Cheap S%$T Pick of the Week: Rice's Flea Market (New Hope, PA)

Oh, Pennsylvania.  Where the people chew grass, cows roam free, and highways are endless.  Who knew that in the depths of such a painfully mundane state (no offensive, Pennsylvanians, but it's true) lay a 30-acre outdoor flea market that thrives Tuesday and Saturday mornings?

I grew up in Bethlehem Township, New Jersey, on the northwest side of Hunterdon County, about 20 minutes from the Pennsylvania border.  Not to be confused with Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, or Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a similar town possibly just as lame.  The population is about 4,000 people.  Because we're a rural township, we don't have our own post office, let alone any restaurants, shopping malls, gas stations, non-Caucasians, etc.  I hope you get the picture.  My hometown could easily get mixed up with Tulsa, Oklahoma or somewhere equally as outdated and monotonous.  Imagine a middle school surrounded on three sides by cow fields and farmland.  You guessed it - I went there. Here's a visual:

Growing up, I tried to go to New York City as often as possible to get out of Bethlehem Township.  The nearest shopping mall was a 15-minute drive to Phillipsburg (the hood) where you could shop alongside trashy girls, foreign couples and homeless people.  No but really.  I went there solely for its H&M, which wasn't even that good.  Every so often my two sisters and I would feel it necessary to visit Rice's, a well-known flea market to girls from my hometown, and spend our parents' money on "sister bonding."  We would burn a feel-good-music playlist onto a disc, speed at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and coffee and cruise on down to Bucks County, PA by 7:30 in the morning.

Thousands of people flock to the county's largest and oldest market on Tuesday mornings year-round and Saturday mornings March through December, where a customer can find almost any item from antiques to vegetables.  Over the years, the market has evolved from mostly just produce to an outdoor bargain-hunter's paradise, offering fresh baked bread, knock-off purses, jewelry, hand-stitched clothing, garden tools, flowers, pottery and more at prices that can't be beat.  With a few temporary ATM machines located in the large barn in the center of the market, customers are bound to spend hours wandering around the vendors and perusing countless knick-knacks and novelty items.  On a beautiful summer day, Rice's will have up to 700 vendors and close to 15,000 shoppers in and out of the market.

You can tell by the pictures that you're in Bucks County, PA.  Dig the barn.

Rice's opens at 7:00 am, but the best knock-off bags, jewelry, and sunglasses go FLYING off the racks by about 9:00 am.  Vendors are ready-to-go at 7, so it's up to the shoppers to get their butts out of bed and make the trek to the homeland.  It's super early, but because people in Buck's County don't know what "stylish" means, sweatpants, UGGs and big sunglasses are acceptable, if not required, shopping attire.

I haven't been to Rice's in years, but the last time I went, I bought a gorgeous yellow knock-off D&G purse for $10 that lasted me about 2 years until it literally fell apart...

I've bought countless sunglasses, earrings, purses and baked goods, all of which I've loved dearly (mostly the baked goods) and ALL for dirt-cheap prices.  From my hometown, it's about a 45-minute drive to Rice's, but with a killer playlist and gossipy sisters and friends, it won't feel more like 10 minutes.  The farmland scenery along the way is entertainment in and of itself.  Make sure you don't get stuck behind a tractor on your way there!  It's happened before.

As my first Cheap S%$T Pick of the Week, I present: Rice's Flea Market!

For those of you who have been to Rice's, what do you think of it?  Is it worth the early-morning trip?  What purchases have you brought home from Rice's?

Comment away!