Chao Xing
(Jacky)

A Flea Market

A flea market is a facility that rents space to someone who offers used goods for sale to the general public; therefore, if you want to buy a product not only cheap but also good quality, a flea market is a good choice. It provides many kinds of used items; for example, tools, old style machines, and clothes. Flea markers are popular all over the world.

Flea markets are a worldwide business and have been around for hundreds of years. It could be considered a hundred billion dollar industry worldwide, but that probably never will be truly defined. Also flea markets have traditionally flourished when times are bad. That’s why flea markets are very popular all over the world.

However, the negative things of flea markets also need to be paid an attention. First, most items don’t have warranties, so people can’t get help when there is something wrong with products. Second, some of items may come from illegal way, such as stolen things. You should be careful when you want to buy some used things.

Now you know something about flea markets. However, do you know where did the term “flea market” come from? There are three theories about it. The most popular one is that the term is a direct translation of the French phrase “Marche aux Puces” a large outdoor bazaar in Pairs. This original market earned its name from the critter-infested goods, it was rumored to sell. That’s interesting.

The Vancouver flea market is located at 703 Terminal (near the Mainstreet Skytrain Station). It’s a big red house. The retailers are different kinds of people, such as Canadians, Asians and Europeans. Some of them have careers in flea market industry; others just want to sell their own used items or other things they dislike in order to get extra money. It’s easy to sell things there, people just need to pay $15 for a table on Saturday and Sunday, and then people can start selling. Many people go there to buy something for a cheap price on the weekends.

A flea market, which is helpful for people to buy or selling things, is another form of markets. It’s the best way to save money to buy something or get money from selling used things. Under today’s poor business condition, the outlook of flea markets is bright.

March 2002