On any weekend throughout the year one can spend hours browsing through neighborhood flea markets. These are very popular for those who are in search of bargains and who have a keen eye for picking through what others have discarded. They hunt and search for something they can reuse. Americans love secondhand merchandise which can be bought cheaply and restored to its original use. In many cases the condition and the quality are still good, though the style might be outdated.
For some people searching through flea markets is a hobby which reaps rewards. They look for possible antiques among the items for sale or for old furniture which can be restored with a little care and used again. Many wise collectors often find rare items worth much more than their bargained price. Since prices are usually not fixed, if one is persistent a bargain can easily be struck. The owner may be selling a rare collectable and may not even be aware of its value. One of the great pleasures of shopping at such markets is the chance to bargain with the shop owner and settle for a price which one can afford and is willing to pay.

It is also quite common for schools and social clubs to organize flea markets in order to raise money to support their programs. Likewise churches and other non-profit organizations hold such events to raise money to support a local charity.

Perhaps even more enjoyable than flea markets are the weekend outdoor garage sales which have now become very much a part of American culture. These are held usually in the spring and fall when the weather is still good. Usually a homeowner, having decided that he would like to clear his residence of accumulated items which are no longer useful to him, advertises in a local paper that he is holding a garage sale. More than likely the good on display are in good condition and great buys can be found if one has the time and patience to search carefully. The home owner places items for sale on display along the driveway leading to his garage or on his front lawn and waits for people to look at what he has to sell. Old magazines, books, paintings, bicycles, ice-skates, items of clothing and electrical appliances of every sort appear on a regular basis. If the owner is in a position where he must sell his home or plans to move soon, then he may be forced to practically give things away at a price far below their true worth.

Likewise, many people who are avid readers and collectors may like to search for out-of-print books in used-book stores. There is hardly a major American city which does not have such a store and some of them are nationally famous with huge inventories. Powell's in Portland, Oregon is noted to be the largest in the country, but Seattle and Salt Lake also have wonderful used-book stores. Many of the books once belonged to private collectors who were forced to sell their entire libraries and are still in good condition. These stores are gold mines for the book worms often containing books which can not even be found in city libraries and have long been out of print.