Bristol Flea Market To Open Next Weekend
by Alex Lloyd Gross
The alarm problems have been fixed. The building has been inspected and everything should be in order for the grand opening of the Bristol Flea Market the weekend of February 29 and March 1 2020. This has been anticipated by many members of the community. For the benefit of those that might be new to this area, when Wal-Mart closed their store at Route 413 and 13, it remained vacant. Wal-Mart wanted it that way. When a new tenant moves in, it could siphon off shoppers. In Wal-Mart’s business plan,they thought it was a good idea to pay the landlord hundreds of thousands of dollars for a store to sit empty.
That might be good for Wal-Mart but not good for the community. Empty shops in a strip mall leads to less traffic. It is a domino effect because more stores close. Now with the flea market there on weekends, the center can start to come to life. There is free parking. One huge turnoff for shoppers is to pull into a lot and be gouged by even a few dollars for the privilege of parking a car. Inside the flea market, there are licensed food vendors.
Part of the allure of a flea market is finding rare gems in other peoples “junk”. That moldy cup and saucer set could be worth $35.00 once it is cleaned up. You might be able to get it for about 50 cents. A 45rpm with a mis-print label that sells for10 cents could be worth over $100.00 . Older Halloween or Christmas decorations are worth gold to collectors. Expect to get them for less than a dollar. All of those things have been gotten at flea markets all around the country.
There are new things too. A pair of work gloves that is on sale for $15.00 at your local store can be purchased for $4.00 for example. People have to look and see what they are interested in. There are bargains and great deals to be had. You can see for yourself on February 29, 2020. While doors open at 8:00 AM, you can certainly go in earlier and walk around earlier. No vendor is going to turn down a sale because it is 7:37 AM.