[Tamtam]

Happy Flea Market Sunday folks! So it's been extremely quiet on the Flea Market front lately. Before Xmas, the Flea was full of vendors selling new items so there wasn't any cool finds for antiques of smurfs at all. I went to two markets this morning. The first one was a bit disappointing. I found no smurfs but I did find 5 magazines for $5.00 and a paint roller for $2.00 (new house that needs to be painted). At the second market, I met up with a collector friend selling old Transformers, G.I Joe's etc. He said that there was a girl selling collectible toys and that she was also a smurf collector. Very exciting really! So I went to her table and she only had one smurf (skater) but she said that she had about 40 doubles to trade. Hooray! She has my email address so hopefully we will do a bit of trading in the next week or so.

FINALLY, some smurfy action back in my world. I was starting to loose my mind without any smurf transactions.

Tam


Andrew - I asked my friend about Ghostbusters vehicles and he does have a few along with some figures. He just moved into a new house so he will see if he can find them, if you are still interested.

[Guest]

Hi Tam, I love your flea market stories!!! I know it sounds crazy but I get really excited when I see you've posted something about your Sunday flea market trips!

I hope you do some really good trades with that other collector!

When the car boot sales start over here again in the spring then I might have some tales of my own to tell! I never see smurfs usually but I can keep hoping can't I?

[Tamtam]

Hi Karen,
Glad you like the Flea stories. Things have been pretty quiet all around lately so I was really happy to have something to post and contribute to the board. I'm really hoping she contacts me today. I have more doubles than I
thought.

Tam

[Tojo]

I've not been to any of the flea markets here to look for smurfs (although there is a very large flea market in Frankfurt once a month) but while I was back home in England on holiday in August (funny, I left 14 years ago but still call it home ) I found a load of smurfs for 75p each at a steam rally (you know the sort of thing, steam traction engines, old farm stuff etc.) so bought all the ones I didn't have. Most were McD's but a few were regulars. Better than nothing anyway. My kids always keep an eye out for things as they know that I collect all sorts (not liqourice), that's how I found one of the large McD jointed smurfs (grouchy) for 5p on the same holiday.

[Tor]

Yesterday I spent two hours looking for smurfs in eight different flea markets and I found... nothing.

[Guest]

I have to ask.. Why do they call them Flea Markets? It always makes me think they are selling fleas!

[Tamtam]

Oh Tor, I know how you feel. It's terrible to be let down when no smurfs are found. I went 6 weeks without a flea market smurf and finally got one today. Sometimes if the vendor has some older toys I will ask if they have smurfs. Once in awhile they will have some and bring them the following week.

I have to ask.. Why do they call them Flea Markets?

I really don't know but I will do my best to find out!

[Tamtam]

Okay, so I consulted with the smartest person I know, my Dad! And he said

How the hell should I know

. So I consulted with the second smartest person I know, my Mother (now the smartest person because Dad threw that title out the window), and she thinks it's because when the markets first started each vendor would be selling their old unwanted household items. So you could find everything including flea's when you brough it home. Now if that seems a bit sketchy, I will consult with the third smartest person I know, my brother, who in turn will be the smartest person I know if he has a better answer than my mother.
Whew! That was a bit tiring!

Tam

[Guest]

I found this: -

The itch to shop.

Dear Word Detective: Why are flea markets called "flea" markets? How did they get their name and why? -- Danny Sayer, via the Internet.

Well, you've brought your question to the right place. My relatives, especiallythe ones in Ohio, seem to be obsessed with flea markets and their suburban cousins, yard sales. You could be fleeing an erupting volcano with these people (unlikely in Ohio, I know, but one can always hope), and they'd insist on stopping the car to optimistically peruse two broken toasters, three boxes of Reader's Digest Condensed Books (just add verbs, I suppose), and the ugliest collection of white vinyl pocketbooks this side of Las Vegas. To me, visiting Ohio means saying "I'll wait in the car" at least ten times per day.

There are two theories about the origin of "flea market," and although I'm fairly certain that one of them is actually a case of linguistic coincidence, we'll take them both for a spin. According to etymologist Christine Ammer, the first "flea market" may have been New York's raucous Fly Market, a fixture in Lower Manhattan from before the American Revolution until around 1816. The "Fly" came from the Dutch name for the market, "Vly" or "Vlie," which meant "valley," and was pronounced, you guessed it, "flea." Voila, "flea market." Maybe.

However, while the Fly Market certainly existed, and its name was evidently indeed pronounced "flea market," the actual origin of the term most probably lies in Paris, where Le Marche aux Puces (literally, "market of the fleas") was a popular shopping venue. Le Marche aux Puces took its name, as you might have guessed by now, from the semi-humorous (and probably at least partly accurate) popular perception that the market's ragtag goods were more than likely to be infested with fleas.

In any case, "flea market" first appeared in English in the 1920's and is most likely a simple translation of the French market's name. If "flea market" had gained currency from the Manhattan "Fly Market," it almost certainly would have appeared in print much earlier than it did.


from http://www.word-detective.com/121597.html

So I guess we blame the French!

[Tamtam]

Karen,
You are now the SMARTEST PERSON I know!!

[Guest]

I think that be Google the smartest person you know, LOL

[newbiepeej]

I guys, Over here we have flea markets, Garage sales (which i think are the same as youre yard sales) and car boot sales.
NOw i never got any fleas, garages or car boot's but i have seen a couple of smurfs.
I work voluntarily at a charity shop and a lady who does a stall at a flea market is going to a swap meet and she is going to look for smurf's there for me . I just have to write her a list and get a bank loan to pay for all the ones i want her to look for lol.

[Guest]

I never heard of swap meets until I saw someone writing about one on a US forum. What's one of those?

[newbiepeej]

No i have never been to one but to my understanding people all meet at one place with similar interest's e.g toy collector's and swap goods and sell goods.

[Rachel]

Thanks Tam for your latest Flea Market story, like Karen, it brought a smile to my face when I saw your post.

What facinating info on the origins of the word as well, well done to all smart people involved, a very interesting read.

[Bunno Smurf]

I've been to a swap meet. It's basically another name for carboot sale. Everyone just rocks up with their junk and sells it out of their boot. Not much swapping goes on from what I see....unless you count swapping money for goods. lol[/list]

[Syd Smurf]

Andrew - I asked my friend about Ghostbusters vehicles and he does have a few along with some figures. He just moved into a new house so he will see if he can find them, if you are still interested.

I may still be interested because Jack's birthday is comong up ..3/3....a date that pleases both us and the Americans ...Stace will know what I mean...anyway, so if you can get a good price on one then I would be interested. I don't think there's much point getting one of the collectibles ones for big $$$ because Jack will just turn it into a submarine in his pool so I am after one that he can actually play with and hopefully not run over Syd with.

Thanks for thinking about me/Jack though...I appreciate that

Dyar

[Tamtam]

So I have been chatting with my new smurfy friend and she has a few that I need. Wahoo! She also has the Bundeslia footballer with light blue shorts/yellow shirt and socks. Very excited about that one!!

Andrew - I will keep you posted if my friend can find his stuff.

Tam