Bargains Are Waiting To Be Found At Flea Markets

I can spend hours even days searching for items at Flea Markets and Yard Sales. In case you don't know Flea Markets are where various vendors set up their items on tables or on sheets and blankets on the ground in the hope that someone will come along and a item or items will catch their eye and the looker will make a purchase. And you really never know what you'll come across at Flea Markets and Yard Sales.

And to make your day of flea market or yard sale shopping more enjoyable you really should plan out your day so that your day of shopping will be more enjoyable to you. You will find some of your best flea market and yard sale bargains outdoors so plan for that. If its cold outside dress warmly in layers so that if you get to warm later in the day you can remove a layer or two.

In the summer time you need a hat , or umbrella and sun screen. If your going to be going to flea markets or yard sales on a regular basis consider buying one of the small pull along carts so you can place your items in it and not have to carry them around all day. You can find some very inexpensive carts that you can fold up and store in the trunk of your car.

Also make sure to wear comfortable shoes when you go shopping. A good ideal I always do is start at the back of the flea market and work my way forward back towards the front of the flea market and to the place where my car is parked. You can also go earlier in the day before the crowds get there.

Once you start going to flea markets and yard sales a lot you'll pick up a lot of tips on your own but here are some for you to consider.

1. Take reading glasses and a good strong magnifying glass with you on any shopping trips. If your like me with poor eye site those reading glasses and magnifying glass will be a big help. You'll be able to read small text and you can quickly spot cracks in glass ware.

2. Take a tape measure with you so that you can measure items like pants that have had the size tags cut out so that you can measure the pants and quickly know what size they are. Or you can measure that cabinet to see if it will fit in that small space in the kitchen.

3. Take a strong small magnet with you. If a item is truly gold or silver the magnet will not be able to pick it up. If the magnet picks it up its not gold or silver. At best its plated.Watch out for pieces of jewelry marked gold or silver that are really fakes. If your making a large investment insist that the item be checked out and appraised by a professional before you will purchase it.

4. Take a small strong flashlight with you to be able to see small text or etc. easier. You can also use it to look into dark places.

5. Take a small note book and a pen with you to make notes with. Be sure to buy a good pen that is not going to stop writing when you need it most. Label your small note books well so that you know where the notes came from.

6. Check out items carefully. Make sure any items that you are told work do work before you take them home. I keep 10 batteries of size C , D , AA , and AAA in a tackle box in my cars trunk so I can check out battery operated items to see if they do truly work. Include several different sizes of screw drivers in with your batteries so that you can open battery compartments easily.

7. Keep several small pieces of rope in your trunk in case you need to tie something up to make it easier to take the item home. I also keep a roll of duct tape in my trunk for a quick use.

I hope those tips will give you a ideal of ways you can make your flea market and yard sale shopping more fun and enjoyable.

Don't you hate to find a really interesting yard sale in the newspaper only you have no ideal where that address is. Well if you have a GPS device or can buy one you can easily locate all the yard sales with ease. Just program the street address of the yard sale or flea market into your GPS device and it will take you right to the address. So yes you can now find all the yard sales.

Buy yourself a Friday newspaper and map out where your going on Saturday morning. Some communities have better yard sales than others and in time you will learn exactly where you can find the great bargains. If you find a person or persons that always seem to have great yard sales give them your phone number and tell them to call you when they are planning another yard sale.

Here your little note books come in handy. Make notes about streets , neighborhoods that have great yard sales and you can keep a list of items that you are looking for. Those notes will be important in time so make good notes and be sure to write down the location of the notes you are writing down.

Be sure to bargain shop both at flea markets and yard sales. I almost never pay the original price I am asked for a item. Early in the day you won't find people as willing to negotiate as you will later in the day. I pick up a lot of items at rock bottom prices near the end of the day almost every Saturday.

If you have tips on yard sales or flea markets that you would like to share please post them in the comment section below. And thanks for taking the time to read my Hub Page on Flea Markets and Yard Sales.