No knives, only cook knives(kellykozakandjoshdonald.substack.com)
66 pointsby firloop11 hours ago3 comments
  • darknavi5 hours ago
    I enjoy seeing glimpse into other people's niche hobbies.

    I really enjoy markets like they describe and I've experienced them in Asia, but I have no idea where I'd find one in WA State.

  • mgaunardan hour ago
    French knives are far behind Japanese ones, be it in metallurgy or design.
    • ekianjo36 minutes ago
      Agree. There is a whole industry in Japan around knives that is much bigger than the French one.
    • nsmdkdfk25 minutes ago
      [dead]
  • DeathArrow3 hours ago
    I find ebay being overpriced if you are into collecting stuff so flea markets can be an option if you don't want to overpay.
    • b-kuiperan hour ago
      i also find, with the arrival of catawiki (more a european market?), nice products for regular/normal prices seems hard to come by nowadays. Our "local" online market (marktplaats.nl) is therefore losing its value, local (town/neighborhood) (whats)app groups seem to somewhat take over this roll within the digital space.
      • jorvi36 minutes ago
        This is a general trend worldwide.

        OP's writing is nice, but he is de facto a scalper looking for the maximum amount of arbitrage. There's enough of them, like mentioned in the article, that they'll pick any flea market or secondhand store clean off diamonds in the rough before you as a regular guy really get a chance to find any.

        What they're doing isn't illegal or forbidden, but it has completely destroyed the spirit of flea markets and secondhand stores as quaint places. And in response to becoming as hypercapitalist as the rest of society, a large contingent of people on flea markets has started to offer whole tables stuffed with cheap AliExpress / Temu crap. Or AI art being sold as "handmade".

        The enthusiast offering artisanal coffee or lemonade or cinnamon rolls from his stall or food truck has quadrupled his prices, because if everyone else is gouging the visitor, why shouldn't he?

        The same goes for secondhand clothing stores. They're wise to the scalpers looking to flip stuff on Vinted or whatever, so they have also doubled or even tripled their prices. It's an open secret that a lot of stores let the girls working there have a first lookover of whatever comes in.

        • KolmogorovComp32 minutes ago
          > There's enough of them, like mentioned in the article, that they'll pick any flea market or secondhand store clean off diamonds in the rough before you as a regular guy

          Usually the flea markets is open to everyone, it’s just that the ‘regular guy’ is not motivated enough to come early. There is nothing you find you cannot if you show up at the same time.

          • jorvi29 minutes ago
            No normal person is getting up at 05:30 to go to a flea market.

            Like I said, they're not doing anything forbidden, but they've completely demolished the vibe of something formerly quaint.

            Imagine if I went to a hippie festival, bought trays and trays of cake from the food truck, then walked them two blocks over to the fancy neighborhood and started flipping them for triple the price. Word gets out, and a few years later the food truck has raised its prices significantly and then the rest of the festival follows.

            • KolmogorovComp13 minutes ago
              > No normal person is getting up at 05:30 to go to a flea market.

              Of course there are, just go at that time and check. I know because I am one of them. 05:30 is not particularly early, and if you have a specific niche or quality standard and not just only a bystander, you know that is the only way.

              I am also not sure why you believe this trend is new. The diamonds as far as I know have always been found very early.