BUYERS WIN, SELLERS WIN: AT FLEA MARKETS

One sliver sized sector of the U.S. economy is going strong: flea markets. You want to get rid of it and I've got to have it.

As companies like General Motors, Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual and World Com, Inc. have gone belly up, the humble flea market is soaring like an eagle. What makes these tiny local businesses recession proof? Possibly it's because both buyer and seller win – small businesses make a profit and consumers save, people find a way to get what they want or sell what they no longer want or need.

The annual Labor Day Flea Market held at Hillsville, Virginia, is a prime example of small business skills in action. To understand how and why this event continues to grow warrants a case study, with input from college experts holding many degrees, but I am not aware of any universities offering MBAs in Flea Market at this time. Instead, the experts come from Laurel Fork, a rural road barely visible on the Google Earth map.

A couple of friends came up with the idea of a local gun show/flea market in the late '60s as a fundraiser after the VFW Post 1115 home had collapsed under snow and ice. They needed a new facility but there were few funds to build on. Pierce Webb, a gun collector/trader, and his friend Glenn Jackson, both of Laurel Fork Road, wanted a local gun show in the area. Hillsville Police Chief Gene Pack thought it was a good idea. He offered to direct traffic for the event. Dennis Quesenberry, a serious gun collector in the area, liked the idea as well. The first gun show/flea market, in 1968, was held inside. That year the kitchen crew at VFW Post 1115 was told to cook enough to feed, on the high end, around 2000 – more than twice that number showed up.

It may be a mystery to many business experts why local, small business flea markets are thriving in these economic times when multi million dollar companies, backed by Wall Street investors and our government, continue to collapse. I am not an expert in the field of business. I cannot give you educated theories on the certainty of the outcome of a well written business plan, nor am I good at projecting quarterly returns, but I do know why I go to a flea market. I am looking for a bargain.