I've been going there for nearly a decade every Sunday when not rained out, to be honest this year have only made it once a month. I buy my produce there, and the vendors are good hard working people and fun to interact with, so finding a great deal on something you need is a bonus. Wolff's has some pros and some serious cons which I can no longer disregard and will spell out below.
Pros: They do a great job keeping bootleg and counterfeit merchandise out of this market. Overall they do a decent job of keeping the area and port-a-poddies clean. And the flea market itself is overall safe with security and you can find some great deals and some very unique things.
Cons: The staff and management are absolutely unbearable to the vendors. Over a course of a decade I have seen first hand how they treat some of the vendors which by even the lowest of professional standards is unacceptable. I've seen their staff rifle and rummage through a vendors offerings because they don't personally like the products that vendor offers or they don't like the vendor, just looking for a reason to give them trouble.
Not that the products are bad or fake, but because they simply do not like the product because it goes against what appears to be their personal woke political agenda, and management turns quickly into the cancel culture.
Today I watched this from a few feet away the disrespect they gave to a pretty regular vendor over a T-shirt they found after rifling through his stuff that contained no profanities, no threatening text, it has an image of Trump, Biden & Pelosi and it said the good, the bad, the ugly. Today they told him not to return his business is no longer welcome over a T-Shirt. Let that sink in.... So when one of the owners left I bought the shirt, even though it was not my size based on principle.
Last year the owners gave this same vendor grief every single week as well because he sold 50 Trump flags to maybe one Biden. He offered both to customers but because "Trump". Each week I would stop by him buy one from him that friends asked me to get for them. He would tell me not sure if he would be back next week because the owners hate Trump and are giving him grief. So as of today he is officially out because "Trump".
When a business chooses to be woke and cut off legitimate small business because their personal political beliefs that's not a business I can support. Political retribution has no place in America's free market system, This is America the USA, not the banana republic but that is exactly what this venue is turning into.
My bet is they will say that some market goers are complaining, which I believe would be total BS because that vendor literally sells 50-1 Trump flags over Biden shear logic and mathematics prove otherwise. Even if a few people complained, would your local grocery store stop selling 95% of their items because a handful of people don't like the way they taste? No! Common sense has escaped the management here. I simply cannot in good conscious ever go back there.
This review is not about my politics because I think Both the R's & D's are as toxic as a party can get. I posted this review because I believe in the free market America was built on not the cancel culture who has proven to be even more toxic than the two major political parties.
Please do not consider my review to be interpreted as trying to cancel them. Their are still good deals to be had there, just realize if you are looking for something specific it may not be there because it may be being suppressed by...
Read moreBiggest flea market in the Chicagoland area by far. It's $3 to enter and takes up most of the main Allstate Arena parking lot. Get there early to find the best deals. If you come around 10am, that seems to be when it gets the busiest and you'll likely wait about 10 minutes to make it to the parking lot. The last time we visited, it looked like we scored one of the last parking spaces in the smaller office building that is behind Allstate Arena. Parking is free.
Even if you walk fast and glance at each stall, expect to spend about 2 hours here. Easily more if you go to look at every single thing and haggle. There are a few food truck options each week with foods ranging from coffee and water to pizza and churros. The front of the Allstate Arena is open for the bathrooms but I am pretty sure there are also porta potties scattered around the edges of the lot as well to use.
Even if we aren't looking for anything specific, we always end up spending a ton of money here and go home with so much. There are stalls that just pile everything and it's a free for all and there are stalls that have actual collectors items locked away behind glass. If you're looking for power and hand tools or yard equipment, you can normally find...
Read moreMy husband, our six yr old and I went for the first time and it was awesome! There was always something for my husband to look at, something for our daughter and something for me. You can't rush at a place like this and you have to get here early if you want to be able to check out all the vendors. There is ample free parking. Admission was 2$ for adults and 1$ for kids. It is outside and It was hot, so be prepared with sunscreen, a hat or an umbrella for shade against the sun and a good pair of walking shoes. There is a bathroom in the building and you can also cool off there as well since it has AC. There were a few food stands there too. Pizza, tacos and churros from what I saw. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables at a great deal. I got 7 on the vine tomatoes for 1$! Yes, deals like this makes me happy! Everyone we encountered were very friendly. We plan on returning next week to see what we might...
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