Trip to the Flea Market, Without the Fleas.

Once in a great while I like to go to the local flea market. It's just about 15 miles away and that's okay, better there than next door to me. The markets have gotten noticeably smaller the past few months which seemed a bit of a surprise to me, especially in the areas of the market where it's predominantly 'home grown' merchandise. You know, the tables where granny is selling her old coffee pot and a partially boxed Hungry, Hungry Hippos game. I typically go into these areas looking for a few items of interest such as Jack Daniels named products for my friend in Massachusetts, Seiko and Bulova watches for me, any bar equipment such as tap handles with the brewers name and emblem on them(I've gotten some really sweet ones), fishing gear in good repair, and the occasional precision optical items such as loupes and other magnifiers. I recently purchased a brand new spider for my fryer at an Asian stall for 1/3 the cost of a store. Getting back to my surprise at the decrease in vendor activity. I figured with the depressed economic situation we're in there would be a bigger presence at things like craft fairs and flea markets due to the low up front cost and the lure of tax free cash for merchandise that may have become trash instead of cash. I suppose that's why I've also seem an upswing in yard sales as well, not cost at all!