Flea Market News

The term flea market first came about in a French market in Paris. The original market earned its name from infested clothing sold there in the little town of Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint Denis in the late 17th century. It began with temporary stalls and benches along fields where you could purchase items for small sums or exchange what you had for an item.

Today a flea market is a type of swap meet where items are bought, sold or still even exchanged. Al tho not too much exchanging is done today as they would rather make money. It may be held indoors or outdoors depending on weather and location of flea market.

Flea market vendors may sell food and snacks or set up a few tables to sell all kinds of goods. New and used items are sold . There is a small fee to rent the space. Some sites even have water and electricity you can rent if staying and camping there if it is held over for a few days. This is just a few more dollars a day in addition to rent space.

In some countries like Asia flea market vendors are often called Hawkers. They will unusually sell food related items but other items as well. In Philippines the special treat sold is called "Balut." China is noted for selling fish balls, beef balls ,bugzaigo, roasted chestnuts and sticky tofu. In Asia there is no monitoring of stall setups and food handling by their government.I don't believe I would eat anything from these stalls myself.

Another word used to describe flea markets is the Mexican word "Tianguis" (tianquiztli) meaning open public market. It is one of the very few words in Spanish language that is used as a singular and plural word.

"Pasar malam" is Indonesian and means night market. They are usually open just a days a week in the neighborhood as they like to travel around to different neighborhoods. Lots of haggling over prices is done in these markets.

Then of course we must not forget Britain and their Car boot sales which is equal to our flea markets, but yet just a little different. This term refers to selling from the boot of their car ( trunk ). Most always takes place during summer months. Car boot sales are also vert poplar in Australia.