how do you find good stuff at the markets?
issue 70 ♡ a scavenger's guide to scoring at the swap-meet & magnetising your market haul
how do i find good stuff at the markets? love late riser
dearest late riser
the past year or so i have attempted to write about styling on many occasions however the higher self doris had other ideas, preferring to deep dive into the interiors of the heart and spiritual space. for those who have patiently stuck around, you will be relieved to know that this week and for the remainder of the dragon year, we are swinging back into our earth-bound surroundings and offering practical and cute casa council.
in part I i share my lens as a seasoned scavenger — a stylists guide to the flea and a rundown of how the market unfolds from the wee hours in the morning. in part II i share an essentials list of #crazymarketlady to prepare and to be aware of before you even go into pre-loved battle.
swap-meet is aussie lingo for the flea. also affectionally referred to as a car boot sale, bazaar, bodega, mercado or marché. resellers and depoppers are folks who source vintage or designer brands and re-sell in their own vintage or pre-loved stores or online markets.
part I.
i am about to share with you the top secret of finding good sh** at the markets.
the secret is that there is no real secret — you just have to do is get up early.
i get asked this question all the time and my response is — i get there around five — in the morning. yes, voluntarily on a sunday. most generally baulk at the suggestion and make flat tire sounds. which is fine — more loot for folks who arise for the occasion. hence this post is dedicated to any human who desperately wants to step up their second-hand-game, who seeks to level up their vintage vampiric ways and to become a seasoned scavenger.
you gotta have froth to become a seasoned scavenger. much like a grommet learning to surf — if you’re not frothin’ at dawn patrol, then you’re just cruising to be another casual surfing shopper, lost in the sea of the market line up.
if you wanna level up your market game, you have to beat the early birds — literally. you have to arrive before sparrows fart, as we say down under. that’s right, you have to be there before the bloody birds arise. if you can hear birds chirping when you finally wake up on a sunday, know that those 90s bleached 501 levi’s and billabong reversible jacket have already sailed into a depop dudes blue ikea bag.
by the time you’ve woke your woke ass up, most of what vintage resellers and depoppers and fashion hungry deem as good haul has been u-hauled way before before sunrise. you will never see so much (mostly) sober shopping activity and cash deals being done in the pitch black of the night. i once sold a box of barbie dolls to a dad at 3.33am in the morning. this is perfectly normal market activity.
the first wave are already there and have been here since 4am or earlier. they have already filled up trailers and totes with loot and are armed with fistful of dollars and ready to pounce on unsuspecting stallholders. they carry torches, they wear headlights and they use their iPhone lights and magnifying lens to inspect items. this is not for the faint hearted. do not be alarmed if they attempt to help you unpack. you can politely decline. more on this next week with the stylist guide to selling and letting sh** go at the market.
the second wave. i am what i would prefer to call second wave scavenger at the market. i arrive around five in the morning when roughly half the stalls will be set up, with cars still driving in to nab the last spots. the second and first wave are here to source, scavenge and score. we know what they like, we know what we want and we will buy. the earlier the picking, the faster the deal is sealed.
the third wave arrive around 6am or sunrise. this is actually an ideal time to arrive for the less voracious as its still early enough to score but late enough that you can see everything in beautiful rising sunlight. it is really important to see things in the best possible light available to you at the time given, to see the colours, textures and also the quality of the item. when you’re mostly scavenging in the dark, you can get home to find that the shade is what you thought it was or there is mending to be done.
tom, dick and harry arrive from 7am onwards. these are your casual market folks who shop in full sunlight. this is when it evolves from being an individual market pursuit to a team flea effort. these market goers walk around in groups ambling along and generally need the consultation of the other members in the group before they can seal the pre-loved deal.
the general wave of folks arriving now are less hungry, less frenzied and had more sleep so they make more informed choices and can tend to be scrupulous and ask for a bargain. from 8am onwards, families rock up with a treasure-seeking kids, plus teams of teens race in off their bikes and twenty-somethings stumble out of uber’s from a big night out.
the final wave is just before the market closes — a good time to arrive for the final hurrah if you are really looking to score a bargain. if you arrive in the last half hour, the casual stallholders are tired, totes over it and very willing to let go of their stuff at a reduced rate — or will give stuff away. there will be boxes with free stuff you can pick leftovers from. this is also the time you could attempt a low ball offer and have it accepted. casual stallholders want to take as little home as possible.
part II.
before you even step your wannabe-second-hand-foot at the flea — it’s best to pack your essentials and save any morsel of time in the morning — because minutes passing means missing good haul.
markets essentials list.
cash is king. for the local flea market — you need cash. there are loads of oldies here selling their wares and they want cold hard cash to remind them of the golden days.
backpack / basket / tote bag to carry your haul. i prefer a backpack basket so you have two free hands to rummage and rumble.
torch or flashlight / phone fully charged with light / head torch
not essential but worth considering
bring your kid. train them young. if requested i can do another newsletter about introducing kids to buying and selling at the market.
this is what i prepare the night before the market. you can create your own version of this regiment.
alarm is set for 4.43am
outfit picked and placed in the laundry to minimise noise
backpack/basket at the door with cash, hat, sunglasses inside.
e-bike charged and ready to roll
remind the kids that its market day and i won’t be there when they awake
if they want to go ‘second round’ they have to be up by 7am
second rounds is literally that — you go a second round around the market. often i see regular thrifters dropping their haul in their car and going another round. i prefer to go home, make chai, admire my goodies and wait for my kiddies to wake up — then we go again. since i’ve had my market cup filled and no longer flea frothin’, i can be chill mama and follow their lead. usually we break up into teams, as its easier to wander in a pair than a quadruple.
lastly, you can source stuff in a variety of ways —
by actual things you are looking for with an inventory in your mind or notes
by serendipity and an open mind
by textures / fabrications — we can go into this in more detail in another post
by budget or brands
let me know if theres anything else we could get into with the minutiae of the market. next week we will continue this topic with the stylist guide to selling and letting sh** go at the market. comments are open to all subscribers.
love d #crazymarketlady xx
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Haha this breakdown of the different shoppers is so great. I’m definitely a end of the day bargain shopper (because I don’t remember until way after a late brekkie that the markets are on 😆)