Tips for Flea Market Shopping

Have you ever been to a flea market? They are a cross between a humongous garage sale, a bad discount store, and a treasure hunt. It’s the treasure hunt part that’s fun.

Not everything billing itself a “flea market” has much in the way of vintage glass. In the last couple years our local market has had more of the overstock import dollar store stuff and less of the good stuff. By good stuff I mean glass. Or china. Or vintage neat thingies that you don’t need but can’t live without.

There’s a knack to flea market shopping. I’m not a whiz by any means (Extreme Flea Marketing: The Movie anyone?) but I do OK as long as I stick to a few basic rules.

1. Dress right.
2. Bring packing materials and a sturdy shopping bag
3. Bring something to clean off glass before you buy it.

Dress comfortably; don’t wear your best clothes; don’t wear white; don’t wear sandals.  You’ll get dirty and so will your clothes.

Most dealers have newspaper to wrap purchases but they appreciate you bringing your own materials.  Plus if you bring bubble wrap or clean newsprint you won’t get icky newspaper ink all over.  I like to bring bubble bags and one of those fabric grocery store bags to carry my glass.

Dirt can hide wear or chips.  Bring along a wet washcloth in a plastic baggy to wipe the dirt off before you purchase it.  I can’t tell you how many plates all full of scratches I bought at our local flea market before figuring this one out!

What about prices?  Ten years ago dealers at our local market asked a buck or so for most pieces of glass, more if it was colored, less if it didn’t look like anything.  Today the prices are a lot higher, often well above eBay.

1. If you find something it’s OK to act interested if you are.  But set a price in your mind and walk away if the dealer wants more than you want to spend.
2. It’s OK to bargain but be polite.

With some dealers it’s best to have a price in mind, then offer something a bit less.  With others you’ll do better if they tell you how much they want.  Lots of times they will say $10 but you can have it for $7.  So don’t jump at their first offer immediately, take a moment.

Finding Treasure

One man at our local market has signs to disregard the price stickers which are from estate sales.  He likes to take the marked price and want half  - which is usually much too much.  Last time Dave and I went this booth had a different person who was quite reasonable.  In fact I got a pair of Fostoria Holly duo candle holders along with other gems.  You can see one here, right after the video.

Flea markets aren’t the best way to get great glass – but they are fun.  See you there!

Flea Market Video

Treasure!  Fostoria Holly Candle Holder

Fostoria Holly Cut Duo Candle Holder

There are three reasons I say this:

1. I love glass too.  You will see good pictures and read more about the glass than just the pattern name, size and condition.  You can feel like we’re together looking at the glass together in a shop.
2. You won’t be disappointed shopping from me.  We describe carefully and wrap well.  To me these are the minimum requirements to sell anything vintage.  And if I do make a mistake you get your full money back.
3. I’ll share videos and stories about our glass and I love to see your pictures and read your stories too.  You can leave a comment here, or email me or drop by our Facebook page Depression Glass Fun.

Top 10 Reasons Our Glass Reaches You Intact

10. We have over 12 years of experience shipping glass and china all over the world.

9. We have shipped over 3800 packages of glass without breakage! Since 1999 we have had four packages with broken glass or china.

8. We protect each piece with bubble wrap.

7. We put cardboard or bubble wrap between each plate or cup or stem.

6. Once we have each piece carefully wrapped we put corrugated cardboard around the pieces. We buy this in large rolls and it acts as a second box.

5. We use plenty of foam peanuts or shred around each piece.

4. We use boxes large enough to hold the glass. We don’t skimp!

3. We copy your name and address into the mailing label and tape it securely to the box. We use priority mail with insurance purchased from Shipsurance or UPS with full insurance and we stamp each box Fragile.

2. Does this mean we will never have a broken piece? Unfortunately we cannot guarantee that! What we can guarantee is that if you hold the broken pieces and packaging material and help us with the insurance claim we will give you your full money back. You have to agree, with 4 damage claims in over 3500 packages, your odds are good!

1. We take care with our packing because we know how important this is to you!

Shirlett had this to say: “The glasses arrived yesterday, a day later than the UPS e-mail had said, and my heart sank when I saw the box with one top-end smashed in. Looking closer I could see the box had been re-taped heavily and moisture was trapped under the clear tape covering the entire top and sides. It did not rain in our neighborhood yesterday so I took some pictures of the box before I began opening it. The top-end of the box was so soaked even the packing paper inside was wet, as were your business cards making them illegible from the bleeding ink.

However, due to the excellent packing around each goblet all nine are unharmed and beautiful!!”

Here is a video showing our packing methods.

Accurate Descriptions Avoid Disappointment

Yes, I’ve bought glass and later found chips and cracks. How disappointing! Those pesky nicks and rough spots like to lurk undetected.

Here are two videos showing how we check glass for damage so you get glass that is as described.

How to Check Glass for Damage

How to Check Glass for Damage Part 2

My pledge to you is that your glass will reach you as described. We inspect each piece multiple times:

• When we buy it
• When we wash it
• When we photograph it
• When we list it
• When we wrap it to go to you

If we find a problem when we wrap for shipping we will let you know immediately and give you the option to cancel your purchase or receive a discount.

Guarantee

Despite our best efforts, if you get glass or china from us that has undisclosed damage, please contact us. We will refund your entire price, including shipping back to us, if the item is not as described.

Are there any limits to our guarantee?

Well, yes. We know our customers are honorable people and we do ask that you:

• Contact us first.
• Return in good condition wrapped as we wrapped it to go to you
• We will refund on receipt.

If the piece is described accurately, but you don’t like it, or the color or size or design isn’t quite what you expected, then we will happily refund your original cost when we get the item back in good condition, but you will be responsible for shipping the piece back to us.

And if by some mischance your box gets smashed or lost then please work with us to get the shipping insurance refund.

We want you to receive the glass you ordered, intact and as described.

Last week Dave and I went to our local flea market and got a few pieces of glassware including the Manhattan clear depression glass candle holder shown in the photo. The flea market vendors vary week to week and this time one man had tables full of junk. We found a few goodies lurking in the middle of the junk.

How can you have a successful flea market trip?

1.  Don’t Dress Up

This one is easy!  Flea markets don’t have fleas (we hope!) but they aren’t clean either.  Don’t wear your best clothes and do wear comfortable shoes.   I wouldn’t wear sandals either since the ground can be damp or dusty.

2.  Bring Your Own Packing

Vendors may have bags or newspaper but do you want to trust  your treasure to icky newspaper and ratty bags?  Instead bring some of those reusable cloth bags you would take grocery shopping.

Bring some clean paper or bubble wrap.  If you don’t have bubble bags then clean unused newsprint will work.  Buy a small box and take sheets with you.

If you are a serious flea marketer or garage sale aficionado then try the bubble bags sold at  Staples, Bubblefast or StaplesIndustrial.  (I got mine at StaplesIndustrial.com.)  You can see one in the video.

3.  Bring a Wet Washcloth

Almost everything will be dusty.  Can you tell dusty from hazy or grunge from wear?  I can’t.  A good trick is to bring a wet washcloth in a baggy with you.  Towelettes will work as long as they don’t have any lotion or oil in them.  When you find glass you like check it carefully and wipe some of the dirt off.  Then recheck for wear after the glass is dry.

I got a pretty Fostoria Lido plate last week that had a few scratches on it that were impossible to see with the dirt.  Yes, I forgot my own advice and didn’t bring a washcloth!

Last tip is to look carefully at clear glass.  You’ll find more good buys in clear glass than in colored.

Here is a video we took of the glassware we found, before it was cleaned up and then after. Yes, flea markets can be dirty!

Manhattan Clear Depression Glass Candle Holder

It’s our newest video for Antiquing with Your Best Friend. We went to the local antique mall and found some lovely pieces and some not so lovely. Come watch with us as we shop for elegant and depression glass!

If you are reading this via email subscription here is the link for you: Antiquing with Your Best Friend – Depression Glass Shopping with Kathy.

Don’t miss future videos.   Click here for our YouTube channel with our Antiquing Adventures, www.DepressionGlassVideos.com.

Cambridge Windows Border Amber Cup & Saucer

Dave and I went to the Bay Antique Center in Bay City, Michigan.  This is a good mall although they didn’t have a lot of interesting glass.  I’ve noticed malls show less glass now than say 5 years ago.  That’s a good reason to shop online.  (Of course you can shop with us at Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass.)

Our longer video will show the pieces we found and for some of them I’ll show up close photos and share more information.  This first one shows a New Martinsville Florentine etched crystal torte plate.

Antiquing with Your Best Friend – Depression Glass Shopping Fun

Here is the video for you:

Here is a link to the video for those of you getting this via email. Video Showing How to Pack Glass for Safe Shipment

For those who see this post on the blog page the embedded video is just below the picture. The photo is our beautiful Sharon pink depression glass butter dish. The piece I’m wrapping is a Sharon pink candy jar so the butter is the closest relative.

Sharon Cabbage Rose Pink Depression Glass Butter Dish

Here’s the video.

I’m considering hosting a new theme for all of us who enjoy vintage glass or elegant stemware. What themes would you be interested in joining? I’ve some ideas but would like to hear from you.

A few ideas bouncing around my head are

• Green Mondays
• Stemware Tuesday
• Antiquing Fun Friday
• Depression Glass – hey, that could be any day!
• and so on….

Can you please leave a comment and let me know?

And the sherbet? That’s Georgian Lovebirds from Federal Glass. It’s in our store here.

Georgian Lovebirds Green Depression Glass Sherbet

Watch the video linked in below to learn tips to check glass before you buy it.

The Royal Lace blue plate? That’s one of the pieces I’ll use to demo one tip.

Royal Lace Blue Depression Glass Plate

Can’t see the video? Then click here for the link.  Antiquing with Your Best Friend – How to Check Glass for Damage Part 1.

Cambridge Glass Elaine Etched Crystal Ruffled Bowl

If you’ve read my posts you’ve seen the claim that “shopping with us is like antiquing with your best friend”.  Maybe you wondered how I could say that.

What does it mean to go antiquing with your best friend?

When you shop with your friend you look at things together.  You laugh together at the kitschy, shake your head at the junk, marvel at the beautiful.  When you find something special your friend helps  you decide where you can put it.  Your friend helps you check it over before you fall in love and plunk down $50 for a chipped piece.  Your friend helps you get the glass home and helps you get all out again and ooh and aah once more.

That’s the experience I want you to have in our store.  I’ll help you find the glass, show you how beautiful it is, give you ideas how to use it, show it clearly with photos, find all the flaws and tell you about them.  And last, but certainly not least, I’ll ship it to you so it reaches you safely.

I’ve sold glass and china for twelve years and that’s all we sell.  In twelve years four items have broken in shipping.  Watch this video to see how we do it.  Then remember, shopping with us is like antiquing with your best friend.

Here is the link if you are reading this via email: Video Link

Here is the video on YouTube:

Dave and I went antiquing on our way home from Tennessee yesterday and today.  We found nothing at a flea market, a few pieces of way over-priced glass at one store and lots and lots of good stuff at another mall right off the expressway in Ohio.

I always look for etched elegant glass, especially stemware, candles and bowls, plus depression glass.  We found quite a bit of etched stemware, most of which is still there for someone else, a few candles and almost no bowls.  There was a set of etched water goblets that was very tempting in Fostoria’s Woodland etch and another that may have been Victory etch.

The mall was not too far from Tiffin, Ohio, where Tiffin Glass thrived for many years before shutting down in the 1980s.  Perhaps because of this proximity we found a LOT of Tiffin’s etched stemware, especially June Night and Cherokee Rose.  Since we bought Cherokee Rose goblets and sherbets last month I didn’t buy any more.

Cherokee Rose Etched Crystal Water Goblet Tiffin Glass

It’s fun to see the depression glass.  Plates, cups, saucers, a few tumblers and some serving pieces abound, but bowls for cereal or soup are scarce.  Since I’m looking for pieces to resell we’re fussy about condition and price; even so I got another set of Florentine Poppy green depression glass.  A couple days ago we picked up some Florentine #1 sherbets and today got several plates, cups and saucers in Florentine #2.  They are grimy and need a good wash!

Sadly we left behind some pink American Sweetheart, sadly because we have less in stock than my memory thought we did.  Maybe it will come home with us next time!

Shopping information:  We have Tiffin etched glass listed in our store Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass.