Marissa Felix was on the hunt for a child’s wicker chair.
So on a Sunday at the Long Beach Antique Market, the 24-year-old Laguna Niguel woman asked longtime vendor Rachel Polk to keep an eye out for one.
“You can’t do that at a store when you’re looking for vintage or things that you can’t buy new, but you can do it here,” Felix said.
Call it a perk of shopping at flea markets. Every weekend there is a marketplace somewhere in Southern California where vendors unpack deals, take requests from shoppers and even deliver pre-purchased furniture and decor shared days earlier on their Instagram feeds.
Sure, shoppers can find equivalent deals at thrift stores, but they would need to check in often because most get new items daily and the good stuff goes fast, so it’s all luck. Estate sales are another option – find one near you at www.estatesales.net. But flea markets offer curated collections of the best pickings.
Patrice Curedale, co-founder of the Topanga Vintage Market on the fourth Sunday of every month at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, said there is an element of trust when buying vintage.
“If you establish a relationship with a vendor, they’ll keep an eye out at the other markets for things you might like and then let you know about it,” she said. “It’s almost like having a personal shopper.”
When there isn’t a flea market, shoppers take to social media to stay in touch with their favorite sellers, letting them know what they’ve picked up and where they’ll be heading next.
Terri Endrodi of Itty Bitty Vintage Shop, who sells at markets across California, posts her schedule for her more than 17,500 Instagram followers. She appears next at the Long Beach Antique Market on Sunday, Sept. 16 and Topanga Vintage Market on Sunday, Sept. 23 with her trademark 1962 Shasta Compact trailer as a backdrop because, she said, “It’s cuter than a U-Haul.
“I think of Instagram as a section of my business,” Endrodi said. “I have to get my name and product out there, so I’m constantly hitting all fronts.”
She posts daily pictures of her latest pickings, from cool signs to metal hotel chairs, chipped and rusty scales to farmhouse-style furniture.
“When you buy at a flea market, you’re getting the history and the story behind the piece that I picked up on a back road somewhere,” said Endrodi, whose home base is in the high desert town of Piñon Hills. “I’m staring at a piece right now that was sitting in a shed. It’s beat to hell. You can’t get that kind of patina from something wrapped in plastic from Hobby Lobby or Walmart.”
Like Endrodi, Polk also uses Instagram to entice shoppers to her pop-up store and also sells on Etsy.
The San Diego vendor can be found selling her vintage bohemian furnishings on the second Sunday of each month at the Coast Vintage Market at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo and on the third Sunday of each month at the Long Beach Antique Market. She was in her usual spot in Long Beach on a recent Sunday, her space dominated by a peacock wicker chair for which she was asking $425.
But she explained most everything is negotiable at flea markets.
“When you see a price, ask if the seller can do better,” Polk said. “We appreciate when people bargain because they’re going to know they got a deal and they’re going to come back.”
Here are some flea markets to get you started:
San Bernardino Outdoor Market
For more than 40 years, this market has given the Inland Empire a place to shop for bargains on a wide array of items. It’s held from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays.
National Orange Show Events Center, 689 S. E St., San Bernardino. Admission is 75 cents and parking is free. www.rgcshows.com.
Melrose Trading Post
This destination market, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays, offers a curated selection of one-of-a-kind finds, antique furniture, vintage fashion, and more.
Fairfax High School, 7850 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. Admission is $9 and stacked on-campus parking is free on a first come, first serve basis. http://melrosetradingpost.org.
PCC Flea Market
With more than 400 vendors, this market offers a bit of everything – vinyl records, vintage jewelry, kitschy artwork, high-end antiques. It pops up on the first Sunday of every month from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Pasadena City College, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Admission is free and parking is $2. https://pasadena.edu/community/flea-market.
Rose Bowl Flea Market
On the second Sunday of the month at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, people come in search of items ranging from old records, vintage clothing and Rio Grande blankets to plants, pottery and tweed armchairs. The market, celebrating its 50th year, features more than 2,500 vendors.
Rose Bowl, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena. General admission is $9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (market closes at 4:30 p.m.) and parking is free. www.rgcshows.com
The Coast Vintage Market
Scratch that itch for antiques at this outdoor flea market on the second Sunday of every month between the hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The market features nearly 200 vendors selling everything you’d expect to find at a larger market.
Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo. Admission and parking are free. www.thecoastvintagemarket.com.
Long Beach Antique Market
This crowd-pleasing market is where on the third Sunday of every month people come to score deals from the more than 800 sellers on all things vintage, from 1960s Schwinn Stingray bikes to mid-century modern lighting fixtures and patio furniture. Plants also abound.
Veterans Memorial Stadium, 5000 E. Lew Davis St., Long Beach. General admission is $7 from 6:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., (market closes at 3 p.m.) and parking is free. www.longbeachantiquemarket.com.
Topanga Vintage Market
This San Fernando Valley market attracts hardcore junkers, people there to shop for bargains on the fourth Sunday of every month from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The more than 180 antique and vintage vendors range from established dealers who also sell at the larger markets to what Curedale said are first-timers “bringing out their grandmother’s things that haven’t seen the light of day for 60 to 100 years.”
Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka Ave., Woodland Hills. Admission is $3 and parking is free. www.topangavintagemarket.com.
