Flea Market

The term "flea market" originated in the open-air "le marche aux puces of Paris". The word 'flea' got assiciated with such markets possibly from the merchants who had to "flee" the gentrification of the Emperor Napoleon III. Some also say that the word came from those old furnitures infested with the bloodsucking pests that were sold in such markets.

Open-air markets always had a presence in American life. Those enormous tent-city flea markets of today have simply taken shape out of the city vendors and crossroad stands that filled up a broad spectrum of our lives. In addition to providing a livelihood for new immigrants and others on the lower economic groups, flea markets served as a low-overhead incubator for new micro-enterprises. Starbucks Coffee Corp. began as a vendor in Seattle's Pike Place Market. The Cabbage Patch dolls were born in Southern craft fairs.

According to the National Flea Market Association, America has more than 5,000 flea markets (also called swap meets, farmer's markets and public markets) that employ more than 80,000 workers. The association estimates that more than 500,000 vendors sell in excess of $5 billion annually at flea markets. The association classifies flea markets into 3 categories: large (5,000 to 10,000 vendors) medium (500 to 5,000) and small (fewer than 500). The Association is having its 9th Annual convention in Las Vegas from September 26th to 28th.

The nation's largest flea market is an annual affair called the Highway 127 Corridor. It happens in August along a 450 miles long way starting from Covington, KY, and goes all the way through Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.

The Association has a useful flea market finder that you can use to find one in your neighborhood.