Market Watch

Learn how to navigate flea markets and antique shops with ease, and how tap into your inner haggler

By Kate Sullivan
CTW Features

Image courtesy The Painted Lady

Hidden treasures await discovery while deals linger on a handshake. Move out of the mass-produced rat race and into a one-of-a-kind lifestyle. Turn one day at the market into a shopping trip that lasts a lifetime. Here’s how to make the most of your flea market experience.

From fairground booths to backyard and garage sales, treasured flea market finds take all forms. Is it an upholstered chair, an ornate lamp or an oak armoire? Whatever your picking pleasure, remember to look through the eyes of your own home. Be sure the piece will look as good inside your address as it does placed amongst the other orphan originals. For decorating expert and former editor-at-large with “Domino” magazine, Tom Delavan, “the biggest mistake first timers make is getting caught up in the moment.” Much like shopping when traveling or when at an auction, the flea markets offer the same impulse purchase temptations. Delavan continues, “Don’t buy a piece that doesn’t have a place.”

So how to do you combat the battle of the inner impulse buy? A good defense calls for a prepared offense. “Go with a list in mind or written down,” suggests Delavan. “Literally say to yourself, ‘I know I need these three things’ and stick to it.” Know the space you want to fill and the object you want to do the job. Will it be a chair or a table that will welcome guests as they enter your front foyer? Shop with the end in mind otherwise you’ll end up with something that doesn’t have a spot.

Pre-market Prep

• Walk through your house to identify potential rooms that could use additional parts before you enter flea market madness.

• Measure the space where the potential piece might rest to assess size limitations. Something too small gets swallowed in a big room while an object too big distracts and looks out of place. Beth Harlow, owner of the Chicago antique décor shop, The Painted Lady, carries measurements with her in her purse. “You never know when you might stumble upon the perfect mirror for a bedroom wall.” Measurements in hand before a purchase make for a no-regrets moment.

• Compare beforehand. Know the market of the piece that you seek. What do the retail shops offer in style and price? Having a comparison before you enter the land of the unknown focuses your mind and budget.

Day of Details

• For Delavan what separates the pros from the no's begins with arrival time. “Get there early,” he suggests, “because the good stuff goes quick.” And depending on the size of the market, you could cover a lot of ground, so wear comfy clothes and shoes.

• Bring cash. Most transactions require green. Save your credit cards and checkbooks for the retail shops and the mall.

• If searching for bigger item or multiple pieces, have transportation ready like a truck or SUV. Delivery options are not available among most markets.

• Know the booths. The regulars rock the market, according to Delavan. “People who do best at flea markets arrive early, check out multiple booths that have what they are looking for and attend regularly if possible.”

• Be inquisitive. Look over a potential purchase carefully. Assess if anything needs repair. Ask about the piece from age to origin to history. But Delavan warns, “It’s a buyer beware scene. The onus is on you to make sure you aren’t getting junk so take what the dealer says with a grain of salt.”

• Determine the damage. For a professional buyer like Harlow, picking up ‘scratch and dent’ pieces presents no problem. “I look for pieces that need to be refinished, from missing a knob to scratches in the varnish. Anything that’s easy to hide with a coat of paint.” For those without the know-how to restore, Delavan suggests, “If you buy something that needs repair or re-upholstering, go directly from the market to the shop otherwise it will hang in your home forever waiting to be fixed.” And for those items that seem beyond repair? “If you have no idea how someone would fix it, pass on the purchase,” says Delavan.

For both Delavan and Harlow, the real hidden prizes become household possessions when you know the market and focus your search. “For all kinds of collecting, if you zone in on one category, like silver for example, you can compare from antique shops to retail stores to flea markets and pounce when you find a treasure,” Delavan advises. And for Harlow, it’s about catching on to the routine. “Knowing when a dealer or flea market gets new merchandise gives you first dibs on the selection,” she says.

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