College Mart Flea Market — Local services in Griswold

I have gone to this numerous times over the last 10 years, and now I'm not happy. For starters, it's the same vendors for years now. A lot of them bail hours before it closes, too. If they are there 90 percent of them you will have to find. They are not at their booths. Their prices never ever change. The same item from ten years ago is still the same price, and it's still too much. Negotiation works occasionally, too. I have seen a lot of these vendors at auctions, and one even showed up to my yardsale. He didn't like the prices of my baseball cards (the most expensive one was like 8 bucks) but sells his stuff for insanely high prices here. I get it, I am an antique dealer myself, but it's way too pricey, in my opinion. Now for the elephant in the room, the push of politics here. I always overlooked it, but with the election coming up, it's worse than ever. It's like if Fox News had an old factory and was selling overpriced yardsale stuff. No, JFK is not coming back from the dead and running with Donald. I've heard that conversation more than once here from vendors, and one ever has or had a flag. Lastly, there's the vendors outside, and they will smoke. It's totally legal and cool, just like step aside from the crowd. There's one or two vendors outside that sell some uncomfortable stuff. I get it history is full of it, but this is the stuff you CANNOT sell on eBay. Overall, not all the vendors are bad. Some of them are great, for example. the guy that sells old signs, railroad, airplane parts, etc. He's always at his booth and is pleasant. There's a guy with books and old medical posters located in the back of the building is great. The little diner is awesome. Will I go again, probably this weekend, and I will go when they open, so hopefully, all the vendors will be there. Also,...

Nice to see an Old Mill being used. Parking is good. Snack bar is fine, a few of the booths have interesting items at reasonable prices. However, as other reviewers have said, 95% of the items are trailer park garage sale items both inside and out. The outside sellers are mostly random people selling their stuff. Inside is all dealers and those type of people. Many items have been sitting there for years and years. The prices on most items are way over the line. This is not ebay, this is a flea market. No one wants to pay $50 for something they could get for $40-50 on ebay. It also smells awful in there (especially in the summer) A person with allergies like myself is miserable after spending a little while in there TAKE YOUR ALLERGY MEDICINE! Many of the items will smell like old mill for a long time after you buy them. Also, some of the dealers are rather odd and like to shout really loud at other people. It's a somewhat friendly atmosphere but there are some odd dealers. I'd stay away, most flea markets aren't what they used to be and this is certainly included. Not the worst place i've ever been to but it ranks in the...

You have to visit this place and experience it. If you go on a sunny, warmer day and get there early, you can expect a big outside presence with lots of tables with "fresh" stuff on them. Inside, the smell of mold and dust hits you like a sucker punch in the way up the stairs. I've been going here since the late 90's and a lot of the exact same merchandise is still present and for sale over twenty years. The main floor extends almost a quarter mile long and in the far back area there isn't a lot of action. I've mistaken a sleeping elderly vendor for part of the display on several occasions. Upstairs, almost the entire upper floor of the first section is tools: there's the quantity guy who has tons of everything but not much that's nice and the quality guys who have a smaller display but much nicer antique tools (and are priced accordingly). The tools are why I come, always something new and interesting. There are coin booths, old newspapers, old audio equipment, furniture, books, even toiletries. Really worth seeing but don't expect to leave with a prize as on many days there just isn't anything worth the hassle of...