A woman’s right hand is shoved halfway down the pocket of her blue jeans while the middle and index fingers of her left hand clutch a wrinkled one dollar bill. The stout man across from her shakes his head in disgust and says, “You got one more of those and my goods are yours to take home.”

Regulars, skeptics, and bargain hunters alike swarm the aisles of the Super Flea and Farmer’s Market on Walden Avenue each Saturday and Sunday year-round from eight in the morning until five in the evening. Whether they are searching for affordable, seasonal produce, a pin boasting “Old guys need lovin’ too,” or a priceless antique, there is treasure for everyone who takes the time to look. Folks from many cultures and economic backgrounds share vending space, as well as history, stories, and friendships, twice a weekend, rain or shine.

Located at 2500 Walden Avenue, exit 52 East off of the 290 East, the market resides outdoors in the rows of a parking lot, and inside the confines of a wide, manila warehouse-style building.

Home to a few hundred vendors, one can buy anything from knock-off Kate Spade bags to homemade pierogies. Even the wish of owning a bedpan or snowplow can come true with a stroll down the market’s aisles.

Amid the scuffed floors and dulled paint on the walls and ceiling of the warehouse stands a bright and clean rectangular alcove, home to Chef Carmen’s Spices and More. The sign, hand-painted with jugs of oil, sugar, and grapevines, combined with the sharp aromas of herbs and spices wafting through the air make it seem as though one is not at a flea market, but instead in grandma’s kitchen.

The spice shop’s owner, Milly Ferrer, has called the market home for about five years. Selling a variety of spices to flavor meats, vegetables, and dips, as well as teas and hot drink mixes, Ferrer came to Buffalo from New York City where flea markets are sparse amid the street vendors and pan handlers.

Daughter Melitza Rodriguez, a fashion major at Buffalo State College owns the store connected to the back of the spice shop, Michu’s Fashion, Etc., selling perfumes, handbags, and jewelry.

“I knew how to deal with the people, but I had to learn how to satisfy their tastes,” said Rodriguez about opening the store. “I get my purses that I sell from back in New York City. They know me there and give me good prices. In New York, you just have to ask on the street and anyone will tell you where the deals are to stock up on.”

Her mother, Ferrer, recognizes the stereotypes of traditional flea markets. “Regular customers come with the assumption that all the vendors are lowlifes, but a lot of them are really nice people,” she said.

Rodriguez says customers always come back to their shop.“I had a lady come in two weeks ago looking for something to add to her Hamburger Helper,” she recalled. “The next week she came in and started emotionally shouting, ‘Oh my gosh! Thank you so much!’ She came back again looking for something to put on her husband’s pork chops.” On the customer’s third trip back, “She actually hugged me and kissed me because she was so happy with her spices. You would have thought we saved her marriage!”

Meghan Deily, a junior civil engineering major at the University at Buffalo, recently took her first trip to the market. She encountered a vendor of vintage buttons and postcards outside the warehouse amongst the rows of tables and vans selling everything from rubber car tires to the memory-evoking board game, Mall Madness.

“This former United States Marine sits outside at the market every weekend as long as the weather is above 40 degrees,” she said of a conversation she had with the button and postcard vendor. “He was a collector himself and ran out of room in his house. That’s when he decided to sell.”

“People are into haggling. If you go with only two dollars, you’ll get something for two dollars,” Deily said. Prices at the market on food goods are much cheaper than cost of the same foods at grocery stores.

For the price of a mere three dollars total, Deily purchased half a pound of both smoked ham and provolone cheese from Pappa’s Meat Market. Pappa’s Butterball turkey that sells at the grocery store for seven dollars a pound can be bought for roughly half of that at his indoor vending station. “It’s really affordable,” Deily exclaimed.

Happy with her experience, Deily praised the Super Flea and Farmer’s Market for more than just its frugal shopping, citing the kitsch value as well. “Yes, a lot of times it’s crap you don’t need—but it’s funny crap you don’t need.”