The return of the unruly flea market

[PrettySquareGal]

Where I live there is a year-round indoor flea market that didn't exist a year ago, and I'm seeing ads for another I have yet to visit. Southern Maine was THE place for flea markets, until ebay came along. Now that ebay has fallen out of favor with many sellers, the flea market seems to be making a comeback! (Many of the sellers at the market said they used to sell on ebay but won't now due to all of the changes.)

Do you see a similar trend where you are?

(About the subject of this thread- "Mr. Donahoe, who has been running the company since his appointment to the top spot was announced in January 2008, wants the company - the Internet’s largest eCommerce site - to operate less like an unruly flea market and more like a strip mall where buyers are guaranteed to have a comfortable and predictable shopping experience."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/technology/17ebay.html

 

[MPicciotto]

I too am seeing an increase in flea market activity. I used to eBay left and right. Now I only eBay select items. The flea market is a hard place to sell but a fun place to buy. You never know what you couldn't live without until you start looking

Matt

 

[LizzieMaine]

Well, I grew up in Searsport, which was the absolute capital of Maine's flea market culture in the 70s and 80s -- we had three LARGE ones, and people went to them the way people in other towns go to malls. Since ebay they've wizzled up to just about nothing, and in fact last summer was the first summer in more than 35 years that I never even gave them a cursory browse. There's just nothing left there that I want or need.

But if that trend's reversing itself, I'm all for it. I would much rather hold an item in my hand before buying it than buy stuff sight unseen over the internet.

 

[Edward]

I've not seen it in action over here yet, but hopefully we will. Charity shops - which used to be a great source of clothing - have been hit hard since everyone thought 'oh, I can sell this for money on eBay.' I'm hoping the rule changes hit them hard enough for serious alternatives to begin to appear. As a buyer, much like Lizzie, I would prefer to buy in person first - I've backed off on a lot of auctions due to being unsure about something, especially sizings, or whether there's enough material to let a ham down an inch or two, and so on. As a seller, well, I only sell the odd piece and eBay is still the most convenient way of doing that - just. Their newer rules certainly make it a pain - expensive if your item doesn't sell, especially for low-value items, and not having the option of a reserve under GBP50 is ridiculous.

 

[Foofoogal]

I do think things may be getting back to not only flea mkts. but brick and mortar antique shops.
I am ready for it myself.

 

[Flivver]

I do most of my flea marketing in New Hampshire and have noticed an increase in activity since the economy slowed down. This has happened in prior recessions too...when things get tight, people let loose of some amazingly nice things.

But, as with others here, I've also noticed that many of the regular antiques dealers are getting tired of E-Bay and are returning to the flea markets. As far as I'm concerned, this is a positive development. There's nothing like seeing an item before you purchase it, and it's nice to dispense with shipping costs too.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

To be clear- I think this is an awesomely good trend!