Tien Mu Flea Market!

hello everyone!

I have an exciting post tonight that will most likely stun most of you. Keep in mind, it will be a very wordy post, so bear with me. If you aren't interested in reading about my experience, you can skip to the part (or "haul" if you would like to call it) of pictures.

Tonight, I went to the Tien Mu Square Flea Market. This flea market only seems to run on weekend evenings (so Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights) so if you were to look for it, it most likely won't be there. However, seeing that today was a Sunday and I don't have school tomorrow, I grabbed the opportunity to go.

I've been to the Tien Mu Flea Market so many times and have picked up a few tidbits here and there for amazing prices, so I rarely go home empty handed. The Market is split into two sections: second-hand goods and homemade goods (think knitted hats, homemade jewelery, etc). I opt to shop the second-hand goods first, but I do go over to the homemade goods if I have the time. Don't get me wrong, homemade items are very unique, but at the Market, they are extremely overpriced (and if you don't know Taipei, there are homemade things everywhere).

Some people may be wondering how I can cope with using someone's used items. When shopping at flea markets, I keep myself open minded. I tend to only be accessories such as bracelets or small jewelery pieces since they are much more sanitary (for the clean freaks like me out there) and are usually the most unique pieces. I know that people do sell cosmetics (such as MAC) at an INSANELY low price. I've seen lipglosses still in their boxes sold for under 100 NT before. It's crazy and VERY tempting, but who knows where they have been or whose used them before? It is by far NOT sanitary, and I do not recommend anyone buying cosmetics in flea markets.

As for clothing, I tend to base my decisions on the seller. I know how biast that sounds but it really does make a difference. However, I hardly purchase clothing from flea markets.

Anyways, I know most of you are dying to see what I got, so here we go!

First off, we stopped at a lovely lady's spread of items. What I picked up here was a nice beaded candle motive. I really can't get enough of these types of things. Even though it is used to house candles (tea candles, to be particular), I have stuck some fake flower pens into it :) I have to admit it looks pretty nice. We bartered with the lady and knocked it from the original price of 100 NT ($3.10 US Dollars) to about 40 NT ($1.25 US Dollars) Here are some photos of it:









Next we stopped at a spread that sold manly household items, such as vases, bowls/plates, etc. It was rather surprising to discover a vintage Beatles poster. The poster itself is actually kept in rather nice condition, and there is a date on the back written in pencil (1983). Ehhh, it's sort of the wrong era to be holding a Beatles poster, but I love it all the same. Here is the photo of it:

Finally, we stopped a nice lady in her early 20's who was selling mainly slightly more expensive items. I was just about to pass her spread when I came across a Marc by Marc Jacobs bag. MBMJ is an adorable range of items (and Marc Jacob's fusion line, in case you didn't know). THE BAG WAS ADORABLE. She told me that she was selling it for 3000 NT ($95 US Dollars) and that when she bought it last winter, it was 10,000ish NT (around $300 US Dollars). The quality was amazing, and she claimed to have only used it once and thought it was too large. We eventually bargained it down to a reasonable 2300 NT ($72 US Dollars), and I got it! Here are some photos:


















Alright, well that's it for this post. Let me just emphasize again that flea market shopping and second-hand shopping is incredibly fun and can bring out treasures in another man's trash (nice use of wisdom, eh?) As long as you develop good instincts, flea market shopping won't seem dangers or shady ever again!

-adrienne.

Location:ZhōngZhèng Rd,Shihlin District,Taiwan