Shopping at the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market
It was a gorgeous Saturday and I decided I had to be outside. I had been to Central Park several times recently and I decided I wanted to explore some other outdoor venue. Then I remembered how close I was to the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market so I strolled down 9th Avenue to see if I could find any bargains.
I had been by the flea market before, and seen it as the M11 bus passed by it but I had never spent much time investigating. I found it was a lot like walking through a large, outdoor thrift shop. Most of the items sold there are used. About three-quarters of the vendors were selling clothes with the others selling various housewares and even one guy selling used bikes!
Shopping outdoors is always fun on nice days, but as I meandered I thought how miserable it would be to shop on a cold, rainy day (the flea market is open even Saturday and Sunday rain or shine!). I spent more time browsing and digging through racks because I was so happy to be enjoying the nice weather. The finds were hit or miss. There were a lot of name brand bags for pretty cheap, although I often found myself wondering if the bags were Chinatown knock-offs of famous brands. The boot choices were amazing and there were a good selection of vintage tees too. The prices I noted were all pretty reasonable ($25 for a Kate Spade bag and $30 for leather boots) and the vendors all seemed slightly willing to haggle.
All in all I enjoyed the shopping but I didn’t buy anything. It was definitely more fun than shopping in Chinatown and at least at the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market you might go home with legit goods!
