![The_Market_NYC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/The_Market_NYC.jpg)
A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
that provides space for
vendor
In a supply chain, a vendor, supplier, provider or a seller, is an enterprise that contributes goods or services. Generally, a supply chain vendor manufactures inventory/stock items and sells them to the next link in the chain. Today, these terms ...
s to sell
previously-owned (second-hand) goods.
This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' and 'casual' markets
which divides a fixed-style market (formal) with long-term leases and a seasonal-style market with short-term leases. Consistently, there tends to be an emphasis on sustainable consumption whereby items such as
used good
Used goods mean any item of personal property offered for sale not as new, including metals in any form except coins that are legal tender, but excluding books, magazines, and postage stamps.
Risks
Furniture, in particular bedding or upholstere ...
s,
collectibles
A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...
,
antiques and
vintage clothing
Vintage clothing is a generic term for garments originating from a previous era, as recent as the 1990s. The term can also be applied in reference to second hand retail outlets, e.g. i''n vintage clothing store''. While the concept originated ...
can be purchased.
Flea market vending is distinguished from
street vending in that the market alone, and not any other public attraction, brings in buyers. There are a variety of vendors: some part-time who consider their work at flea markets a hobby due to their possession of an alternative job; full-time vendors who dedicate all their time to their stalls and collection of merchandise and rely solely on the profits made at the market.
Vendors require skill in following
retro
Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...
and vintage trends, as well as selecting merchandise which connects with the culture and identity of their customers.
In the United States, the National Association of Flea Markets was established in 1998, which provides various resources for sellers, suppliers and buyers and also provides a means for suppliers and sellers to communicate and form affiliations.
Origin of the term
![Troedelladen Thoms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Troedelladen_Thoms.jpg)
While the concept has existed for millennia, the origins of the term ''flea market'' are disputed. According to one theory, the
Fly Market in 18th-century New York City, located at Maiden Lane near the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, began the association. The land on which the market took place was originally a salt marsh with a
brook
A brook is a small river or natural stream of fresh water. It may also refer to:
Computing
*Brook, a programming language for GPU programming based on C
*Brook+, an explicit data-parallel C compiler
*BrookGPU, a framework for GPGPU programming ...
, and by the early 1800s the Fly Market was the city's principal market.
A second theory maintains that ''flea market'' is a common English
calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...
from the French ''marché aux puces'', which literally translates to "market with fleas", labelled as such because the items sold were previously owned and worn, likely containing fleas.
The first reference to this term appeared in two conflicting stories about a location in Paris in the 1860s which was known as the "''marché aux puces"''.
The traditional and most-publicized story is in the article "What Is a Flea Market?" by Albert LaFarge in the 1998 winter edition of ''Today's Flea Market'' magazine:
The second story appeared in the book ''Flea Markets'', published in Europe by Chartwell Books, reading in its introduction:
Regional names
In the United States, an outdoor swap meet is the equivalent of a flea market. However, an
indoor swap meet is the equivalent of a
bazaar
A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...
, a permanent, indoor shopping center open during normal retail hours, with fixed booths or storefronts for the vendors.
Different English-speaking countries use various names for flea markets. In
Australian English
Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language; while Australia has no official language, Engli ...
, they are also called 'trash and treasure markets'. In
Philippine English
Philippine English (similar and related to American English) is any variety of English native to the Philippines, including those used by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos and English learners in the Philippines from adjac ...
, the word is ''tianggê'' from the word ''
tianguis
A is an open-air market or bazaar that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in Mexico and Central America. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases ...
'' via
Mexican Spanish
Mexican Spanish ( es, español mexicano) is the variety of Dialect, dialects and Sociolect, sociolects of the Spanish language spoken in Mexican territory. Mexico has the largest number of Spanish speakers, with more than twice as many as in a ...
coming from
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
. Despite common misconception, it is not derived from
Hokkien
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
. The word supplants the indigenous term ''talipapâ''.
In India, it is known as ''gurjari'' or ''shrukawadi bazaar'' or even as ''juna bazaar'' in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
.
In the United Kingdom, they are known as
car boot sales if the event takes place in a field or car park, as the vendors will sell goods from the boot (or
'trunk' in
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
) of their car. If the event is held indoors, such as a school or church hall, then it is usually known as either a
jumble sale
A jumble sale (UK), bring and buy sale (Australia) or rummage sale (U.S and Canada) is an event at which second hand goods are sold, usually by an institution such as a local Boys' Brigade Company, Scout group, Girlguiding group or church, ...
, or a
bring and buy sale. In
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and France, they are often called ''Marché aux puces'' (literally "flea market"), while in
French-speaking
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
areas of
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, the name ''brocante'' or ''vide-grenier'' is normally used.
In German, there are many words in use but the most common word is "Flohmarkt", meaning literally "flea market". The same applies to Dutch "vlooienmarkt", Swedish "loppmarknad" and Finnish "kirpputori". In the predominantly Cuban/Hispanic areas of South Florida, they are called ''
lpulguero'' ("
heflea store") from ''pulga'', the Spanish word for fleas. In the Southern part of Andalusia, due to the influence of Gibraltar English, they are known as "piojito", which means "little louse". In
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
they can be called ''persas'' or ''mercados persa'' ("persian market") and ''ferias libres'', if mostly selling fruit and vegetables. In
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
are most likely called "feria artesanal" (artisan's or street fair) or "feria americana" (American fair), the latter name is due to have taken the idea from their United States counterpart.
In
Moroccan Darija
Moroccan Arabic ( ar, العربية المغربية الدارجة, translit=al-ʻArabīya al-Maghribīya ad-Dārija ), also known as Darija (), is the dialectal, vernacular form or forms of Arabic spoken in Morocco. It is part of the Maghrebi ...
, the term for "flea market" is ''juṭiyya'', which either derives from French or (throwable),
or is an older term derived from ''juqa'' meaning "gathering of people". An ancient village on the bank of
Sebou River
Sebou (Berber language, Berber: Asif en Sbu, ar, سبو) is a river in northern Morocco. At its source in the Middle Atlas mountains it is known as the Guigou River (Berber: Asif n Gigu). The river is 496 kilometers long and has an average wat ...
by the name "Juta" may have been a big medieval market.
Gallery
File:Paris - Vintage travel gear seller at the marche Dauphine - 5212.jpg, A vintage travel gear seller at Marché Dauphine, Saint-Ouen, the home of Paris' flea market
File:Flohmarkt2.JPG, A flea market in Germany
File:Jyväskylä - Seppälä flea market.jpg, Flea market in Seppälä, Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...
, Finland
File:Kuopio market place 2011.jpg, A flea market on the Kuopio Market Square
Kuopio Market Square ( fi, Kuopion kauppatori) is the market square in the Multimäki district in Kuopio, North Savonia, Finland. The market is located about one hundred meters above sea level and the size of the area is 130×174 meters. The cov ...
in Finland
File:Vendor display at Brooklyn Flea.jpg, Vendor display at the Brooklyn Flea
Brooklyn Flea is a company based in Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 2008 by Jonathan Butler, creator of Brownstoner Magazine, and Eric Demby, the former communications director for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Flea runs sev ...
File:Bazaarchitecture8 (4061032054).jpg, The Chor Bazaar
Chor Bazaar is one of the largest flea markets in India, located at Mutton street, near Bhendi Bazaar in Grant Road, South Mumbai. The area is one of the tourist attractions of Mumbai. The word ''"chor"'' means 'thief' in Marathi and Hindi. A ...
in Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, India
File:Shimokitazawa174 (3737061480).jpg, In Shimokitazawa
is a commercial and entertainment area in Kitazawa, Setagaya, Tokyo. It is located in the southwestern corner of the Kitazawa district, hence the name "Shimo-kitazawa" (literally ''lower Kitazawa''). Also known as "Shimokita", the neighbourhood ...
, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
File:ErfgoedLeiden LEI001016609 Vlooienmarkt.jpg, Flea market (Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
, end of the 19th century)
File:Beaudesert Swap Meet.jpg, alt=A large swap meet held in Beaudesert, Queensland, Australia, A large swap meet held in Beaudesert, Queensland, Australia
File:Flea market (47846983882).jpg, alt="juṭiyya" (flea market) in Fez
Fez most often refers to:
* Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire
* Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco
Fez or FEZ may also refer to:
Media
* ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
, Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, "juṭiyya" (flea market) in Fez
Fez most often refers to:
* Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire
* Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco
Fez or FEZ may also refer to:
Media
* ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
, Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
See also
*
Agora
The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...
*
Braderie
A braderie or jaarmarkt (respectively meaning ''roasting'' and ''annual market'' in Dutch) is a type of grand yearly street fair and street market found in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Northern France, mostly held in the summer m ...
*
Car boot sale
*
Charity shop
*
Farmers' market
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...
*
Garage sale
A garage sale (also known as a yard sale, tag sale, moving sale and by many other namesSome rarely used names include "attic sale," "basement sale," "rummage sale," "thrift sale," "patio sale," "lawn sale," and "jumble sale".) is an informal ...
*
Hamfest
A Hamfest is a convention of amateur radio enthusiasts, often combining a trade show, flea market, and various other activities of interest to amateur radio operators (hams). In the United Kingdom the term rally is more commonly used for amateur ...
*
Pasar malam
''Pasar malam'' ( nl, Nacht Markt or Avondmarkt) is an Indonesian and Malay word that literally means "night market" (the word comes from ''bazaar'' in Persian). A ''pasar malam'' is a street market in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapor ...
*
White elephant sale
A white elephant sale is a collection of used items being sold, much akin to a yard sale or garage sale, often as a fund-raiser for a cause.
Etymology
The term "white elephant" refers to an extravagant but burdensome gift that cannot be easily ...
References
External links
*
World's best flea markets directoryat fleamapket
Flea market stories and tipsat Flea Market Insiders
National Flea Market Association(United States)
let's keep in touch with Flea Market Paris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flea Market
Retail markets
Non-store retailing
Reuse
Calques