I love spending hours looking at flea markets for different items. Different vendors organize their products in a central location so that consumers can spend their time walking around and looking at the new and used items available for sale. You never know what you will find at a flea market. There are lots of new and used items as well as homemade crafts and clothing to choose from.
Bring Bag and Train
To help make your day at the flea market the best, plan for the day. Most flea markets are outdoors so you may want sunscreen and a hat. The others are inside so make sure you find out beforehand. You don't want to spend the day carrying the things you bought, so make sure you bring a bag or a stroller. There are some very inexpensive wagons that can fold up and fit into the trunk of your car.
Wearing shoes
Make sure you wear good walking shoes too so you don't have to end your day early because of tired feet. A good tip to help if you're tired of walking is to walk to the end of the vendor and move on. This way you'll have the heaviest load of items you've purchased while near your vehicle. Keep in mind that most people start at the entrance of a flea market, so if you start at the back, you'll be able to see a lot of stuff before too many other people see it.
Come on the weekend
Most flea markets are offered on weekends but some are also held on weekdays. The number of other people browsing is generally lower during the week, but so is the number of vendors. It's really confusing about when is the best time to make a deal at a flea market. It is perfectly acceptable to try to lower the price from what the vendor is asking for.
Come in the morning
By going to the flea market in the morning, you're more likely to be able to take advantage of your options before everyone else does. This is the best solution if there is a specific item you want to find. Yet many people claim that they have a hard time getting sellers to negotiate prices when they buy in the morning.
At the end of the day though most vendors are very willing to lower the prices of the items they have. They definitely don't want to have to pack more stuff at the end of the day than they should. If you have a particular item in mind and you can wait until the end of the day, you will get a better price. You also run the risk of someone else picking it up if it's a unique item.
Price negotiation
There are various ways to negotiate the price of a particular item. You can ask the vendor what the lowest price they will charge for it. You can also offer to pay a certain price and see if they will accept your offer. If you want to offer $10 then have the money in your hands for them to see. Seeing money often makes them interested in taking the money.
I've found that it's always worth my time to look around as I may find a vendor down the next aisle has the same item for $10 less. If I'm going back to check items with a specific vendor, I write down their location because in the end it can be hard to remember who was where.
