Flea Market Tips

It is cold and sleeting out as I type this hub, but I know it's only a matter of a few weeks until the robins are out, the trees are budding, and New England's flea market season arrives. And when it does, I will be ready. Growing up in a relatively rural part of the country, I spent countless weekends on the trail of antiques and vintage treasures with my antiques-dealer mother. Decades later, I am still most at home at country auctions in old grange halls, picking through boxes at yard sales, scouring estate sales and library book sales, and searching for treasure in barns and attics. But perhaps no treasure hunt is as much fun to me as the flea market. I am a magpie at heart, and the flea is just the place for magpie girls like me. Over the years I've honed my junk-hunting--I mean treasure-hunting skills, and I thought I'd share a few of my tips and tricks with you.  

Whether you want to spend a morning at a local flea or an entire day at a major outdoor regional market, a little planning ahead can make the outing a success.

Here are a few items to bring:

1. Plenty of cash. Very few flea market vendors accept checks. Also, having small bills as well as large will be useful, especially early in the day when some dealers might not have much change on hand. So many people come with $20 bills fresh from the cash machine that dealers really love a customer with smalls. In fact, they might even give you a slightly better deal because of it. I also love the cash-only idea since it forces me to set a budget before I go and then stick to it.
2. A couple of sturdy canvas supermarket bags. These are essential for carrying small items that you pick up as you weave through the tables. Trips back to the car can mean bargains missed, and we never want that to happen! I've always got grocery bags stashed in the back of the car for shopping, so I just grab a couple of these before I hit the field. If you're heading to a major market like the legendary Brimfield, or you're planning on doing a lot of serious flea marketing, it may be worth investing in a wire cart on wheels. They are fantastic for markets with hundreds of dealers and several acres to traverse. I have friends who have told me they would feel silly using one, but I've used mine many times at markets, and it sure beats trekking several hundred yards back to the car in the pouring rain or baking sun with my arms full of merchandise!  We use carts every time we're at the grocery store, why not at the flea market?  I bought mine from a vendor at Brimfield Market many years ago, and it's still going strong.
3. Sunscreen. Most flea markets (though not all) are in the middle of wide-open fields. Even an hour spent wandering among tables can be brutal on a summer day. I wear sunscreen on my face all the time anyway, but I always throw a tube in my purse, too. For a day of market hopping, I usually wear a wide-brimmed hat, too.
4. A bottle of water. An obvious item, but it's easy to forget. When I'm going to a huge market, I also bring a snack like an energy bar and an apple to tide me over until lunch. If you have kids with you, it's a good idea to make sure they each wear a backpack that has water and a snack, too.
5. A cross-body purse. If you're a woman, you know how impossible it is to leave the house without your purse, but at a flea market they can be a pain to deal with. I always wear a cross-body purse with plenty of room for stowing all my essentials, including those folded-up grocery bags.
6. Your most comfortable waking shoes. The terrain is often very rutted and uneven and can vary from dusty and rocky to soft and grassy to deep mud on the same field on the same day, so a great pair of sturdy shoes is a must. I love flip flops, but I never wear them to flea markets. You never know what you'll have to haul or how slippery the ground will be.
7. Wet wipes. Everything is dusty, and many things are downright filthy. Often the only bathrooms are porta-potties or really awful stalls. Wet wipes are your best friends.
8. Business cards with your contact information. These are great to leave with someone who deals in something you collect or are searching for. You can jot down the items on the back. You'd be surprised how many dealers will get in touch when they find an item they think you'd be interested in.
9. A fully-charged phone. This is essential if you're at a market with someone else. This lets you split up and cover more ground while still keeping in touch and planning where to meet for lunch! :)
10. Your pain reliever of choice. It's easy to get sore, cranky, and tired at large flea markets. When it's very hot I sometimes get a headache. A couple of aspirin have saved the day on more than one occasion.

There are bargains to be found at most markets--and real treasures to discover at some. If you're new to flea marketing, there are just a few tips to follow that will help make the most of your adventure.

1. Arrive early. Check the market's website ahead of time for show opening time. Make sure you have the correct address and can find it on your GPS or map. Many flea markets open quite early in the morning, and the best items can often be found just as the dealers are setting up their tables. The items won't always be cheapest first thing in the morning, but you'll have your pick of the crop. It's also incredibly fun to get there early, a mist rising up from the field, the sound of boxes being unpacked--almost as good as Christmas morning!
2. Arrive late. If you can't be there early, the second-best time to make the rounds of a flea market is just before the gate closes. Dealers don't want to lug their merchandise back home, so while there isn't as much of a selection at the end of the day, there are often still some wonderful items, and the prices can be incredible.
3. Be ready and willing to dicker. ALWAYS ask (politely) if there is a better price. Many dealers won't have any prices marked on their items. If you ask a dealer how much an item is and he says, "50 dollars," you can always ask, "Could you do any better?" I have been both a seller and a buyer at markets and antiques shows, and I am always surprised by the number of people who don't haggle. Dealers expect it. Occasionally they can't go down on an item because they paid to much for it, but usually you can get a markdown of ten, fifteen, or even twenty percent. If the item was already reasonably priced to begin with, this can mean a terrific bargain.
4. Hunt and gather. Don't be shy about rummaging through boxes. Some dealers buy up huge house lots when people pass away or move or downsize. Often they do only minimal sorting before they come to the market. I call these guys "boxes and bags dealers," and I both love 'em and hate 'em. What I don't like, is there's often a ton of junk in those boxes. What I love is that there is sometimes a real gem among the junk, a treasure among the trash. You've got to be willing to dive for pearls when you encounter dealers like this.
5. Split up. If you're shopping with a friend, spouse, or partner, plan to divide and conquer different parts of the market for at least part of the time. This is especially important at large markets where there's a lot of ground to cover and enormous amounts of merchandise to see.
6. Don't bring your dog. Increasing numbers of markets do not allow pets, except for service dogs. Many people do not clean up after their dogs, some have dogs that can't play well with others, and I cannot tell you the number of times I have seen people leaving their dogs in their cars at a flea market on a broiling hot day. Flea markets (including indoor markets) just aren't great places for pets for a number of reasons. In addition, many dealers have valuable merchandise, and they often do not want pets near their oriental carpets or their fine china. The management at some markets will ask you to leave if you have a dog with you, so even if you're the most responsible dog parent in the world, it's a good idea to leave your pooch at home.
7. Give kids a little spending money. Flea markets can be a great place to teach kids about having fun while saving money. If you have kids with you, it probably won't end up being as serious a shopping day for you, but it's a great time for an hour or so. I find that most kids peter out after an hour on the field, and then it's time to go out for breakfast.
8. Pace yourself. At a little local market, it's fun to take a leisurely stroll around the field, picking up an item here and there, but at medium-sized country markets like Todd Farm in Rowley, Massachusetts, or even more so, the world-famous urban markets like London's Portobello Road, the crowds can be overwhelming and the pace can be hectic. The psychology of flea marketing, while fascinating, can also be exhausting. It's easy to feel like you MUST see everything and you MUST see it NOW. Think Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka, and you get a sense of how some folks feel at a really good market. The fact of the matter is, you WILL miss out on some bargains every single time you go to a flea market. When you accept this fact, you can relax, because chances are the you WILL find some great deals, too. Pace yourself so that you aren't kicking yourself at the end of the day when you discover a vintage brass bed that you NEED, but you've already spent every penny you had on boxes of old postcards, a few door knobs, and some 1960's comic books.
9. Spend a little more if it's special. On the other hand, if you love an item and even after haggling with the dealer, it's still a little rich for your wallet, walk away for five minutes. If your brain hasn't moved on to the next cool thing, go back and take a second look. Don't pass up something that you truly adore and are unlikely to see again. I have passed on more than a few items that I regret. I've also spent just a bit extra on a few things that I knew were special, like a handmade, hand-watercolored early 20th-century French photo album that I bought at Spitalfields in London. It wasn't cheap, but I have never once regretted buying it.
10. Be willing to ask questions, chat, and listen. Many dealers really know their stuff, and some can tell you a lot about an item, its history, where it came from, and even how they came to have it. Gregarious people thrive at flea markets because we are willing to strike up a conversation, ask questions, and bargain for the best deal. Often a dealer has given me a much better discount after we've chatted for a while, and I repay the favor by coming back to his or her booth and buying often.

I can't think of a more fun way to spend a weekend morning than scouring the fields at a favorite flea, meeting a few great folks, and finding a treasure or two. Watch my hubs in the coming weeks; as we head into flea market season up here in New England, I'll be posting about some of my favorite markets and offering more great tips to help you get the most out of your own flea-market adventures.