Prices at the flea market

[spacecaps]

So today I went down to the Sunday Flea Market as I normally do and during my walk through I came across a Vintage Tin Bump & Go Batmobile. It was sitting on a table along with the pots and pans, the DVDs, and everything else you'd expect to find at non-regualr vendors table. The Batmobile wasn't mint, the antenna was missing and one of the red plastic pieces on the top had snapped off. After looking at it for a few seconds I thought I had quite the find in my hands. I brought it over to the vendor, a middle aged house wife, and asked her how much and without batting an eye she said, $400. Now don't get me wrong this thing is worth every bit of that...on ebay. Here's one that ended tonight on ebay for a referense: http://www.ebay.com/itm/271292672253...torefresh=true but at a local mass yard sale type flea market. Come on. I thought at the most she was gonna say $100 and even that would have been pushing it. If you want $400 for it, sell it online. I couldn't put the thing down fast enough and walk away from her. My son, who is seven, upon hearing that actually blurted out "$400! That's crazy." He said what I was thinking.

Now a few weeks ago I found a Hubley Atomic Disintegrator ( this thing if you don't know what it is http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUBLEY-ATOMI...item46140bb868) sitting at a little old lady table and I thought, "Holy Crap! What a find." Just sitting on the table with a bunch of old watches and dog chew toys and such. I asked the 70+ year old woman how much for the gun and she too said $300. I don't get it. Does anybody bring that kind of cash to spend on an impulse buy at a rummage sale? I mean carefully researching and looking for something you really want online is one thing but dropping that kind of cash on something you just happen to come across seems absurd to me. Now sure I've been looking for a Hubley Atomic Gun for a few years but the whole reason I don't have one is because I'm hoping to run into one at a market for far less than ebay prices. I don't want to pay ebay prices at yard sale. That's the point of yard sales. Not to mention the best you can hope for out of potential resale value is breaking even since these people are asking current market prices based on the value of the best condition one they saw online. Whenever I find something like this and they ask top dollar for it, it's never mint and you just now that if you go online you'll find at least five on ebay in better condition and possibly cheaper. As I mentioned, the Batmobile had several flaws and the case of the Hubley, the cap hammer was broken and she still wanted 3 bills for it because on ebay, the most top notch mint condition ones sell for that. A Hubley with a broken hammer will sell for around $150 (because the hammers broken!) but they don't want to hear that because all they see is the price for the ones I linked above. Never mind those are in super fine condition and also have the original box with it and their don't.

The other thing I run into a lot which really bakes my cookies is when I ask the price of something and the seller tells me a price but follows it up with "On ebay I can get____ for that." Sell it on ebay then!

Now the Batmobile doesn't happen all the time and in fact the last few weeks I've actually been crushing it at the flea market with some awesome finds at killer prices but in all the years I've been going to flea markets, the tin Batmobile I came across today and the Hubley gun from two weeks ago were the most someone was asking for something that was just sitting amongst the rest o the junk and I inquired about.

[Marvelmania]

Been there at fleas, yard and garage sells but honestly I get this every single weekend but you have to have an I don't care attitude. Really, it's theirs and they can ask any price they want on it, there's no gun to our heads to buy it. When it happens to me, if I'm serious about then I'll negotiate some and see if anything can happen but if not then I smile and move along. You can't let it get under your skin. Patience pays off. It doesn't matter if you want it to re-sell or love it so much that you'll keep it forever. No kidding, I heard the Ebay reference at least 10times through a weekend. I tell why not put it in Ebay then. I get a smart *** look back and then I say I mean really, if you do it you'll lose 15% right off the bat, then listing fees maybe, paypal fees definitely, your time taking pics and packaging it up, listing it, and then going to stand in line at the Post Office and then you have to pray that the buyer is on the up and up. Then I give then a smile and say good luck with that. Half of the time I hear a wait a minute as I turn my back to leave. of co0urse there are those that will not drop a dime on their price. Don't bother me, good for them but in the meantime I'm finding another cool item and have forgotten them and whatever it was that they had to sell.
wow, I got a bit talkative there. anyway buy it , gaggle or move along. It's not worth it ruining your day over and busting a blood vessel because will will happen again I promise you but there are also plenty of good finds out there to make you forget all about the ones that got away. Remember it's a toy so have fun with it

[MIB41]

I don't attend too many fleas markets anymore because the truth of these places are the dealers selling this stuff typically shop all the tables before they're open to the public. So any really good deals are usually already taken before the first customer walks through the door.

[spacecaps]

Going to Flea Markets is a lot of fun and you never know what your gonna find. I do enjoy it and as a toy collector I do very well in finding things I want for myself and things I can resell to get things I really want. My point is that if you think your tin Batmobile or whatever is worth the $400 you saw it going for online, then sell yours online. Don't lug it to what is basically a mass garage sale and ask toy collector prices where people are rummaging through all of your unwanted crap. Asking $400 is so outrageous that as a potential buyer, you don't even have a foundation to negotiate a price. I can't imagine someone walking by, seeing the Batmobile, asking how much and then saying, "Why yes, I will give you $400 for this toy that ten minutes before I saw it, didn't even know it existed and know nothing about." Unless you know with 100% certainty that the thing you are about to buy for that kind of money is worth way more and there is no way that you'll ever find one online in better condition or cheaper, I just don't think anyone would do it. So why bring it out to the market in the first place if your not going to be reasonable.

On a smaller scale I'll see a regular vendor selling something for say $40. I may offer $30 for the item and they won't budge on their price and meet me half way at $35. Then week after week, month after month I see the same item just sitting there because the seller refuses to budge. They'd rather get stuck with something then come off what they think it's worth. Whenever I sell at a place like this, my goal is to make money and get rid of stuff. Every item I sell is one less I have to put away or store in the garage for months. If its on the table, I obviously don't really want it and am not all that attached to it anyway. Sure I have a comprehensive knowledge of the value of what I'm selling and what I paid for it but if I'm asking $40 for something and I get an offer of $30, I will negotiate till I make the sale because five dollars less of what I'm asking is better than no money at all. I guess not everyone sees it that way but I'd rather have $35 in my pocket instead of something that was sitting on my table taking up room in my garage for months because I would,'t come down $5 on my asking price.

[Access]

Meh. I won't worry too much about it. It's hard to let a piece go for anything less than you see it online for if its something you've never seen before, that's probably the mentality of the vendor that doesn't budge week after week. I like going to flea markets when I'm hunting, but honestly I've never seen anything as cool as that batmo bile at our lousy little flea market!

[mazinz]

Funny you posted this, I was at an antique shop by me (but I think it was more of a consignment type of deal) and they had the 1960s GE how N Tell record player/tv set for kids (this thing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2oMT859wG8 )

It had the original rack with it and still worked. So I asked about it and she told me $100.00 and considering it had a few story sets to go with it the price was not too bad, BUT the comment of "It sells for 100 on ebay" is what made me say no. Just because it is listed on ebay does not mean that is what it ends up selling for on ebay.

However after doing my own research, if hers indeed still fully worked and had a number of sets to go with it I can see $75, but 100 was still pushing a little.

A lot of these prices are also based on the heightened awareness thanks to all 8 zillion "I found this for a $1 at the garage sale and its really worth 500 times that" shows. Most people assume that they will get those magic prices they see on tv and it just does not happen like that (well mostly). You have a ton of people jumping on the bandwagon and until it dies down, expect more of it.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

That's a #2:

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-ways-modern-world-killing-nostalgia_p2/

Don C.

[johnnystorm]

I hear this all the time myself, and I also blame the million reality TV series for it. A lot of vendors that watch these things and think their item is worth that price don't care or understand the importance of condition. They only see the top dollar price.
I usually just put it down and walk away, on to the next. There are other finds to be made, and bargains still to be had.

The worst of it is that, as you said, after not being willing to negotiate down on a price, the item sits there for weeks or even years afterward, slowly being destroyed by weather and careless handling. Nothing a true collector wants to pay top dollar for more than an action figure on a sun faded card with a steaming blister full of condensation!
I think sometimes too these flea market kings fall victim to their own game, and pay too much for something based on what they think they saw or read about it, then have to try to recoup all their money back. It's just like when my wife will say "aren't these dishes worth money" at a yard sale. I tell her maybe, but I know enough about that to get myself in trouble buying them to resell. Thinking you know an items value can be worse than not knowing at all. But we've all been at the flea and heard the seller say " I've got more than that in it".

[Gorn Captain]

Last year, a guy at a flea market was selling a vintage Action Man without clothes, no hands and a lower leg missing.
He asked for $40, with the message "you can get all the replacement parts real easy on Ebay".

The answer to this is: "Good luck with that!"...and you walk away.

I think I'm going to start selling hot dogs at flea markets. Just the buns though. The rest (like the meat and sauce) you can buy on-line. Real easy!

[Access]

Actually, you find the guy selling the food at the flea market makes the most money!

[Spyweb007]

I agree that most people shouldn't expect to get top dollar for their items at a flea market. I've also been on the other side of the table selling at toy shows and it sucks to have a good item at a more the reasonable price and have buyers still try and haggle you down, You start to feel like you're practically giving your items away. Win some, lose some I guess.

[Den82]

In my own Code of Ethics, I believe that you have to realize and accept the fact that most people at Flea Markets are either dealers looking for inventory and collectors looking for bargains (i.e an alternative to "ebay prices"). You also have to realize your market is limited to whoever is there at that time and not worldwide like on eBay.

The Flea Market by me used to be great. You could go late in the day and still load up your car for less than $100. Now, every seller thinks they are a reputable dealer and it seems they are there to sell exclusively to the hipsters who come out from Brooklyn and buy stuff to sell there at stupid prices.