Hflea markets, you hear that everywhere, are the really big thing right now. Insanely popular, relaxed, casual, much better than the “real” flea markets, because you can still find really extraordinary things there. If large flea markets like the one on the banks of the Main or on Lindleystraße are something like a supermarket, then the Hofflea markets are delicatessens. Or rather: a really cheap delicatessen. And that’s why everyone wants to go there.
We tried it out over the weekend. But we – a house community in the north end, four families, lots of children from just-in-the-world to teenagers – didn’t just make a pilgrimage to a flea market, we set up our own. It’s a lot of work, no question. Cellars and garages need to be mucked out, the children rummage through their shelves to see what they can still use (almost everything) or sell (not that much at all).
And of course there has to be advertising: for the garden fence we made something out of wood, old sheets and writing that refers to our flea market. The neighbor from the first floor designed posters and stuck them to the street lamps in the district – “with neon yellow tape, you can see that best”. The children drew arrows on the pavement with chalk: This way to the bargains.
The view of the backyard
The boom in flea markets is of course also a child of the corona pandemic. In the lockdown, people had more time and leisure to clean up than they ever did. And when you were allowed out again, a walk to a flea market in the fresh air, where the aerosols quickly dissipate, was a nice change. Is it[calledTherealreasonwhyfleamarketsaresopopularisprobablyquitedifferent:becausewhodoesn’tliketopeekintotheirneighbors’backyards?Whowouldn’tliketoseehowthepeoplearoundthecornerlive?WhattheyadornthemselveswithhowtheyliveYesitisdefinitelycuriositythatdrivespeopletothefleamarkets
To be honest, our backyard is not a feast for the eyes. More of a concrete desert than a cozy courtyard. But that can be concealed, with a few flags on a string in front of the brick wall, with colorful chalk drawings on the asphalt, with a table where waffles are sold. It ended up looking really instagrammable, if you know what I mean. The brother of a resident brought the brand new waffle iron. As soon as he had thrown it on, there was a long queue at his stand.
Even those who want to educate their children to be entrepreneurs are doing everything right with a flea market. Here the little ones learn to calculate, to haggle, to advertise and also to lie a little (“We played with that for years, it’s really great”). And they also learn how the market works. For example, it is much easier to find buyers with colorful Duplo bricks or a giant Ernie cuddly toy than with washed-out baby clothes. And that the goods must not be too exquisite, then, as reported by the Hofmarkt professionals, Ebay classifieds is the better choice. Incidentally, there has long been a separate internet portal for farm markets. There you can register your house flea market and advertise for it – for a fee, of course.
Batman figures, teddy bears and Lego bricks
At the end of the afternoon, the children proudly added up: our flea market flushed 111.50 euros into their coffers. In return we got rid of a lot of old children’s books, Batman figures, teddy bears and Lego bricks and now have more space in the apartment again. A real win-win situation. And it was fun selling, trading, chatting with people from the neighborhood who you probably would never have spoken to otherwise.
But the best part was when everyone left. Then the neighbor from the second floor came into the courtyard with a perfectly chilled Riesling sparkling wine and appetizers. And we were able to toast our flea market premiere in peace.