It was an early Sunday morning. My friend and I decided to have an early night on Saturday so we could get up. Another friend of mine came along. We headed to the biggest, and one of the most famous flea markets in Zagreb, Hrelić. Because it was my first time there, my friend insisted that we go there early. He said that he doesn't want to miss any of the good stuff. We arrived there around 6:30 a.m. All of the selling spots weren't occupied yet. Just before we entered the bigger part of the market where there aren't any selling spots, we overheard a voice directed towards us. "Hey mate, this is a good one." Pointing at the old car beside him he continued: "I've driven it for fifteen years, never had one bigger repair on it." "Thanks, but we're not in the market for cars right now, thanks!", my friend replied. 

Photo Credit: Jagodica Bobica

An Important Lesson in Haggling

Photo Credit: Jagodica Bobica

At that moment he instructed me: "If you see an item you like, whatever that was, don't show that you're impressed. And one more thing, if you ask for a price of anything, whatever you do, don't say ok right away. If somebody proposes a price of let's say, 120 kunas, be cheeky about it, and offer 40. If the vendor refuses, just walk away, if he shouts a more reasonable price at your back, turn around, and then say ok if the price is close to what you offered. Don't overdo it with the price reduction as well, he will think you're not interested, but just messing with him." It was at that moment that I realized how colorful this place actually is. Since we got to the part of the market where the selling spots were so early, not all of them were occupied. This was good for me because I could see what those spots were. They're basically just blocks of concrete, skillfully covered with all sorts of things to attract the buyer's eye. Some people have so much stuff to sell, and you can't reach them to give them the money for the item you want to buy. 

Photo Credit: Jagodica Bobica

It's Amazing What You Can Find

Photo Credit: Jagodica Bobica

My friend that instructed me about the secrets of buying and selling at Hrelić is a vintage old-timer cars collector. I think that he and his family have about thirteen now, so he was searching for some car parts you can't find anywhere else. My other friend that came along was searching for some cool vintage fashion accessories and some stuff to equip the new apartment she recently rented. "How much for that?", she asked, pointing at an iron without the water tank, which, I guess, got broken or lost somewhere. "20 kunas!", the owner of the iron replied. "Ok, but does it work?" "Sure it does," the guy replied. That iron turned out to be the best part of electronics she bought for many years after. It was working like a charm. Beside the iron, she also found some earrings and some John Lennon-style sunglasses for 5 kunas. They were broken, but she planned to fix them. I'm not sure she ever did, though. Personally, I went there without a plan. I wasn't searching for anything in particular, which, as I realized later was the biggest mistake I could have made. Not because there's something you can't find. There's just too much stuff, so I lost my mind trying to get my eye on everything that could interest me. My friend bought a rare headlight for an old car which he later sold for five-time the profit, and we could continue our flee market journey.

Photo Credit: Jagodica Bobica

You Don't Have to Be British to Come to Britanac

Our second stop was Britanac, a more sophisticated flee market in Zagreb if that's not too much of an oxymoron to say. My friend showed his flea market expertise again: "I will now show you at least 5 things I saw last week when I was at Hrelić, only that, their price will be at least twice if not five times higher than the price they've had on Hrelić". This was precisely what I meant when I said that Britanac is a more sophisticated flee market. Not only are the items sold there for the higher price, but they are also much cleaner. You'll hardly find anything broken or rusty on Britanac.

Photo Credit: Tibor Trupec

Another thing with Britanac is that the people visiting are a bit different. You can't have a problem with digging through piles of T-shirts if you want to find something for yourself when you're buying something on Hrelić. But, I must say, Britanac also has its charms. One of the most exciting things I saw on the two visited flea markets was on Britanac. It was a late 19th-century soldier uniform. The vendor wanted the astounding 30,000 kunas for the suit. He claimed it was an original but, I just didn't know.

Photo Credit: Tibor Trupec

Being on our feet from the early morning, and since it was nearly noon, we decided we've seen enough for the day and that it was time to grab a cup of coffee.

Header Image Credit: Jagodica Bobica

Author: Tibor Trupec