A new antiques flea market opened July 18 in San Francisco at Candlestick Park, home of the 49ers football team. About 4,000 shoppers paid $5 admission, or $15 for early birders, and 450 vendor spaces were rented, according to Jerry Goldman, owner and president of the Candlestick Antiques & Collectibles Faire. “We had a really good turnout.”
The Faire is held in the parking lot of a stadium. Vendors rent spaces, set up tables, and pay $50 for each parking-space-size spot they rent. Shoppers pay to come, browse, buy, and eat. But is it a “flea market”? Goldman says, “We don’t call ourselves a flea market, although everybody else calls us a flea market. It’s a little more upscale. Everybody gives you the name ‘flea market,’ and I’m not offended by it, but we really try to set the standards higher. The type of merchandise is of a higher quality generally, and there’s nothing new.”
The faire has a policy designed to weed out new merchandise. “We have a rule that everything has to be 20 years old or older,” says Goldman, who was associated previously with the Alameda Point Antique and Collectible Faire.
With 11 years of market experience, Goldman says that he was satisfied with the turnout at the grand opening. “It was pretty well attended for a brand new show,” he says. “We got a lot of good press. It was on the front page of the local paper. It was on TV, radio, and we really promoted it hard.”
But there is room to expand, he adds. “A booth is a parking space, and we have 10,000 parking spaces. We’ve marked off 1,600 spaces for vendors. We have enough parking for 10,000 to 15,000 people, with more than one person in a car.”
The flea market will be held monthly year-round on the third Sunday of the month — except that football games take priority, which causes the market to switch to the fourth Sunday of the month.
So far, the responses Goldman has received from customers and from the media have been good. “Our type of show has not really been hurt by the economy, because people don’t have money, and people are looking to sell stuff, and the public is out looking for the best buy they can get. The feedback we got was that people were really happy with the buys they got.”
Goldman is optimistic about the future success of the show. “You can’t walk into a flea market and walk out empty-handed,” he says. “At least I can’t! I even bought stuff out there at the last show.”
July 23 Update: Check out this review of the market written by blogger Bob Bragman on the SF Gate site.