Sunday, August 31, 2008

Mixed Markets

I remember when car boot sales were interesting places to visit. There were always bargains to be had - and the sellers benefited by getting some cash for stuff they would otherwise throw away.

It's been some years, though, since I've been to a car boot sale that has had anything useful. They now seem to be dominated by repeat sellers hawking the same old tired tat, or "professionals" looking to make a profit.

On holiday in Rome, we went to a Sunday Market. Another dead loss - some sellers doing a good job of selling to locals, but also significant numbers of stall purely aimed at ripping off gullible tourists.

Back in the UK, we went to a bank holiday Monday market. And that was even worse. Absolutely nothing of interest, lots of rip-off merchants selling substandard goods at excessive prices (by which I mean significantly more than you can get fully guaranteed on the high street).

It's not all doom and gloom. We went down to London for the afternoon, and went round Camden Markets. And while there is a bit of trash, and you see the same items on multiple stalls, it's got a lot more character, and feels a lot more wholesome. While I didn't come away with anything, I quite enjoyed it.

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