A recent article about flea markets in New York City inspires us to ask about things you’ve gotten in junk shops, garage sales, flea markets, resale stores, as hand-me-downs, off eBay or Craigslist or via “freecycling.” What are some of the best things you’ve acquired secondhand, and how did you get them?
In “The Flea Marketing of New York,” Ashley Parker writes:
What, exactly, is behind the new flea market hegemony? While the foundering economy, the banality of strip-mall and big-box shopping, and the generally whimsical and serendipitous aura of flea markets have all played a role in their popularity, the real reasons behind their rise in New York City are more complicated and hardwired than even the most well-trained scavenger or vintage aficionado might expect, experts say.
Paul Moore, a professor of communication at Ryerson University in Toronto, who studies the history of the mass market: “Personal taste needs an urban space for fashion, like a flea market with an element of playfulness and randomness and spontaneity. We’ve got a nostalgia for outmoded, outdated and anachronistic items, especially when they’ve all been replaced by technologies.”
Old phones, old typewriters, old record players and old cameras, Professor Moore said, are popular among fleagoers. “There’s kind of an amusement value in owning something that has no use anymore,” he said.
Students: Tell us about your notable secondhand acquisitions, whether you were given them by a friend or family member, or found them in a store or market or online. Why do you think people like flea markets and antique and junk shops? For you, is buying secondhand items more about saving money or about hand-choosing unusual or specialty items that say something important about who you are?
Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name. For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.
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