vide grenier/boot fairs

[Hotrodder]

RA's story on another thread reminds me. On Sunday we took advantage of the dry weather and had a pitch at our (almost) local vide grenier. A small monthly affair, off the beaten track, attended by mostly friendly locals. Early in the year we were taking our full range of stuff and found we were not doing very well with "domestic" stuff, books, and shiny doodaws and were thinking of giving it up as a bad alternative to staying in bed. I thought let's change what we take and give it one more try, so I started taking hardware and tools. Result!
We are now unlikely to go to any other venues because they require getting up much earlier and driving in the pitch dark down narrow lanes. I hate driving at night now. And the bigger events charge per metre for the pitch and you are expected to stay all day. Now to the point.
When the mayor (who organises the event) turned up to collect our pitch money (€2) with our free coffee and donut his assistant runs off and returns with something we left behind last month. A small cast metal keyhole escutcheon. It must have slipped out of a crate as we packed up to leave. I hadn't noticed it was gone because we have dozens. We always look around our area before we leave to be sure we are not leaving any litter, etc. and I'm pretty sure everyone else does as well. The big venues with hundreds of pitches and visitors are usually left looking like Glastonbury. You guys would hoot with laughter watching me trying to explain what some of my items actually do, like specialised engineering tools, etc. using sign language and mime.

[Loup-garou]

I don't suppose that old enema machine was too difficult to explain Hotrodder.

[Hotrodder]

My last few years in UK were funded by selling junk at boot fairs and you wouldn't believe what people will buy, as long as its cheap. Many items I couldn't even identify.

[RobertArthur]

Vide greniers, sometimes rainy, sometimes interesting stuff, sometimes sunny plus the bonus of home made (by others) tartelettes.

[Loup-garou]

I think you have caught the worst and best in your pictures RA. If the weather is half decent there is nothing better than to take a pew in the buvette and people watch (more dog watching in our case). Sometimes we go home with some useful/interesting stuff. An excellent Sunday morning.

There are two types of stall holders - those who really do want rid of things and ask a pittance for their wares as opposed to those who want almost their money back often displaying a note with the price they paid for the items new.

[Hotrodder]

An interesting point. I do occasionally spot something that is clearly well-used tagged at a price I can beat brand new online. Its as if they think by using something for a couple of years somehow adds value.

[curtis]

You never know what you will find. A few years back I went some distance to a Bourse which advertized car parts. On arrival I was confronted with stalls of used baby clothes, toys etc. I was not very pleased. But, at the end there were just a few stands with car parts and there on the ground on an old bache amidst some old bits was the Ducellier distributor for which I had been looking. And.....15€ ! The Rosengart ran much better.

[RobertArthur]

The money I spend visiting vide-greniers is probably for fuel to get there, better than hanging around at home, and for SD memory cards, always something interesting. In the past I sometimes came back with more than one book. Now it is a trip down digital memory lane, yesterday's test equipment, just taking note of the French technology in the fifties, sixties. Lucky me: not Marconi, HP, AVO, Fluke or Tektronix.

[Hotrodder]

My latest piece of vintage kit found on ebay, not at a vide grenier is a Ferrograph Defluxer, in immaculate nick in original box with instructions. A snip at £15 delivered.