I did it!!! I FINALLY got to The Eastside Flea today! It was crappy weather but I didn’t care. I took the Skytrain to Main Station and walked down past The Ivanhoe Pub to 1024 Main Street to go shopping in The Ellis Building. BTW, their website says it opens at 11 am but apparently it actually opens at 10 am on weekend mornings.
The building is really cool. It is divided into little nooks but there is one larger room to the left after you pay your $3 admission fee.
I was a little overwhelmed by the quality of the wares. Everything from this super-retro Mickey Mouse 45 player that still works…
To old school typewriters. I was on the look out for retro dishes and only found one person selling them but a set of mixing bowls was $80!
The people who sold stuff second hand had seriously high quality items and the work of the people who sold their craftsmanship was quite high caliber.
I was hoping for a typical flea market where you can get deals but unlike this cool old piece of luggage filled with buttons…
Things weren’t cheap! I asked about the little Brownie camera because it was exactly the same kind I had as my first camera growing up and the guy told me it was $35. I just shook my head and walked away but he wanted to know how much I wanted to offer him for it. I didn’t want to embarrass myself by saying 10 bucks so I just said, “Nowhere near that!” and quickly exited the room. I always forget that if it does not have a price on it, just let it go. I am a horrible haggler.
Upstairs there is a little nook that I do recommend visiting.
Solely because it had so many weird and wonderful retro items. I have a soft spot for anything to do with photography. Still, it felt more like an antiques store than a flea market.
It was in this room I had a little hope that I would find a treasure.
And there it was above the vintage sunglasses! A Wonder Woman lunch box that had a sticker on it that said $10. MINE!!!
Oh yeah!!! Dinged up but still super cool, I have wanted one of these FOREVER!
I was in and out of The Eastside Flea in around 20 minutes. It was so heavily scented with something (soap? incense?) that I had to get out of there. It was also a little too cool for school for me and way more expensive than I thought it was going to be. I really love treasure hunting but it is hard to do in Vancouver. People know what they have and how much they can push the price.
Still, I am so excited about my Wonder Woman lunch box! Totally worth the trip out in the cold rain on a Saturday morning.
Yes, it sounds like “flea market” was a bit of a misnomer — it was more of an antique and collectibles place, with prices to match. But I’m happy you got a WW lunch box and at a good price!
Exactly! I was hoping I might want to get a booth there to sell my jewelry and some stuff I have collected but no way. Plus, there was a guy selling erotic comic books or something which creeped me out. If I had to sit next to him?! And what about kids going to the market? In general most people were very nice but it’s too high scale which is funny considering this is in one of the toughest and poorest areas of Vancouver. Finding treasures is getting harder and harder!
Love what you got there. How cool is that? So cool. You are the Super Hero Foodie, for sure.
Those smells would be hard on me too. But again, what a find. Cool beans.
Thank you! I am thrilled with my lunch box. Super Hero Foodie?! I LOVE that, thank you! I wish I knew what was so scented in there, really hurt my throat and head.