Long Beach Antique Flea Market and Swap Meet

Good day!

I would like to fill you in on one of the gems of the greater Los Angeles Area: the Long Beach Antique Flea Market and Swap Meet.

The Long Beach Antique Flea Market and swap meet is held the third Sunday of each month (and 5th, if there is one) at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach. It has over 800 dealers spread over 20 acres of the parking lot.

Most swap meets these days are endless rows of brand new crap that you can buy from Harbor Freight, or are filled with new tacky furniture, clothing and “art”. The Long Beach meet has almost none of these things.

One of the stipulations for sellers is that there can be no new merchandise, which means there is plenty of ripe old stuff to dig through. There is everything from 1960s dinette sets to antique swords and everything in between.

And yes, there are musical instruments scattered amongst the millions of other things you will find out there. The last time I was out there I saw oodles of Spanish guitars, saxophones, clarinets, flutes, violins, trumpets, trombones, drums and even some Fender and Gibson electric guitars. It is definitely worth a walk through if you are in the neighborhood.

But, I have found that the real joy is getting a space and selling your own stuff there. I helped out a friend who was selling his parents’ estate and it was a real blast. If you price your stuff reasonably you can sell it all. The hardcore buyers come out for the first few hours and there are some frenzied sales, and then the rest of the day is more laid back, with plenty of people watching opportunities.

And getting a space is reasonably priced, with spots costing between $65 and $85. Plus, the organizers are the nicest bunch of people to deal with.

If you want to go, it is open from 5:30AM to 3:00PM. Admission is $10 if you want to get in early (between 5:30AM to 6:30AM) or $5 from 6:30AM to 3:00PM. If you get the online discount coupons, they are only good after 8:00AM. Oh yeah, admission for kids under 12 and parking are both FREE! You can get all of the details for buying or selling at http://www.longbeachantiquemarket.com/

Mahalo!