Leather club chairs for sale at a Paris flea marketThere are Paris brocantes (roving flea markets selling second-hand goods) in every season except summer. The biannual Salon Antiquites Brocante at the Place de la Bastille, which opens today and runs through May 18, is one of the biggest, with furniture and objects from the 12th to the 20th centuries in 350 stands set up along the Seine. Once a budget alternative to overpriced Clingnancourt and Paris antique stores, the brocantes have gotten more expensive over the years. Brocanteurs are delighted to offer mini-lectures about the origins and uses of curious objects. If you want to buy something, remember that you are dealing with the equivalent of a used car salesman. Here's a refresher course on how to bargain with the natives, and a photo tour of the last edition.
1. Go on a weekday if possible to avoid the crowds.
2. Don't be surprised if the brocanteur is more interested in a novel, cellphone conversation, onsite lunch or coffee break than in serving you. The French abolished their monarchy, customers included.
3. Speak as much French as you can, even if it's just "Bonjour." French etiquette dictates that it's your job to say hello to the proprietor, not the other way around.
4. Every social transaction in France is an act of seduction. Don't be surprised to find you're the one doing the romancing. The French consider the act of buying the merchandise a privilege, not a right.
5. Avoid excessive praise of a desired object. Look it over, frown at some real or imagined defect, and ask "Quel est le prix?" Look vaguely disappointed when offered the standard 15 percent discount and a laundry list of why it is rare/beautiful/desirable/a steal. Ask "Quel est votre dernier prix?" -- but only if you really want it -- lest you be considered an ill-mannered tease.
6. Never put an object down and walk away in an attempt to lower the price if there is a French person within earshot. Brocante-goers are a covetous breed, and objects of your obvious affection will take on a powerful allure.
7. Don't be surprised if the brocanteur treats your demand for a lower price with an indignant "C�est cheap!" for the rich American you will be taken for, no matter your bank balance or the pitiful state of the near-worthless dollar.
8. Never overestimate the French desire to actually sell the merchandise.
9. If you do wrestle a beloved possession from a brocanteur's arms, it's best to smile when he insists, as you hand over your hard-earned, 1.60-to-the-dollar eurocash, that he's giving you -- just you, only you -- "un cadeau."
10. Most brocanteurs work on a cash-only basis. Stands with credit card signs may reduce the price if you offer cash. If you have a French checkbook, many brocanteurs will let you pay in two or three
installments. Many will deliver larger items and some brocanteurs at Bastille will ship internationally. Any brocanteur will give you a statement saying that an item is more than 100 years old, and thus exempt from customs duties, should anyone ask.
- Kristin Hohenadel blogging from rue Vieille du Temple, Paris, France. She can be reached at khohenadel @ apartmenttherapy . com
That photo of the brocanteuses having a coffee break--it's fantastic! It looks like something out of the old Life magazine. These posts from Paris have become my favorite thing on AT.
view palousian's profile
I agree! I've been devouring the Paris posts, in preparation for my trip in the fall.
view rachel (between denver/nyc)'s profile
Could you please translate the French in #5? I can estimate from the context, but...
Re: #4: "I rented this space and gathered all of these precious objects together, you should be thanking me!" is how they look at it, I guess.
Love the leather chair in the foreground.
view Jon_B's profile
Jon_B,
Quel est le prix? = How much is this [what is the price]?
Quel est votre dernier prix? = What is your last (i.e. lowest) price?
view bubble's profile
Wonderful, witty and spot-on description of shopping a la francaise. Love these posts even though I hate em. (It's that envy thing, you know.)
view katlia's profile
Damn! I'll just miss this. And my hotel's not far from the Bastille.
view Lady J's profile
Stop showing me exactly what I want but can't get to. It's really too mean. Has anyone seen club chairs around with such nice detail? Maybe I'm not looking had enough.
view mgb's profile
mgb, abc used to have those chairs also try 1st dibs.
#6 is international if something has a sold tag or someone is examining it everyone wants it.
view patrik's profile
lol
they're not fiving you an attitude because you're not French, since they act the same with French people...
but one of the best brocante may not be in Paris but in l'Ile sur la Sorgue on Sundays (note : lots of English spoken on these days)
view @nna's profile
I'll also recommend L'île sur la Sorgue, not only for the Brocante but also for the region, La Provence: lovely landscape, wonderful old villages, good food, good vine...
view Jany's profile
Its going to be a lot harder now that I live in the north of England rather than the south to take a van over to France for the weekend - but still doable - I want those leather armchairs so badly!!!
view Violetsrose's profile
i love these parisian posts! will have to plan another visit... been too long.
view k in ditmas's profile
it seems you can get such cool items at flea markets in France...how lucky are they??
http://madebygirl.blogspot.com/
www.madebygirl.com
view jennifer ramos's profile
Don't worry - we can get stuff *they* covet at flea markets in the US...
view Jaze's profile
I would like to know how much cheaper the items at these flea markets are. For instanct, the club chairs in the first pic- are we talking hundreds of dollars or thousands?
view tallguylehigh's profile
I too am interested in the cost. I have a Pottery Barn club chair that I've always regretted buying, but seeing those, it occurred to me that if PB ever quit making them, I might love it again.
Can anybody recommend something similar to this in New York? I'm planning a trip there this summer.
T8
www.strangeclosets.com
When design takes priority, the result is often strange closets.
view t8's profile
You will generally pay less at a flea market, though they are no longer the bargains they used to be, esp. in Paris. The price of the chair will depend on how old it is, quality and condition of the leather, whether it needs restoring, etc. I've seen them starting at a few hundred euros and going much higher.
It seems someone is always trying to unload a club chair on French ebay. You can find beat up club chairs starting at a 50 euro bidding price. If you want to take a look, search under "fauteuil club."
view Kristin Hohenadel's profile
You won't find any bargains spend your time looking in 'Emmaus' there are several in Paris and near Paris. Cheap and a great charity. www.emmaus.fr
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
I love antique Parisian club chairs!
view designsnob's profile
I think something's going on with AT site, it was offline for quite a while then this post is on top of others...
view pantzini's profile
Plus what is the shipping on something like this to the States? I could see making regular trips like this if you could save some serious bucks on furniture, but with the price of the chair, plus the price to ship it, plus the cost to go over there and look for it (granted, it would be a vacation) I wonder how much you really "save?"
That'd be an interesting proposition- have a website where someone stikes deals with buyers in the states to scour the flea markets for what they are looking for. This day in age with cell phone cameras, you might be able to "shop" with this person real time!
view tallguylehigh's profile
lovely. i didn't know there were aldi's in france?
view selena's profile
What about going to Provence to antiques hunting ???
France is not only Paris ...it is also Luberon, south of France ( well, I'm kidding, I say that because I live there)
view Maya's profile