I was at a flea market last weekend and got into a conversation with a man who sets up at a flea market a distance from where I live. He has been selling as a vendor for decades.
He operated out of the Leesport Farmers Market just outside Reading, PA, every Wednesday, and he was very complimentary of it. So my auction buddy Janet and I decided to take the long drive up there on a beautiful day, with the sun warm, the breeze light and the temperature very comfortable for browsing.
We made a day of it; we wanted to see if the flea market was all that he said. It actually was. We found lots of vintage items on tables set up between cars in the parking lot, which was filled tight in the middle of the week. Don’t people work?
We got there a little late, and sellers were already starting to pack up (the flea market closes at 2 p.m., starts at 7). It did give me enough time to scrounge through boxes of junk – which I love to do. Never know what I might find. Flea-market shoppers know that getting there late can work to their advantage because most sellers don’t want to haul that stuff back home. So they’re willing to lower the price.
At one spot, I spied a lighted Sawyer Viewmaster viewer – Model F built between 1959 and 1966 – for $12. The seller was willing to drop it to $8. There was some corrosion on the battery holders, but the seller assured me that he had tested the viewer and it worked. Right! I love those old viewers – the seller didn’t have any reels for it – and I was intrigued.
At another, I found a Kodak No. 2A box camera (I love old cameras, too). The seller was obviously willing to unload it, but it was a little too beat-up for me. Besides, those cameras are so plentiful that he should’ve been paying me to take it off his hands. I passed.
I did overhear him tell one of his helpers about a Louis Vuitton bag he had sold for $100. Said he had gotten it off a picker who didn’t know what he had, and had paid only $1 for it. I didn’t recognize the word “picker,” but Janet did. She’s a fan of the History channel show “American Pickers,” which showcases two men who go through homes, garages, basements, barns and anyplace else to find treasures to sell to dealers, collectors and antique shop owners.
This seller was quite proud of outsmarting the picker.
At the flea market, I looked over jewelry in a box of small dusty items; unfortunately, some of the stones were missing. I flipped through old family photos (just like at auction), cookbooks and Life & Saturday Evening Post magazines. I handled Mason jars filled with buttons, old medicine and soda bottles, and glassware. Someone was even selling new headstones, including ones with a nice engraving of an 18-wheeler and a forest scene with deer. There were also the usual “guy stuff” – as Janet calls anything that men would likely buy (fishing rods, military items, tools) – and the ubiquitous clothes and new merchandise.
This flea market also had indoor sellers, including a farmer’s market. Prepared food was sold, too, and we decided to sample some fried mushrooms as an appetizer before lunch. Fresh, delicious and full of water and oil. Simply delicious.
My best buy of the day were fresh strawberries, two pints that I picked over gingerly to remove any blemished or soft ones. This is the time of year for strawberry harvesting, and once I got them home I knew I couldn’t buy from the grocery store any longer.
These were to die for. They were my auction find of the day.
