Going to Cancun? Skip the Flea Market!

If you are going to Cancun, you will not be able to miss the Flea Market. There is only one "strip" in Cancun that the tourists ever see, and the Flea Market is right in the middle of it. It beckons to tourists with its millions of items and it's bargain prices. It's located near many other stores and even the mall. If you are in the mood to shop, the promise of bargains will call you into the Flea Market.

On my first trip to Cancun, I ventured into the Flea Market. I was looking for gifts to bring home to my family and friends, but had very little money left. I needed bargains. Of course, I wouldn't have minded buying myself a few more trinkets before I left the country. The Flea Market had it all -- tee-shirts, glassware, figurines, and lots of jewelry. I was told that it would be a great place to buy jewelry, since you could bargain for a low price. Silver was supposed to be especially cheap.

I went into the Flea Market and right away started buying. My first stop was in a shop that was selling shirts. I got a good deal on a pirated "Tommy" shirt for myself and a "Harley" shirt for my dad. I was on cloud nine. I didn't care that these were rip-offs of designer shirts. They weren't light weight cotton, and the printing seemed to be good, so who cares, right? Well, the shirts might have been my only success.

I wanted to buy shot glasses for all my friends. I wanted to look around and find them for the cheapest price. The Flea Market has so many shops, that you really feel like you have to shop around before you buy anything. When I would ask a shopkeeper how much anything was, he would begin with an inflated price, or say "how much you pay for it?". I hate bargaining, but I did anyway. I was unsatisfied with the prices they were offering me, and in each shop I said "ok, thanks anyway. I'd like to keep looking." Bad idea.

Soon, the shop keepers were following my friends and I to the other shops. They were talking in Spanish very quickly and I have no idea what they were saying. All I know is, we started getting badgered at the shops. Then, if we walked through without buying things, the shop keepers began calling us names. Eventually, we got to a section where the shop keepers were leaving us alone, and didn't feel so threatened any more. We began to browse again.

I walked into a shop selling mostly jewelry. I wanted to get something for my mother. I picked out a cheap looking bracelet with a green stone (it wasn't Emerald or Jade, so I am not sure what it was). I figured the bracelet would sell for about $40 in the U.S. so I began to bargain at $25. I figured out how much that was in Pesos, and began to talk to the shop keeper. We exchanged numbers back and forth. Finally we settled on a price. I whipped out my Pesos, and he got angry. He only wanted American money. He wanted about ten times more than I was willing to pay! I thanked him for his time, but said I was no longer interested. He started swearing at me in English and calling me nasty names. I kept my cool and walked out of the Flea Market for good.

The next time I went to Cancun, my friends all wanted to enter the Flea Market. I stood outside while they went in. They bought some things, and did not get the same treatment my friends and I received the last time I went. Still, I could not go in. They didn't get any bargains, in fact, I scoffed at the prices they paid. The mall seemed to be cheaper, and at least then you knew what you were buying.

The entire time I stood outside the Flea Market, the shop-keepers called to me "Miss, come see what I have." "Senorita, we have good price for you." I stood my ground. Eventually, I entered a store where my friend was buying something. The shop-keepers kept pestering me, and I made up a story about getting robbed earlier that day. They said they'd make me a "special" deal. I still don't know what their "special" deal was, nor do I want to. I just wanted to get out of there.

If you want to go to the Flea Market, there is really no reason not to. The shop-keepers might be rude to you if you don't buy from them, or if they don't like your deals, but they won't hurt you. For me, it was just such a jarring experience that I won't do it again soon. I'd rather go to the mall which is much cleaner anyway. And at least the prices are posted at the mall, so you know they aren't just ripping you off.