Published March 17, 2009 11:43 pm -
$AVING YOU MONEY: Flea markets offer shoppers bargains
By Cathy Spaulding
Phoenix Staff Writer
You see them springing up this time every year on street corners and parking lots.
But they’re not daffodils or azaleas, but used lawn mowers, dinette sets, plastic shower seats, garden tools and various other types of junk for sale at resale shops or flea markets.
Those who know what to look for say they find bargains at such places.
The tiny building that houses JC’s Flea Market at the corner of Main and Independence streets was nearly obscured by the lawn mowers, bar stools and five sets of wood dining room chairs for sale on the parking lot.
“You never know from one sale to the next what’s going to be out here,” said owner John Austin Clark, who has been doing flea markets since the 1990s. “If they’re looking for something specific, I can tell them if it’s here. If it’s not here, they can keep coming back.”
Clark said his business is not a resale shop in that “you can’t bring stuff here and sell stuff. You have to prove it’s not stolen property.”
He said he buys from “reputable concerns” including auctions.
On U.S. 69 between Shawnee Bypass and Fern Mountain Road, the Love It shop displayed a row of wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and plastic shower seats for disabled people. The prices for the chairs ranged from $75 to $175.
Wheelchairs sell online for $200 to $4,000.
A row of kitty carriers sold for $10 each. A slightly rusted shovel had a $5 tag, a garden tiller and a post hole digger were on sale for $17.50 each. The lot also displayed two park benches made with wrought iron and wood. A price tag said “$69, or go to Lowe’s and get it for $129.”
Alley said all the shop’s traffic comes by word of mouth or people passing by on the highway.
A truck driver pulled up to the shop, paid cash for a two-wheeled dolly and drove off. Garden supplies included a riding mower that caught the eye of Muskogee resident Bonnie Coffey and her husband.
“My husband is looking for a lawn mower, and we saw the orange one out here,” she said as she ambled through the parking lot. “We’ve been out here once before.”
Coffey said she goes to a lot of flea markets and resale shops.
“We used to go to one by Tahlequah before it closed. I love doing stuff like this,” she said. “I once got a good-looking porch swing for 10 bucks at the place near Tahlequah. We still have it after about 10 years.”