A vendor at a big vintage market in Kentucky watched a $100 piece turn into a $20 piece the moment he noticed its lid was gone. A couple who run an eBay store, Part Time Picker, were standing at his booth at the right moment, and they happily took the discount.
The vendor told them he was looking at a McCoy piece that would normally bring around $75 or $100. Without its lid, he offered it to them for $20 “just because of that.” He added that he buys stuff out of state, and when he saw the missing lid he thought it had gone from a $100 piece to a $20 piece. Then he decided someone could get creative and turn it into a planter.
A Planter, Not A Loss
That was exactly what the couple had in mind. One of them said she is looking for everything and anything to make into a planter at all times, and she had never seen this particular McCoy design before. They bought it as their first purchase of the day.
The sale struck them as funny, since the missing lid saved them roughly $50 on a piece that, for their purposes, did not need one. They explained that they have jars all over their house with no lids on them, for plants and for propagating cuttings. They said the lid did not matter to them at all.
Inside The Market
The couple were at the Florida Flea Vintage Market in Lexington, Kentucky, which they described as a huge market with about 200 vendors, all selling vintage goods. Admission was $10 a person for the early birds, versus $5 for those who come at 10 a.m. They arrived with a cart, a plan to hit one side of the market at a time, and a hope of finding both inventory for their eBay store and a few treasures for their own home.
Prices at a market like this are rarely firm. At one booth they were offered Halloween masks for $10 each, or $8 apiece if they bought more than one. The couple figured similar masks had sold for about $30 each, but with Halloween only eight days away, they decided $5 would be the most they would pay and moved on.
Small Wins At Small Prices
Across the aisles, they picked up a ceramic dragon gourd for $5, which they said was made in 1989 by JDS. A booth where everything was 50 cents offered cute little animals, and they added a paper-mache Santa and a glass angel, spending $6 on the pair. At another table they spotted a carved wooden bowl signed on the bottom and marked 1997. The seller wanted $8. They offered $5, and she took it.
They explained the flea market way of doing things. Someone who marks an item at $8 is usually hoping to get $5, and many vendors announce that they are making offers all day. They also shared a rule of thumb for turquoise jewelry: about $4 a gram is what they usually expect to pay.
One negotiation did not work out. A seller had posters priced at $5 each, and the couple offered $5 for both. The vendor said he had just sold three on eBay at $35 each and passed. The couple said they have learned that $35 for a poster is not worth it once shipping is figured in, unless it can be folded flat.
Booth Owners Know Their Reach Is Limited
Midway through the market, one booth owner chatted with the couple and said she retired last year, expecting fun, and found it was becoming another job. She told them she has two huge storage units, and that selling to people who just walk through the door limits her audience. She asked if they would take cut glass and crystal she could not move, and they said they had listed a couple of pieces the day before and she could simply send a text.
Knowing past sale prices helps at every booth. The couple recognized a set of owls they had bought before and sold separately for around $15 each, so a $45 price on the set looked fair to them. At another table they found Wade Whimsies, the small figures they had just listed from England, priced at $5 each, three for $12 or four for $11, and they walked away with a handful for $26.
Smart Lessons For Your Next Flea Market
You do not have to run an eBay store to use what these two did. Start by asking yourself whether a flaw matters for the way you will use an item. A chipped dish, a jar with no lid or a pot with a crack can be perfect for a plant. A flaw that wrecks the resale value of a collectible may be irrelevant to you, and that gap is where a bargain lives.
Second, bring small bills. The couple had to scramble for change on more than one purchase, since vendors are not always carrying much. Third, be polite when you make an offer, and be ready to walk away. The vendor they dealt with had said he was making deals all day, and you can usually tell from his tone how far to push.
Finally, go early if you can. The couple paid a little more to get in with the early crowd, and they still found a bargain within the first stop. For anyone who loves a good hunt, that tiny McCoy lid story shows how a small flaw can turn a $100 piece into a $20 find and into a planter someone is happy to bring home.
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