Flea Market Shopping – What’s Your Style? 3

Graveyard of mannequin parts

Everyone has their own flea market shopping style. Me? I’m “Search and Recovery” – move quickly, (usually employing a traditional 2 by 2 cover formation), rescue items that fit the search profile before anyone else buys it first, and get out efficiently. Once I’ve made it through the entire flea market, I switch to “Surveillance” – I’ll wander back through, linger, and  look for treasures I might have missed. I always find more to buy!

There are lots of different flea market shopping styles my family and I have witnessed. We’ve adopted some pet names for a few of them, listed below. Recognize yourself as one (or several) of these?

Reconnaissance – Typically 2 or more shoppers, canvasing an area. Usually easy to identify, as they are the ones shouting back and forth from 2 aisles away. More covert operatives use cell phones – making it much more difficult to intercept and nab a deal out from under them.

Chrome Browsers –  The “silver haired” crowd who tend to mosey along, touching everything, on every table, re-living their experience with every item they see. “Remember when Aunt Edna broke her hip tripping over one of those?”. God bless them.

Covert Infiltrator – Silent, stealthy. Swoops in, gets the deal done. No questions asked.

Sniper – Variation of the Covert Infiltrator, but with much greater range. Can pinpoint their target item 2 aisles over, past the porta-potties, just beyond the popcorn vendor.

Big Game Hunter – Bags the big scores right away. These are the folks you see hauling out huge dressers, tables and other furniture – sometimes as soon as the gates open. How do they do that?

Nice pair of urns!

Pack Rats – They love the “smalls” – knickknacks, trinkets, tchotchke. “Oooo, bright shiny objects!”

Land Mines (aka “Gandalf’s”) – Unceremoniously standing in the middle of walkways, blocking vendor tables, or talking on the cell phone at the busiest corner.  “YOU SHALL NOT PASSSSS!!!!”

Scud Missile – Aimlessly wanders from booth to booth, with no clear direction or purpose. Typically overjoyed when they land on the perfect find!

Stock Broker – The Ultimate Negotiator, haggles vendors into submission. Never shows up with more than $20 spending cash. Easily identified wearing the “Buy Low, or Go Home” ball cap.

The Interrogator – Wants to know the complete history behind an item, how the seller acquired it, why they are selling it, asks if there are any extra parts that go with it, ultimately knows more about it than anyone… and typically leaves without buying it anyway. See also Chatterbox.

So, let’s hear YOUR style!  Share in a comment below!

And… if you’re looking for a flea market near you, check out the Flea Market Zone for listings.

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