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Flea markets can save you a bundle
Here’s a comparison of what decorators Jane Bell Cammarata and Linda Clay estimate it would cost to buy items at a flea market to furnish a child’s room, and what the same items might cost new or at an antiques store (their purchases were hypothetical):
- The 7- by 9-foot needlepoint rug would cost $50 at the sale; on the market, expect to spend $300 or more.
- Slant-top desk would be a bargain at $75; a new one would probably cost about $600.
- Yellow cabinet with glass doors would cost the decorators $125; market price for a similar item would be about $700.
- A small lamp would go for $15 at the sale; new, it would run about $100.
- Three pictures at the sale have an estimated cost of $20; if new, $100.
- Two window treatments could be conjured up by the decorators from a $10 price for drapery remnants; similar new ones would be about $550.
- The rush-seat stool would go for $7; new, it would be $45.
- A $1 basket at the sale would cost about $10 in a store.
- The child’s rocker picked up for $25 would cost $125 retail.
- Bed linens, which the women say they could get for $20, would run around $200 new.
- And the bird cage, priced at $30 for the sale, would cost around $90.
Estimated flea market costs: $378
Estimated retail costs: $2,820
Estimated savings: $2,442