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Do you have these in your country?

W

Wabbit

New Member
I was at a boot sale Sunday morning. What would you Americans/Canadians or any other county call that? Do you even have that?

It's something that happens every Sunday at a set place and time. Normally it starts pretty early in the morning. People come and sell their old and unwanted stuff, although you do get some shops go there and sell their wares also. Do you have that in the states? I know you Americans have yard sales, but it's not quite the same thing. I am thinking yard sales are a one of event and not regular?

The one I go to is pretty large. It takes a couple of hours to go around it and you have lots of stalls selling drinks and food.

The second part of my question is: If you have them, do you like to attend them? You can get some great book bargains there :D Sunday, I got only "jonathan strange and mr norrell" fopr just £1 :D I was so happy!!!!!!!!!!
 
I think you're talking about flea markets.

These days, a lot of the people who sell at flea markets know what they're doing, and it's harder to get real bargains. But a couple of years ago I found a stack of old magazines that I recognized immediately. They contained the original publication of Mark Twain's autobiography.

Fortunately, the seller didn't know what he had, so I got them for pennies. They are by far the most valuable items in our home.
 
too crowded

We do have such places, every Sunday and it’s fun for some people to go there, they sell cheaper things or old stuff, bicycles or even pets. There have been a few cases in which valuable old books were found among cheap objects and happily bought by someone who could appreciate them. Personally, I don’t like them because they’re crowded and noisy and I don’t have the patience to go round and look at the products and compare prices etc. I quickly get bored.:rolleyes:
 
I get bored with them sometimes. It really depends on what mood I am in. I guess I like the anticipation the most! Walking around and wondering if I will find some treasure to bring home with me for a good price :)
 
We just call them markets in Australia (I think we all do, correct me if I'm wrong), traditionally they're held on Sunday.

We have one that's run through most of the week at uni and there's a great book stall. It's run by an old man who always says "Pay $5, if you don't like it bring it back and I'll give you half your money back".

I always look at him like he's crazy, I'd never take a book back, it's part of my family!!! But he's sweet, anyway.
 
We call them flea markets here. They're very popular. We also have things called garage sales where people just set out their junk in the yard and sell it. They usually start at around four in the morning. That's when the real bargain hunters arrive. I'm not a fan of them, but maybe I will one day.
 
I have been going to flea markets for as long as I can remember. In fact, a flea market purchase when I was about 12 or 13 is what pushed me over the edge into compulsive book buying.
Now flea markets are part of my job, and they seem like less fun all the time. The near constant exposure to other people's junk, the detritus of the recently dead, etc., it can get kind of depressing.
 
I love flea markets, yard sales, antique malls you never know what you may find and it is very exciting when you find something great. I collect old costume jewelry, hats, vintage clothes and I paint or refinish old furniture (I make good side money on) and the odd knick knack or two (the odder the better). I have successfully gotten my hubby and son hooked so now it's a regular family hobby.
 
I try to stay away from Flea Markets. I used to go to this huge one that they had every year. There was a guy there who sold great import CDs. The legality was questionable, but the music was good. I haven't been in years though and I hear he isn't there anymore.
 
There are some big differences between "car boot sales" "market days" "yard sales" and "flea markets." UK market days are sort of like the lowest form of US flea market, selling cheap crap wall to wall, usually sold by professional dealers. Bad T-shirts, pirate CDs and books, bad electronics, a couple sucky antique stalls, the bap truck. The only great thing are the vegetables. (And in France, they have REAL market days.)

Car boot sales are more like yard sales, because they are just individuals selling their own crap, so sometimes you find things. Yard sales are like car boot sales spread over entire neighborhoods for one day or one weekend.

I prefer thrift shops because they are not "seeded" by dealers. I especially prefer the Salvation Army. Thrift shops in the UK are very overpriced compared with US, and have only sold polyester and tat for decades. At least in the US you can still get wool, silk, cashmere, and leather for a couple of bucks.

As you may guess, I've been buying things like this for a long time. I have about 10 pairs of suede pants, loads of folk costumes, three tuxedo jackets (one in green velvet), two shirts made of mostly metal . . .

Plus handmade bowls. I love handturned ceramics.
 
Yeah they're called 'Sunday Markets' here. Ahh they're a bit of a waste of time here. I mean yes you find good stuff. Yes you can make some cash. And some people rely a lot of their income on it. But once you've seen it a couple of times it's pretty much the same here.

Old ladies with what they've knitted. Old men with their vegetables and cheap manure. Occasionally we get people from the city (Brisbane) bringing bulk jewellry and clothes which is alright except it's cheaper at the shops.

I'm talking about Queensland, Australia. It's okay though, something to do if you're bored, but I find them repetitive. I'd rather be curled up with a book. Well in Queensland it's so hot I should say lying in front of the fan with one :D :p
 
No, we have market days with professional dealers and everything sold is new.

People usually give away old stuff instead of selling it, so we don't have car boot sales
 
Here in Tassie, we call the car boot sales. The one really good thing about them is that the Hmongs set up vegetable stalls with the freshest most fantastic vegies you;ll ever find! Word around town is they poo in their gardens.... if they do, it works and puts my garden to shame!
 
We have a huge car boot sale at the Farm next door to us, every Sunda morning at about 5am they start rolling up in their big vans ... its only a two minute walk but I havnt even checked it out yet, not really my thing. Luckily, being fairly used to the background noise, it doesnt disturb us very much.

Phil :)
 
--We don't have that in the Phils., even the yard sale there,but here in US, yeah it's called Flea market and my Aunt don't mind travelling for a couple of hours just to get there early.My husband sometimes enjoyed it bec he find some new NASCAR stuff for a very cheap price compare to a sports shop,and Flea market is very popular too for antique collectors.The Flea Market here is seasonal,not in a regular Sunday basis,they held it like 3 to 5 times a year.
 
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