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What Is an Online Flea Market?
A flea market is a term used loosely to refer to markets in which various vendors sell inexpensive or used goods, sometimes accepting variable prices or even engaging in barter. In contrast, an online flea market is any website that sells items that might be sold in a flea market, but typically without any physical location. Generally, online sites that create a venue for individuals to sell used or inexpensive items can be called online flea markets, although this is not a common use of this term. Alternatively, a website might refer to itself as an online flea market if it organizes a number of different vendors into stores, sometimes simply providing a link to those stores.
The translation of the basic idea behind a flea market into an online context is somewhat problematic, as usually people sell items at a flea market that are not specifically sought out by anyone, making it difficult to attract business to this type of store. An online flea market typically does not sell items that have no worth, but rather used items that a person might decide that he or she actually desires. On auction sites, this is important because buyers must often have the intention of buying a product prior to seeing the product. In physically located flea markets, sellers can depend on the customer's intention to spend money and make impulse buys, but in an online flea market, the customer usually has a particular product in mind.
One interesting interpretation of the idea of an online flea market is the use of websites to organize a number of small vendors, similar to the physical marketplace. Sometimes, these directories will divide vendors up into topics, such as jewelry or clothing vendors. This is beneficial for the stores themselves, as a listing can often provide additional business, but also because shoppers are often more inclined to browse in this manner, making impulse purchases more likely.
An online flea market is a concept used so loosely that it can be used for a wide variety of websites. Certain well-established physical flea markets sometimes list vendors on their websites, creating a parallel virtual flea market. This can be particularly useful when the market takes the form of an arts and crafts sale rather than a place to purchase used furniture and other objects. When the focus is on the quality of the goods that are sold rather than the venue in which they are sold, it is often easier to convince patrons to try out the online version of a flea market.
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Discussion Comments
Online flea market shopping is great for many things, but purchasing clothing is not one of them. I have made the mistake of buying pants and shoes online, and even though they were my size, I found that they didn't fit correctly.
Clothing is one thing that is best purchased in person, after you have had the chance to try it on. Sizes vary so greatly from brand to brand that you cannot be sure a certain one will always work for you.
Having said that, I do appreciate online flea markets. I have bought several pieces of furniture from them, like unique lamps and end tables that I could not find anywhere else.
In the days before the internet became a major force in our economy, I had so much trouble finding old video games. I never upgraded to the newer, more complex video systems, and I wanted to have a few more video games that I could play on my old system.
Of course, the manufacturer no longer made games like these. I had rented a few at a video store when they were still popular, and I really wanted to own these.
I was able to find the ones I needed by visiting an online flea market. Since it was an auction site, I was also able to get the games at a really cheap price. Though they would have originally sold for about forty to fifty bucks, I got them for around ten dollars, because I was the only person to place a bid on them.
@Perdido – What is really cool about online flea markets is that they usually allow one vendor to have several different stores. I took advantage of this as a seller, because I have original paintings to sell, along with wire earrings.
Since the two are totally unrelated, the site wanted me to set up two different stores for them. This was fine with me, because typically, people who come to a site looking for earrings are not interested in acrylic paintings, and vice versa.
I have sold quite a bit of merchandise through my online flea market stores. I'm glad that people are giving sites like this one a chance instead of only shopping in person.
I love visiting online flea markets to do my Christmas shopping. I don't have a huge budget for this, and since physical flea markets are so crowded in November and December, going online saves me money and headaches.
Last year, I was able to find inexpensive handmade jewelry for all the women in my family at one site. I did get it from several different vendors selling on the same site, but the items I was looking for were easy to find with the search function.
At the same site, I got my brother a graphic t-shirt and my dad a denim jacket. It was the most convenient form of Christmas shopping I have ever done, and I hope to be able to do it every year.
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