Trader Jack’s Flea Market

This place has everything from produce at incredibly low prices to nostalgia items running the gambit from sports to movies and to toys and household items. Yes, it is a flea market, which means you are not buying from a Kaufmanns or Macys but rather from independent vendors that have items you may or may not want to buy. Weather has a big impact on your experience as there are great vendors that do not open if it is raining or frigid cold. Every visit has led to finding unique items, like the time I purchased a military grade backpack for a fair price that has no broken seams, zippers, or latches after 3 years. If you are just not a flea market person, no experience is going to suddenly make you one.

Disappointing dirty flea market. Not sure how the health inspectors havent shut down the food yet. Some vendors sell knock off items or illegal items. Im not sure why their management allows them to sell clearly illegal merchandise.
There are better flea markets in the area such as Fleatique or the Washington flea market.
Most vendors are ok, but this places best days are behind them. Not worth shopping or buying here any more.

Great fleamarket! I saw reviews on google that the manager is rude. That’s not true! She has always been nice to me when I’ve spoken with her. Yes, she is stern with people… Because she has to be! She keeps everyone inline and keep the whole thing running smooth and safe!

If the weather is nice, this is the place to be! Open only on Saturdays and Sundays. You can honestly find anything here, and the prices are cheap! I go very frequently in the summertime, and I always find a lot of antique items.

We’ve been going to Trader Jack’s for about 15 years. We skipped going the last couple of years because life was just too busy. It was SUPPOSED to be a nice day today and we were on the hunt for some vintage brooches so off we went. There were very few outdoor vendors. Probably because winter is barely over and the sun decided to hide.
There used to be all kinds of people from all walks of like selling their no longer needed or wanted items. Today it seemed like the only sellers were fruit & veggie vendors along with people who couponed to get stuff free and then sell it at flea markets. We went to check the permanent vendors inside the building on site (also where the bathrooms are). Only ¹⁄₃ of the spaces were filled and of those about half weren’t open. I was very disappointed.
I DID find a couple of brooches so that made the trip worthwhile. Then right as we were about to leave we found a roll of fencing for $ 5! Now THAT’S why we shop Trader Jack’s. We’ll wait until the weather is warmer and go search for more bargains.

I’m going to review Trader Jack’s, but not as a flea market — as a farmer’s market! Open on Saturday and Sunday, there are always 3 – 4 large stands selling produce (at least one of whom I was told is a farm). Some of it is organic and some of it is not. There is every kind of produce, and it’s cheap, cheap, cheap! Go early to get the best buys! One of of the sellers has pastured eggs, but you can only get them early on as they always sell out. In general, if going for produce, earlier is better. You don’t want to buy produce that has been sitting around all day, especially in hot weather.
Also, be sure to walk around the market itself. On any given day, there may be people selling homemade treats, plants, home made canned goods, etc. There are also snow cones, homemade lemonade, and kettle corn. Check it out, and do some thrifting while you’re there.
Note: For produce, park in the main lot as close to the barriers as possible, as that is where the farm stands are located.

Someone recently told me about the big flea market near Bridgeville, and being a somewhat ardent thrifter, my friend and I decided to take a Saturday morning to check it out. So we headed out early, and drove to Bridgeville to Trader Jack’s.
And well, my friends, with the carnivorous rise of the Walmart mentality, flea markets and garage sales just aren’t the treasure troves they used to be.
Trader Jack’s really isn’t much more than a giant junk sale from a far less than affluent neighborhood.
There are two sections. Indoor, and somewhat permanent vendors, and the outdoor tables that seem more ‘regular folk’ oriented. The outdoor section really is row after row of household junk, with a few small time antique peddlers (mostly coins, buttons, and other ‘collectibles’ and such), a handful of gardening season plant peddlers, more than enough black and gold and sports memorabilia peddlers, MORE than plenty dollar-​store kitsch peddlers, and a few food item peddlers that, quite frankly, why would I buy food items sitting out in the hot sun for goodness knows how many weeks in a row? There are also a handful of produce vendors, but considering the wares and the time of year that I was there, these were NOT farmers with fresh goods. This was an off-​the-​back-​of-​the-​truck lot of produce, at the same prices you’d find anywhere else.
The indoor section is supposedly a group of more ‘permanent’ vendors, set up in little sections, frankly none of which are particularly useful or interesting. It really is just a big old corral of junk. Very little of what I saw, inside or out, was of any kind of real value, even to a memorabilia collector. I found a vintage tie and a pair of pants that were my size (and tastes) and spent a total of $ 4 without quibbling. If I hadn’t already planted my own garden, MAYBE I would have bought a plant or two.
It can be an interesting way to pass some time on a dull weekend morning, but just don’t expect too much. In fact, don’t expect much of anything at all except some exercise and sunshine.
I mean, seriously folks… when out to peddle your wares from your closets, ask yourself this… If YOU don’t want it, why would anyone else? Unless you’re selling off grandma’s estate of valuables… keep it in your front yard, and have a beer on the porch while you waste the day.

Trader Jacks has been one of the biggest Flea Markets in SWPA for years now. It’s open year round with hit or miss crowds depending on the colder seasons, weather, etc. The vendors on the inside pretty much stay the same and I rarely go in since it’s the same stuff every week. The real diamonds in the rough are outside where soccer moms sell off last years school clothes and old guys hock refurb’d lawnmowers. I got a Cisco Router ($ 2500 retail) for $ 20 one of the last times I was there, good deal. Sundays the day to go.