1.Choose a central meeting point and time after you arrive there so that members of your group can wander off in different directions depending on their interests. Then you can join each other and share your discoveries and purchases.
2.Go to the Flea Market in the morning as it becomes very crowded in the afternoon. Be prepared to get to the markets near opening time, so that you don’t miss out on items that are quick to sell, such as unique porcelain decorative items, old photographs, and military paraphernalia
3.Hide your wallets under your shirt or sweaters around your neck. Make sure to keep your wallet and other valuables out of easy reach, as the crowded conditions at the market are ideal for pick pockets!
4.The first thing to do before jumping into the flea market fray is to stop at an ATM machine. There are no credit or debit card transactions at the stalls, so make sure you have enough cash on you before you begin shopping. Some shops will take credit/debit cards as will some stalls but not all and you don’t want to miss out on an item if you only have a credit card. Also some sellers will give a cash discount as they don’t have to then pay the credit card processing fee.
5.Don’t bring your passports to the Flea Market or miscellaneous credit cards that you won’t use: we have never needed our passports to buy there because antiques do not have VAT for the tax refund. Charge antiques on your credit cards, so bring the essential ones.
6.Negotiating: If you love to shop for antiques and shop flea markets then remember that everything is negotiable.
7.It helps to have someone around, who is great at saying in a loud voice that we don’t need this mirror at all, it’s too expensive, etc. If the dealers think they might lose the sale, it speeds up the negotiation.
8.Sometimes pull out your calculator, punch a few buttons, look up and say: ‘It doesn’t work at €400; can you do it for €250? They then think you are also a dealer and must have the lowest possible price.
9.You don’t have to complete the sale on the spot; get a mobile phone number and call the dealer the next day to negotiate. If they haven’t had a big weekend (and with the Euro at new highs against the dollar, business is very slow) they might be more than willing to give a good discount.
10.Contact a shipper, such as Hedley’s Humpers beforehand and they can give you tickets to mark antiques and pick them up the next day for shipment home. This also allows you to negotiate the next day via the dealer’s mobile number; you simply call Hedley’s afterwards and arrange for them to pick up the item.