Markets in general

When I was a student I used to shop in my local market all of the time, one of the reasons was that it ran every single day of the week andit was the place that you could shop around and get the freshest and best fruit and veg in the town rather than going to the local supermarkets which have now taken over the high street and pushed the traditional markets almost out of business, certainly the market in my home town of Northampton has sufferred a lot and is no longer very busy on many days of the week, in fact we had a flyer the other day trying to attract new stall holders to the market. Where there has been an increase is in the number of Farmers Markets ...  Read the complete review

Yesterday I decided to go for a walk as the weather was so nice, and was pleasantly surprised to find not only countryside I never knew existed, but a massive area with a sign up saying it was a market and car boot sale. Unfortunately it closes at 3 and it was past that, but I went back today and was pretty excited!! The indoor market is pretty big and sells a range of things from meat to fresh veg to chocolate to toys to household goods to craft stuff to furniture to clothes. I KNEW there must be somewhere near where I lived that had vaguely reasonable prices, and this is it. I stocked up on non plasticified fruit and veg for a grand total of £2.47, and ...  Read the complete review

Now in theory I agree with helping markets and local traders but find that in practise it is a totally different thing. When I go to work, I get off the bus and then walk through the market place. Most traders at this time are still in the midst of setting up but you get to see most of what they offer, and believe me it is not impressive. Most of the clothing on offer is of the cheap nylon variety and on the rare occassions I see anything decent it has an over inflated price tag which would be more at home in a boutique not a dying market stall. The books are terrible. Yes they are all second hand, but they are all yellowing and dog eared and the ...  Read the complete review

The atmosphere is so different when shopping in the market environment isn't it? But pick a reasonable day otherwise you may get soaked (like I did!) when the rain-filled awning from the sock stall emptied itself all over me and my feet were sodden for the rest of the day.... I have found such bargains over the years such as unusual fabric and haberdashery items which are not readily available on the high streets but also find markets have the freshest and best quality fruit and veg with the widest choice. It is good to be able to choose your own fresh food and avoid the 'nasty' items which may be disguised under the plastic wrappings in the supermarket and quite ...  Read the complete review

Free Markets often work well, but occasionally they do not. In labour markets, housing markets, agriculture, commodities and in the area of exchange rates, government intervention is often required. Most markets which are in our everyday lives run freely and a natural equilibrium is achieved between supply and demand. However when there is too much or too little demand or supply, the government intervenes to try and force a sensible equilibrium into the market. Implementing a maximum or minimum price per good, as to create a balance between demand and supply, may do this. An example of a market whereby it runs freely without the government intervening is ...  Read the complete review