I went to my first flea market. Here’s what I learned.

This weekend, I checked off a longtime bucket list item of mine: attend an LA flea market. For this excursion, I finally had an excuse to visit the Silver Lake Flea, one of my newest friends lives just across the street from where the main body of the event takes place. 

I went in with no expectations, and I actually got a bit of a watered-down first run. With the Oscar’s load-in sending most of Hollywood into a gridlock, many vendors had opted to take the week off. 

All the same, I had a great experience exploring the stalls, having some food truck burritos, and taking a hefty nap afterwards. Here’s what I learned:

1. Bring cash, specifically singles.

   Many flea market vendors only accept cash. Vendors are also willing to haggle, and having singles puts you in a position where you can nudge the price down a few dollars. Having singles also avoids  asking to break bills. Many vendors will haggle you right back, and if they know you have larger bills, they are less likely to sway on their price. 

   
   

2. Be prepared to get dirty.

   A flea market is different from a store or even a farmers market. Many market stalls are selling used items that haven’t been cleaned. Items are usually scattered on a table or a sheet, so be ready to dig around while shopping. My advice: bring hand sanitizer. 

   
   

3. Understand what you’re shopping for. 

   Since flea markets are secondhand, many items may be in need of repair before you can use them. Understand what you’re buying and how it works is important. For example, when buying an electric drill, make sure you already understand the make and model, how it works, and what repairs might be needed. At one booth selling construction tools, a man was selling a DeWalt impact driver for sure surprisingly low price. The catch? The mechanism to replace the drill bit was broken, essentially making the tool useless. If I didn’t already understand the hardware, and what components were irreplaceable, I might have bought that tool thinking I had found a real bargain. 

   
   

4. Explore outside the flea market’s main body. 

   The flea market mainly consists of an area within a set parameters, and the Wild West outside of them. The main body of the flea market is usually happening in a fenced off area and requires a small fee to enter. Shopping in this area is a little more secure, since the market usually has its own security and is aware of which vendors are attending that day. Outside of the flea market, many rogue stalls will pop up hoping to attract customers without having to pay the vendors admission fee. These stalls are not officially a part of the flea market, and while they can still have good finds, make sure you exercise caution. Since these stalls are not a part of the official market, you will not have any official security to back you up if something should happen. 

   
   

5. Prepare for parking HELL.

   At least at the Silver Lake Flea, parking is a logistical NIGHTMARE. The streets are already narrow, and with street parking allowed on both sides, the roads surrounding the market essentially become one way streets but WITHOUT A DIRECTED WAY. The means cars diving head on into each other, vendors trying to make six-point-turns with a tractor trailer, and pedestrians dodging between parked cars. My advice: park a few blocks away and walk over. Your feet may end up sore, but your sanity will be intact. 

   
   

6. Go in with low/no expectations and have fun!

   The flea market is about the journey, not the destination. The joy in it comes from digging for treasure and sometimes finding it!