The Rag Market

The rag market is by far not the best it has ever been, but it will always continue to be a draw for us personally. If only to look for NES and SNES cartridges or to get four packets of liquorice Zig-​Zag fag papers for a pound. Between the ages of 10 and 18 the biggest reason for shopping at the ‘old rag market’, was a second hand record stall that 60% of the black wax I own/​owned was purchased from. One of the fondest memories I have from those days is that rainy Saturday morning when I was about 12. Due to the rain, the market hall as always had an inch of water inside, I was in town doing the shopping with mom. I must have been well behaved that week and hadn’t got kicked out of school or anything, (I was usually suspended for not turning up, go figure!), because after shopping she took me to the market to buy records. Between my mom and I the subject of music is always going to result in long conversations and discussions. A large percentage of my taste in music has come from her, memories of my childhood always come with a soundtrack attached! Since birth I have been weaned on everything from Big Youth, Peter Tosh and reggae sound-​system compilation albums to Bowie, T-​Rex and Sweet. With the likes of Rolling Stones, Hendrix, Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent thrown in for good measure.
The particular day in question was not one of those days where a mother like mine, takes great pride in her only son. Despite all the good schooling in music she gave me, I was to let her down terribly when I purchased four Iron Maiden L.P.‘s for ten quid. The four albums in question were, Killers, Piece of Mind, Somewhere in Time and seventh Son of a Seventh son. Rather than being purchased from the usual record stall, they were bought from two teenage metal-​heads that had literally turned up with a box of vinyl and was selling them on an empty market stall to earn a few quid. I remember the happiness I felt sifting through the box, pulling out Slayer, Sepultura and Black Sabbath L.P.‘S as well as obscure bands I hadn’t even heard of at the time and can’t remember now, before finally deciding on the Maiden albums. I remember how the bigger boys were talking to me about metal and in particular Iron Maiden, I vividly recall the moment when mom said I was only allowed a tenner and how the records came to £16… and the joy when one of the guys said they were impressed with my pleading to mom for another six quid and would give me all four for ten pound. In the coming years I would use The Rag Market to buy second hand Levis, bootleg t-​shirts, pirated videos, books, comics, pork pie trilbys and on a few occasions, illegal weapons. As well as patches, badges, German combat boots, skull rings that would go black after an hours wear and bestiallity porn.
The Rag Market is very different nowadays, its a lot tidier, dryer and far more regulated, it specialises in arts and craft materials, tacky jewellery and cheap household items. Though there is still the occasional worthwhile stall scattered about here and there, they are very few and far between and getting fewer every year, but they are there. You can still pick up a bargain on a pair of orange tag Levis or a leather overcoat from Carl and there is always the Readers World corner stall that has been there since I can remember, but all the actual market atmosphere seems to have disappeared. Since the ‘new’ market has been open It seems to be a place where people go to pick up bottles of cheap bleach and Brillo pads. Rather than just wondering in there to buy something they didn’t even know they wanted, until they spotted it… or more likely until it was offered to them ‘under the counter’. I don’t think The Rag Market i’m romanticising in this review would work in Brumagen today, there was no security, little lighting, and no health and safety standards. Added to that, as previously mentioned, it would fill with water when it rained. I don’t think that would set the right tone for the Bullring city cen… sorry, I mean the Birmingham city centre of today.

It’s a big market with all sorts of odds and sods including food. The name says it all and this place is full of cheap bargains but if you are expecting quality you may want to reset your expectations :-)
If I lived in town I would be here every weekend. I cannot help my love for markets :-))

I remember going to Rag Market with my big sister when we were teenagers. We used to save our pocket money to go and buy second hand velvet blazers and old jeans.
My Mom always used to go there to buy curtain material and fabrics to make dresses. I have lots of fond memories of the place. I went back a few weeks ago and found it a bit of a let down.
The market is absolutely packed, with stalls selling sweets, underwear, make-​up, haberdashery items and fabrics as well as an abundance of the general tat that you find on markets nationwide.
There were still some secondhand clothes stalls and punky-​goth stalls, but nowhere near as many as I remember from when I was a kid.
The market was really busy, with loads of people jostling their way through the aisles. I ended up bumping into a really smell bag-​lady, which was a bit gross. That said, the market was lively and colourful.

In a million years (OK, slight exaggeration, I wouldn’t have gone into Birmingham Rag Market. Firstly because it’s the other side of the city to me and secondly I like to shop in neat and tidy places. I was recommended to visit when I was looking for some material to have a dress made and soon realised this is indeed, one of Birmingham’s gems! Did I mention apart from neat and tidy shops, the other thing I like is ‘value for money’? That’s exactly what this place is.
The stack them high, sell them cheap policy is well and truly in existence here and the market is a lot more professional than I imagined. Apart from lots of materials there are lots of stalls that sell items for crafting such as buttons, beads, ribbons, patchwork pieces, wool and so much more.
Recommend if you are a wannabe crafter like me!

The rag market is a shopping wonderland! There are loads of unique, quirky and useful stores here and everything is cheap. There’s a good chance you’ve heard of this market because believe it or not it’s famous worldwide.
The rag market has been around since December 2000 but it feels I’ve known it all my life. They have stalls that sell: popular cuisine ingredients, tools, clothes, pet care, medication, gimmicks, household items and much more! As a child it was great to find a host of toys. On my last visit I was looking at shoes and equipment for camping. It’s good to know that their style hasn’t changed much throughout the years. It seems as if most of the prices here beat those on high street and some products are even better quality. They are open from 9am to 5pm every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. During the week it doesn’t get too busy but on the weekends it can get busier especially around the holidays. I know from experience if you fancy going on the weekend then go either in the morning around 9am or when they start packing up at 4pm. This will help avoid the crowds. In the evening people are looking to get rid of their products more, even though the market can look mess. This is the time I choose to go.
Having said all these good things the security isn’t as good as it should be as you can easily be pick-​pocketed on a busy day and get lost amongst the stalls, which is worse for parents and children and tourists.