The Ultimate Guide to Thrift Shopping at the Rose Bowl Flea Market
If you love thrift shopping and finding amazing vintage items, be sure to visit the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, California. The Rose Bowl Flea Market hosts over 2,500 vendors and 20,000 shoppers each month, so be sure to come prepared. Read on for my top insider tips on how to do it right, plus don’t miss the Youtube video at the end of this post!
FIRST, A FEW LOGISTICS ABOUT THE ROSE BOWL FLEA MARKET
LOCATION
If you aren’t familiar already, the Rose Bowl is a huge football stadium in Pasadena, California, just outside the borders of downtown LA. The flea market is actually on the outside perimeter of the stadium walls.
HOURS AND ENTRY FEE
The Rose Bowl Flea Market is held on the second Sunday of every month, rain or shine. There are two types of admission fees.
VIP Admission: $20. Come early for the best finds. VIP Admission is from 5am – 8:45am.
General Admission: $12. Starts at 9:00am and ends at 3:00pm. Some vendors start packing up as early as 3pm, so be sure to arrive with enough time to shop!
The Rose Bowl Flea Market is now cashless. When you arrive, you’ll be prompted to order your tickets online.
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PARKING
Fortunately there are plenty of free parking lots available surrounding the Rose Bowl. The VIP parking area comes at a fee, but it’s located closer.
You could also take public transit to the Rose Bowl, but if you’re looking to bring home a lot of items, coming by car is more convenient.
CASH, VENMO, OR CARD?
Some vendors accept Venmo or even credit card, but cash is king. There are ATMs on site but I suggest you bring cash in advance. Depending on what you’re looking to purchase, I’d recommend bringing anywhere between $100 (for fashion, jewelry) or $600 for larger purchases (furniture).
WHAT CAN I FIND AT THE ROSE BOWL FLEA MARKET?
There is a HUGE array of vendors at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. People come in droves for the furniture and antiques and also the vintage clothing sections. Aside from vintage clothes and antiques, you can also find items from small business owners, like handcrafted soap and candles.
I recommend taking one initial look around to see what you like, asking the price, and walking away. Then, after you take a second look around, if you’re still hankering after that one item, go back and bargain for it.
If you love fashion, the Rose Bowl Flea market will be heaven for you. I mean, where else can you find cowboy boots, 1970s dresses, animal print coats, leather gloves or camo multi-colored pants?
WHAT SHOULD I BRING TO THE ROSE BOWL FLEA MARKET?
A tote bag! I forgot mine on the day I visited and sorely regretted it. Bring a reusable bag, because surprisingly, many vendors won’t offer any kind of packaging. Wear comfortable shoes for walking, and if you’re going in the summer, plan for hot weather. Wear a hat and bring plenty of sunblock!
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If you’re thinking about purchasing a large item, like furniture or objects that won’t fit inside a standard size car, you could opt to bring a SUV or rent a Uhall van for the day. That way, you won’t have to pay additional fees for delivery (upwards of $100 for delivery service)!
WHAT IF I GET HUNGRY AT THE ROSE BOWL FLEA MARKET?
Fortunately, there are food options available. However, most are overpriced and upwards of $15 per item. If you can, don’t come hungry and eat beforehand. Although what I did end up getting turned out to be pretty tasty (a gyro bowl), I wish the food options at the Rose Bowl Flea Market were a liiiittle bit more friendly on the wallet.
They don’t really have an assortment of food trucks; it’s really just a couple stands of food vendors offering hot dogs, gyros, and teriyaki bowls.
TIPS & TRICKS
If you’re a serious shopper, arrive early to get the best assortment of items before it’s been picked over by others. However, coming earlier means you might not get a bargain. Arriving early means coming at about 7 or 7:30am and paying the higher entrance fee.
The only catch with coming earlier though is that some vendors aren’t fully set up yet. Butttt, you get first dibs on anything you want.
If you’re looking to bargain shop, try hitting up vendors later in the day, when they’re more likely to negotiate on price.
You could easily spend at least 3, if not 4 hours, just browsing the entire market.
MY EXPERIENCE
We arrived at about 12:30pm on our visit and walked around the perimeter of the stadium before heading into the antiques section. I was so hungry after walking around, so we stopped for lunch around 1:30pm.
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At about 3pm, we scoped out the vintage and antiques section. We scoped out a vendor selling vintage cameras and scored a pair of awesome binoculars and a Super 8 Camera for about $40 cash – a sweet deal if you’re into vintage items. Finally, we purchased a 6-drawer mid-century dresser for $500 plus $100 delivery – after I negotiated $100 off the price I was first quoted ($600).
All in all, our purchases for the day were a success! Check out the Youtube video above for a full recap of our visit to the Rose Bowl Flea Market.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SHOPPING THE ROSE BOWL FLEA MARKET:
- Arrive early if you want to browse the best selection
- Arrive late if you want to bargain for the best deals
- Bring cash — don’t rely on Venmo
- Bring a canvas bag to carry your newfound treasures
- There are no returns, so be sure you know what you want!
- Don’t come on an empty stomach if unless you want to splurge on $17 street food
- Wear layers for colder or hotter days – plus always bring sunscreen
Have you been to the Rose Bowl Flea Market? What did you buy there? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below or send me a DM on Instagram!
Planning a trip right now? Here are a few of my top resources I use to book every trip.
Booking.com for great deals on hotels.
Get Your Guide for incredible tours around the world.
World Nomads for travel insurance that has your back.
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