(Continued from Part 1. This part concludes the article.)
Flea Markets
I like flea markets, since it is like attending a hundred yard sales without spending all day driving from one end of the county to the next. I find that flea markets have basically three types of vendors. One type is the seasonal vendor who is there each week, often in the same spot. These folks are dealers and I find that their prices are higher, they don’t haggle as much, and each week it is just about the same inventory as last week. At the flea market I go to, these dealers are mostly up front towards the entrance and at the end of rows. Some however, they are also in the last row. Why is this important? When I go to this flea market, I skip the known dealer areas at the beginning since I am familiar with their inventory and I know I won’t get the “Best” deals from them. Instead, I skip to where the non-regular sellers are at.
The second type of vendor is a dealer but doesn’t always attend one particular flea market. Like the regular vendors, their prices can be higher and they may not haggle as much but their inventory may be new to you if you have never seen them before.
The last type of vendor is my favorite, they are the “I just want to get rid of this stuff” vendors. They might be looking to down size, make room in their home, or even be getting rid of a deceased family members property. Profit isn’t their main motivator. Not wanting to pack stuff up at the end of the day is their main goal. That isn’t to say these vendors will give their stuff away but they will haggle and their prices will be very reasonable for the most part. This last type of vendor is who you should go to first.
A few other tips and tricks about flea markets, those vendors that are there every week well guess what? As Ma and Pa “I want to get rid of this stuff” are setting up, those regular vendors, who are dealers, will swoop in like buzzards looking to cherry pick their wares. Then the seasonal dealer will walk back up to their table and put a new tag on the item with double the price on it. How can you level the playing field? Well ,our flea market charges 50 cents per person for admission. Dealers typically pay $5 for a space. Pay the $5 and enter with the dealers. Park your vehicle and start to walk around as others are setting up. When you are done looking, set up and sell your surplus goods to put back into prepping.Continue reading“Finding Community Prepping Resources – Part 2, by 3ADScout”