Flea Market Prices

[gleek4114]

Posted: 8/6/13 at 9:31pm

I am trying to budget my trip to NYC and was curious to what the prices were like. How much is the autograph table? Photo booth? How much on average is an unsigned window card? Signed window card? Really any insight on average pricing would be awesome.

[gstrus2]

Posted: 8/6/13 at 9:39pm

If I remember correctly Photo Booth was $10 per photo and table was $30 for that hour. :)

[NicoleMWright2]

Posted: 8/7/13 at 12:01am

I believe a photo with two performers is $40, and for some bigger-named actors photos are $20.

Window cards, I've gotten some for $1, but of course most are more than that. Can't really give you an accurate average price for those though. There are many deals, you just have to look for them.

[kaylalydia]

Posted: 8/7/13 at 1:00am

This year will be my first year at the Flea Market and usually how much are they?

Updated On: 8/8/13 at 01:00 AM

[LuminousBeing]

Posted: 8/7/13 at 2:26am

Prices vary greatly. Items tend to be more expensive at the beginning of the day (save for the auction items), and by the end, many things are sold VERY cheaply (I scored four great-condition window cards for a dollar and a free BCEFA "green" bag to put them in 5 minutes before the end a few years ago) or even given away. Sometimes it's just plain luck: once, there was an "everything on this table is one dollar for the next five minutes" announcement at the table right in front of me, and I bought the *How I Did It* hardcover "Producers" book, and a Broadway documentary DVD (that someone else had just bought for $20) for a buck apiece. And sometimes they'll charge $35 for a signed unframed 4x6 production photo.

Playbills you can find cheaply and freely everywhere, though maybe not the ones you want.

Posted: 8/7/13 at 9:54am

Last year, I scored a H2$ Darren Criss and a H2$Nick Jonas Playbill to complete my collection. They were sold at 4 Playbills for $2. Way better than ebay. But I'm not sure they have autographed playbills from closed shows...
While prices tend to be more expensive in the morning, some of the best stuff is found in the morning...so it really depends on you and how much you are willing to spend. I like the mornings (like 10am, when they open) because there are fewer people so I can take my time to browse. Last year, I stumbled upon a table where keychains were being sold for $1 each and I (unknowingly) picked up the opening night gift of Speed the Plow with Raul Esparza. I was also lucky enough one year to be checking out the BCEFA snow globes where someone said a cart of the snow globes were "damaged"-- there was a water bubble at the top of the globe. I didn't mind and I surely didn't mind paying $5 for it!

[gchris11]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 1:44am

do tables take credit cards or is it cash only? Thanks

[Next2Noone]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 2:16am

From what I can remember a lot of tables prefer cash. I think there is a location that serves as an "ATM" where you get a receipt and hand it to the table for whatever item it was you were looking to purchase.

Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong.

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 2:22am

Next2Noone, you are correct. When you want to pay by credit card, the table will write out a slip for the amount, which you then take to the "Bank" (a table near the middle where you can pay with a credit card.) The Bank will then run your card, give you a receipt, and you take the receipt back to the table and exchange it for your items.

And just to note, the Bank doesn't open until the Flea Market officially opens, so while you can get there early and pay for things immediately with cash, if you want to use a card you'll still have to wait. Most tables will put aside items you want to purchase for you to come back and get later.

[gchris11]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 11:43am

Thank you so much. Very good to know. I will have cash, but was curious if that SPECIAL item appeared that I could not live without and was really expensive If I could charge it.

[WickedRENTAwakening]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 12:06pm

You have to be good with money (which I'm not) to survive. I gave myself a $400 cash budget and I did not make it to the Schubert Theatre. I keep having to go back and forth with credit card forms hoping my stuff would still be there. Another problem I had was buying memorabilia that was already framed and having to cary it around for from 7 AM to 4 PM. F' that I am bring a screwdriver and abandoning the frames at the front of the Annie Marquee this time because I'm evil.

The Broadway Flea Market is the happiest place on earth if theatre autographs arouse you. They defiantly arouse me.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 12:20pm

Er.... If you don't want the frames, I'll gladly take them off your hands.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 12:26pm

^ Or you can just not buy some of that expensive stuff you have not budgeted for. And you can't possibly have carried stuff around from 7am on because the flea market doesn't open until 10am.

The flea market is definitely a craps shoot with prices. If you know you will want something big that might be a lot of money, take that into consideration. If you are just looking for playbills, chances are, you probably don't need to bring a ton of money, unless it is autographed from a current running show. I've actually gotten some random signed ones for like $1 that people were just looking to sell. You just have to be willing to look.

Oh yes, and another good piece of advice is if you want something, but have a doubt in your mind on spending the money to get it, you probably can live without it. There is no reason to go broke just to own something.

Updated On: 8/8/13 at 12:26 PM

[WickedRENTAwakening]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 12:38pm

That is true, I did not need to pay $100 for Steve Kazze's worn and signed thermal shirt from Once. But he did win Best Actor and It was from a show that won Best Musical. All I'm saying is Shubert ally is one slippery slope in September.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 12:51pm

Yeah, I never end up spending too much money because I'm not one of those people who buys things just to have them. That's a great way to blow your budget before noon and wind up five years later selling things off on Ebay that you can't remember why you "needed". I only buy things from shows or actors that really meant something to me personally, and even then, I try to be choosy about memorabilia.

One thing I do love is being able to snag cheap frames at the end of the day and hunt down some rare windowcards. Showy stuff like props and costumes from big musicals will break the bank usually and IMO, not really worth it unless it's something that really means a lot to you.

Updated On: 8/8/13 at 12:51 PM

[Courtney2]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 4:49pm

About playbills, would they have OBCs from current running shows and possibly closed shows, like Ghost, etc.?

[Marianne2]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 5:28pm

It's very possible. Last year I got my hands on a Leap of Faith and Lysistrata Jones playbill. And I know I have seen OBC playbills, amongst other interesting ones.

[Courtney2]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 5:29pm

Do you know if they would have any signed by the OBC cast? Looking for several.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 8/8/13 at 6:15pm

I have no idea. It is probably more likely for shows that opened this past season. Something that has been open for years is probably less likely.

[treehorn]

Posted: 8/9/13 at 2:56pm

The BC/EFA main table usually has boxes of signed playbills at varying prices. Older shows (and/or less popular shows) can be pretty cheap and prices do go down by the end of the day (I got LuPone's Gypsy, Stewart's MacBeth, Xanadu and a few others for $10 or under one year).