years or buy
at different sales and bring into sell in their own booth or area.
There is another type of flea market that is growing in popularity, and that is the flea market mall. This is similar to the antique talked about in the antique
shop section. The different being the flea market type mall has everything for sale including walmart junk and a lot of new items. One person will own the business
and different vendors will place their wares in the mall and pay the owner a percentage for watching over and selling their wares. This marketplace is harder to deal
with as the person who actually owns the items are not there to deal with. The mall owner has the authority some times to deal on a price but It's always better to
work with the person who owns the items you want to deal on.
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