thumb|upright=1.2|[[Montsoreau Flea Market, Loire Valley, France]]

thumb|upright|[[The Market NYC, an artists', designers', vintage and an indoor flea market in New York City]]

A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell (generally previously owned) 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 goods, collectibles, antiques and vintage clothing can be purchased, in an effort to combat climate change and fast fashion.

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. 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:

The Saint-Ouen flea market in Paris is the world's largest concentration of antique dealers and second-hand dealers, drawing around 11 million visitors per year.

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 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, they are also called 'trash and treasure markets', while the term 'swap meet' is used for a market held primarily to sell car- and motorcycle parts and automobilia. In Philippine English, the word is tianggê from the word tianguis via Mexican Spanish coming from Nahuatl. Despite common misconception, it is not derived from Hokkien. The word supplants the indigenous term talipapâ. In India, it is known as gurjari or shrukawadi bazaar or even as juna bazaar in Pune.

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) 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, or a bring and buy sale. In Quebec and France, they are often called Marché aux puces (literally "flea market"), while in French-speaking areas of Belgium, the name brocante or vide-grenier is normally used.

In German, there are many words in use but the most common word is "Flohmarkt", literally meaning "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 [el] pulguero ("[the] flea 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 they can be called persas or mercados persa ("persian market") and ferias libres, if mostly selling fruit and vegetables. In Argentina they are most often known as "feria artesanal" (artisan's or street fair) or "feria americana" (American fair); the latter name is likely to have been inspired by its United States counterpart.

200px|thumbnail|right|[[One Ayala "Tiangge"]]

In Moroccan Darija, 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 by the name "Juta" may have been a big medieval market.

In the Philippines, "Tiangges" or bazaar shopping is famous in spacious markets like Divisoria, Greenhills, and Baclaran. These settings feature rows of stalls containing displays of various items such as clothes, accessories, and gadgets at notably low prices.

<gallery mode="packed">

File:Paris - Vintage travel gear seller at the marche Dauphine - 5212.jpg|A vintage travel gear seller at Marché Dauphine in the Saint-Ouen flea market

File:Flohmarkt2.JPG|A flea market in Germany

File:Jyväskylä - Seppälä flea market.jpg|Flea market in Seppälä, Jyväskylä, Finland

File:Kuopio market place 2011.jpg|A flea market on the Kuopio Market Square in Finland

File:Vendor display at Brooklyn Flea.jpg|Vendor display at the Brooklyn Flea

File:Bazaarchitecture8 (4061032054).jpg|The Chor Bazaar in Mumbai, India

File:Shimokitazawa174 (3737061480).jpg|In Shimokitazawa, Japan

File:ErfgoedLeiden LEI001016609 Vlooienmarkt.jpg|Flea market (Leiden, 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|"juṭiyya" (flea market) in Fez, Morocco

File:Pasar Karat Kota Damansara at Seksyen 3 Kota Damansara 20231119 084111.jpg|Flea market in Malaysia

</gallery>

See also

  • Agora
  • Braderie
  • Car boot sale
  • Charity shop
  • Discount store
  • Farmers' market
  • Garage sale
  • Hamfest
  • Jumble sale
  • Pasar malam
  • Ukay-ukay
  • White elephant sale

References

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Further reading

  • National Flea Market Association (United States)