Our first Ham Radio Flea Market was a great social event and place to find good deals on equipment and parts. We even had a drawing for a door prize.
Our goal was to have two a year, one in the spring and the other in the fall. Most ham radio clubs sponsor at least one flea market a year.
The LRRA Flea and Ve was very well attended and a great place to connect an entire community. Our ham radio flea market ended up being a multi-purpose event.
People were buying and selling equipment and parts. Many new hams get their first radio at a flea market. Quite a few old and newer radios changed hands at good prices. Equally important is finding parts and test equipment. We hams usually stock up on hard to find parts for future projects and repairs.
There was a lot of information on local club activities. It was a great time to find out what groups were active in our neighborhood and what they were doing. Lots of memberships got sold at our flea market.
Entry fees were five dollars which covered our costs. Vendors usually donate prizes and we had a door prize. The admission ticket entered you on our drawing plus we offered a 50-50. These events were fund raisers for our club. Often, you can win a new radio, sometimes an expensive one.
At 1pm we held a Ve session for testing. We were happy to announce our testers passed their tests.
In the earlier days of amateur radio, most people built most of their own equipment. New parts were expensive, so hams started holding flea markets to share the wealth in their community. Sometimes they are also combined with auctions. In addition, many larger clubs hold a “hamfest” or “swap meet” which is the same idea. Our first LRRA Flea and Ve was a success!