Step1
Assess your motivations for going to flea markets. Are you looking for a specific item to spiff up your current decor? Are you a collector of antiques or arts and crafts of a specific era or by a specific artist? Or do you just enjoy the social interaction of chatting with vendors and fellow browsers and discovering items you never knew you needed until you stumbled over them by accident? If you have something definite in mind, the best use of your time will be to visit flea markets that you know will carry that particular item. These can be discerned by perusing the classifieds and looking for announcements such as "estate sale," "antique sale," "artists co-op" or "street sale." Weekly neighborhood papers are especially good for this because the organizers of flea markets and yard sales don't want to spend a lot of money on advertising their events and can get the cheapest rates in a neighborhood gazette. You'll also want to keep an eye open for fliers tacked up on supermarket bulletin boards or posted on utility poles. You may even live in a neighborhood that holds large-scale weekly flea markets in the same location every Saturday and Sunday. Since the same vendors generally return each week to peddle their wares, it's easy to get a sense of what kind of merchandise routinely makes an appearance.
Step2
Establish a budget before you go. If, for instance, your quest is for a vintage lamp or a piece of antique glassware, you will already have done your homework by going to the library, trolling the Internet, thumbing through catalogs or even being a devotee of "Antiques Roadshow" to get a general sense of the market value of the piece in question. Suppose that the piece of antique glassware (in excellent condition) has a value of $50. If you spot one at the flea market and the price tag is three times that amount, you're overpaying. On the other hand, if the vendor just wants to offload it for $15, you've got yourself a great bargain. Having a budget is also a prudent maneuver because it's very easy at flea markets to get carried away with a plethora of low-priced items that mysteriously manage to add up to hundreds of dollars before you even make it off the lot.
Step3
Set your alarm early the day of the flea market because you want to get there just as soon as it opens. Don't be surprised, of course, if you already find a crowd there when you arrive; the early-bird mentality is fairly common amongst die-hard bargain hunters. If you want to have first dibs on merchandise (especially if there are specific items you're seeking), you want to be among the very first to view it. If you're just a casual browser with nothing particular in mind, however, being an early bird isn't critical. In fact, it might better serve your interests if you show up an hour or so before the flea market closes. Vendors generally aren't enamored with the notion of packing up all of their goods and taking them away and are, thus, more amenable to lowering their prices just to have the items taken off their hands.
Step4
Negotiate. If the item of interest isn't something rare or in high demand by shoppers, vendors are often open to coming down on the listed price. If, for instance, you're spending several hours at a flea market, make several casual passes by the booth or table where your desired items are displayed. If after three hours they haven't moved, it's a good indication that the vendor might welcome any reasonable offer to take it away. Likewise, check out booths that are selling similar items and take note of what they are charging for them. In this way, you can come back to the original vendor, mention that his competitor seems to be selling the same thing but charging a few dollars less for it. While the vendor may not match that price exactly, there's a good possibility that he'll meet you halfway on it. Likewise, if you are buying several items from the same vendor, don't be shy about inquiring whether you can get a discount. Vendors who regularly work the flea market circuit are just as interested as storefront merchants in building a loyal client base. If giving you a discount will establish a positive rapport for future business, they're going to be willing to entertain a special price.
Step5
Collect vendor business cards. If you are looking for a specific item but don't find it that day from a vendor who sells similar goods, ask if she has a business card so that you can check back on a regular basis. Likewise, take some business cards of your own so that you can write down what it is you're looking for. Again, it's all about building customer satisfaction and loyalty. Should the vendor later acquire the item you're looking for, you'll have positioned yourself well to negotiate a private sale rather than having to fight someone else for it at the next flea market.
Novice 
