It was my first time attending something as a fan. I have always been someone who keeps a look-out for pop-up markets of my favourite online crystal, jewellery or tarot stores. But my recent drive to get back into fitness got me looking out for affordable and visually appealing activewear- which, as any fitspo gal would know, is hard to come by. However, after attending my first influencer’s flea market, I was left with mixed feelings and here’s why:
1. Obscure and Unfriendly location
The flea market took place at a very deep end of an industrial area, which makes it difficult for one to travel there via public transport, as it is located at the far end from the bus stop which I alighted from, and getting there takes a good amount of walking through a rural industrial site too. Not only that, it was held on the rooftop of an old industrial building, with no shade. With everyone crowding around and tossing clothes about, under the glare of the hot sun, you can be sure to delve into a sort of shopping frenzy.
2. Not so affordable prices for second-hand clothes
The tokens which was used to exchange for our chosen thrifts, came in denominations of $20 which is hardly affordable considering how you might want to only top up $10 more. 2 coins/tokens was equivalent to $40. I purchased $40 in the beginning as I thought that there would be plenty of active wear for me to choose from, due to how these are fitness influencers that I’m following. As such, this brings me to the next point:
3. Lack of variety/ Variety did not meet expectations
Unfortunately for me, the particular fitness influencer who inspired me to go in the first place, did not bring a lot of her fitness wear to the flea market. I was left with minimal options and had to resort to looking through the activewear of an influencer who I did not know and who wore size S and XS, when I was more of a size S or M.
Of course, there is a way to navigate such scenarios: one has to dare to voice out and be a little “thick skinned” to ask the influencer themselves if they are willing to give a discount. As the saying goes, “If you never try you never know.”
Other perks might come in the form of getting to take photos with particular influencers at the end of your shopping spree!
Though, I might never go for another influencer thrift market unless absolutely necessary, it might still be a unique experience for one to have in their memory. This is especially so if unlike me, you just want to get more affordable clothes from people who are well-known for being photogenic, with no specific category in mind. At the end of the day, it’s important to take note that influencers are clearly making use of their fame to make additional profit out of their old and unwanted items. You might think its a fan event but it is really just another profit-making venture at the end of the day, keeping in mind that they already have sponsorships and are paid plenty for marketing certain products.