From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
(Redirected from
Flea markets)
A typical flea market in Germany
A flea market or swap meet is a
place where vendors come to sell or trade their
goods. The goods are usually inexpensive and range
in quality depending on several factors, which might
include urban or rural location, part of the
country, or popularity or size of the flea market.
The
car boot sale is similar to a flea market, but
is more popular in the
United Kingdom.
The vast majority of flea markets in rural areas
sell goods that are second-hand. Larger selections
of newer but usually inexpensive items can be found
at some of the larger or more urban flea markets.
They have also sometimes been used as an outlet for
bootleg movies and music or
counterfeit goods ranging from clothing, shoes,
handbags, fragrances,etc. The semi-spontaneous
nature and vendor-oriented open-market layouts of
flea markets usually differentiate them from
thrift stores. Some flea markets offer concerts
and
carnival-type events to attract shoppers.
Flea markets have analogous specialty
counterparts in
gun shows and
hamfests, both of which offer new and used
merchandise for gun or ham radio enthusiasts. Like
the general flea markets, gun shows and hamfests
offer surplus goods.
Some
television shows focus on the appraisal of
second hand goods often found at flea markets that
are worth far more than the buyer paid. The most
popular of these shows is
Antiques Roadshow in the United Kingdom, which
spawned
American,
Canadian,
Swedish and
Dutch versions of the show.
The original flea market is likely to be the
Marché aux puces of
Saint-Ouen,
Seine-Saint-Denis, in the northern suburbs of
Paris. It is a large, long-established outdoor
bazaar, one of four in Paris. They earned their name
from the
flea-infested clothing and rags sold there.[citation
needed] From the late
17th century, the makeshift open-air market in
the town of Saint-Ouen began as temporary stalls and
benches among the fields and market gardens where
ragpickers exchanged their findings for a small sum.
External links
