Flea Market Shopping tips!
Friends together at the Flea market. What’s better then this?
Saturday morning, Saturday morning,… time to head for a Flea Market or local farm sale! How to prepare??
Print out this list so you remember all the items you’ll need to have a successful trip and be sure to bring a friend!
- Comfortable shoes
- Layers of clothing that can be removed as the day gets warmer.
- Cash and checkbook
- Water
- Flashlight (if you are an early bird)
- Measuring tape
- Canvas totes, so you’re not cutting your hands with the plastic bags.
- Room measurements
- Wish list to keep you focused
- Comfortable shoes
- Pencil and paper
- Cell phone
- Rolling cart, hand truck or dolly
- Fabric, paint and/or finish swatches if you are matching colors or finishes
- Snack, if there is no food
- Sunscreen, if you’ll be outdoors
- Comfortable shoes!
What color would you paint this glider? Or keep the green?
Watering cans wait for new owners
Flea market tips from the pros!
Arrive as early as possible and get the best merchandise at a premium price, or arrive late and get good merchandise at clearance prices but fewer choices. Recently I arrived late at a small town flea market and found my best prices after 12 noon!
A garden of delights at the Flea market
Always carry small bills and nothing bigger than a $20. Dealers prefer cash and will often give you a lower price than if you were paying by check. Etiquette tip: If you haggle for a lower price, give them the exact amount. Don’t bargain down from $20 to $15 and then give them a $20 bill. It may be considered rude. Get yur money in hand and add a $1 bill at a time when you really want to wheel and deal. You never know…
Garden art, always welcome finds
Your best line…“Is that your best price?”
You bought it? Now, you carry it. For advanced flea marketers, you want to bring a rolling cart!
Comfortable shoes and a canvas tote, true essentials! Below is our own Jeanie Merritt’s
Jeanie Merritt’s flea market ‘wallet’
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Myra Glandon, an experienced Flea Market shopper, tells us, “I always take a large tote bag with over the shoulder straps to carry small items in. I also keep my wallet and baggie of change in there.”
“I never take bills larger than a 20, and prefer to have ones, fives and tens on me, along with a baggie of quarters, with a few dimes and nickels too. If I find something for two dollars I hate to hand someone a 20 and take all their change.”
“And comfortable shoes are a must. I also include a hat, sunglasses, tape measure, and wet wipes as part of my routine flea market accessories. It also helps if you go with a buddy (and get seperated) that both parties have car keys, or cell phones to call the other for car access to unload larger or heavy items, so you can continue shopping.’
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A flea market is as much about the experience as it is about finding the perfect garden accent. There are no mistakes when it comes to flea markets, if what you bought doesn’t work in one area of the garden, think on it a bit, move it to another place, paint it, refinish it or sell it yourself! That’s the beauty of it all.
I hope this list makes your next trip a fun one! ~~ Sue
Now see this:
Flea Market Gardener’s shopping list
10 Comments
Those are great tips!!
I go out with my neighbor/friend and daughter almost every Sat. It’s a time to “calm my nerves” after being home with a 3 yr. old all week! LOL
I wish we had great flea markets here in Colorado. Most are WAY to expensive so we stick to the yard sales and thrift stores and of course all the same rules apply. 🙂
I know what you mean,..I l think yard sales are the best bargain-wise. Can’t beat ’em,…people just want to be rid of extra stuff and WE’RE glad to take it all off their hands!
(I haven’t forgotten you,…just waiting for a bit….soon.)
BTW, I just have to say again that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the look of your new site!!!
Thanks, Tawra. I’m so pleased with how it’s coming together….so much talent here! It’s a pleasure to put it all together.
Sue,
Love your new website! Congrats! Wish I was near you, looks like your flea mkts are so fun!
I’d probably paint the glider red, white or blue, or a terracotta – that’s just me 🙂
Peg, I like your choices! Why do we junk gardeners have so much in common? Just do, I guess. 🙂 Sue
Since my garden accessories are mostly cobalt blue, that’s the color I’d paint the glider.
I always take a large tote bag with over the shoulder straps to carry small items in. I also keep my wallet and baggie of change in there.
I never take bills larger than a 20, and prefer to have ones, fives and tens on me, along with a baggie of quarters, with a few dimes and nickels too. If I find something for two dollars I hate to hand someone a 20 and take all their change.
And comfortable shoes are a must. I also include a hat, sunglasses, tape measure, and wet wipes as part of my routine flea market accessories. It also helps if you go with a buddy (and get seperated) that both parties have car keys, or cell phones to call the other for car access to unload larger or heavy items, so you can continue shopping.
Myra’s point is correct – Try to bring bills smaller than $20’s. I know ATM’s give out $20’s, but a few of those first thing in the AM can wipe out dealer’s small change. Bargaining is great, but don’t turn it into an argument. As a dealer I’ll dig in my heels if the buyer gets too pushy.
I picked up my glider at a flea market in Alabama is few years ago for next to nothing. I painted it yellow. I recently painted it a robin’s egg blue , which is close to it’s original color.