Saving At Melrose Trading Post

Where is a fun day to spend a Sunday with friend? Melrose Trading Post in Los Angeles on Fairfax and Melrose. Like any flea market, there’s an opportunity to haggle with vendors, some will even broker a deal on a coin flip. So when it comes to savings, anything goes, depending on the day and what we’re looking for. MTP is smaller than the Rose Bowl Flea Market, but the entrance fee is also smaller, 2 bucks! There is plenty to see from art, to furniture, vintage shoes and boots, shorts, clothes, jewelry, etc. While time is needed to sift through it all and a lot of it all may not strike one’s fancy, but one man’s junk is another man’s treasure so if treasure hunting is the name, bargain hunting is the game.

I walked away with some pretty cool gems. I’m obsessed with midi rings, so I picked up three really cool ones: a claw, a unicorn, and a spike with diamond. I also got a few pendant necklaces and a bracelet at $5 a piece, and a mini black SWAN harmonica on a chain for $20. I also come across and bought a vintage graphic tee for $20 and a set of 3 decorate books that open up to felt-lined storage space for $15 (they usually retail for $40 each) that several people asked me about since they look like the spell book from Charmed, which then made me look like witch in-training, and even more so after buying my biggest and baddest deal: a blue lapis ocean globe with semi-precious gem stones that have been carved into the shape of countries and continents cradled by a gold floor stand and meridian with built in compass. I’ve seen similar desk (not even floor) globes go for over $450 at Brookstone, but since it was nearing the end of the day, we snagged it for $160, $60 less than it’s morning asking price. We left Melrose Trading Post singing, “We’ve got the whole world in our hands, we’ve got the whole world in our hands!”

Saving At The Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market

Where do droves of bargain hunters flock to when we want to find a deal for some of the most unique items in town? Every second Sunday of each month, like bees to nectar, we go swarm to the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market in the tens of thousands. Admission is $8 starting at 9am, but if we’re feeling hard core and want to get express admission from 8am-9am the price to get in is $10. If we’re feeling super hard core, early admission from 7am-8am will cost us $15. If we are just in a serious savings craze and do not require sleep or sunlight to shop, VIP admission is $20 for special preview 5am admission. Even if we don’t end up buying anything, the experience is one of a kind, just like many of the items for sale or for bid, and the experience is worth the price of admission. The greatest thing about a flea market is the ability to talk down prices and score some really great deals, especially when vendors are packing up and heading out in the late afternoon. Our likes and interests always very, but there is something (sometimes least expected) out there for all of us. There is a lot we can learn from a trip to this flea market, such as realizing never to buy t-shirts from Disneyland ever again. The same exact shirts sold at the Disney Store for $50.00 is priced at $15 (or less if you buy more than one). We can also get ideas for do it yourself projects if we’re crafty enough. Also, people who know how to make jewelry, can often make things we see at a retail store for a fraction of the price. What’s also fantastic about the market is the sense of community. While meeting shop owners, vendors, and local artists, we are able to support the people who are trying to make it in this world full of big businesses and commercial stores. Vendors are also not usually shy about where to find them again, such as other markets they go to (more places to score great finds) and can educate us personally about where their products come from, the materials those products are made of, or how something is made. A lot of jewelry, artwork, and novelty items are handmade and even when something is not in our minds to buy a particular day, we have an option to grab a business card in case we ever want that lighted sign, oil painting of our dog, or image printed on wood that we browsed at the market and decided later we just can’t live without. The best shoppers know; however, that even though we have set aside some cash to blow, the best savings is to walk away with cash in our pockets when we haven’t quite found exactly what we were looking for. Not spending unnecessarily on items that will never be use is smart shopping. At this month’s flea market, I spent less than twenty dollars (including admission) and have two new cross knuckle rings to show for it.