Expo New Mexico Flea Market

The flea market has everything you want to know about the community; how we live and thrive as well as. Check out some of the really cool and awesome things and people at the market!

Poppin' tags! This flea market goes on during weekend mornings. You need to go early for the best deals. It's located on the site of the New Mexico Fairgrounds, with ample free parking. This used to be the premier site for Indian jewelry, but now it's mainly old stuff that someone has dragged out of their kids' room, or stuff that they've wholesaled from China. Think fidget spinners, cheap-o knives and nun-chucks, cellphone cases, and knockoff sunglasses. There were very few places actually selling jewelry. There are a few food options, but nothing good or healthy. Most places only take cash, and the ATM machines are located waaay on the other side, next to the horse track. There seemed to be a heavy police presence here- they aren't messing around with the State Police driving around looking for troublemakers. Admission was a dollar!I'm always amazed at the comic book and baseball card sellers out here, showing off their stuff weekend after weekend in the NM sun, where the sunlight bleaches out the colors and makes everything fade much faster than lower elevations. Many of the older items look sun bleached.

Cool place to get out and do some exploring and shopping come stretch your legs and find some bargains

This flea market is every Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine. The best park is: it is free! If you drive you have to pay a small fee for parking, but there is no entry fee.This is the cheapest place to find jewelry in New Mexico. Maybe it isn't the most authentic... but if it is looks you're after, $5 can get you a fabulous necklace.Like most flea markets, there is a lot of junk here. However, junk can be fun--and if you dig you can find treasures. There are some sweet American Indian finds here, and I recommend travelers stop here before spending a fortune in a shop in Old Town.And they have local delights: roasted chilies and fry bread!

On a whim, I decided to check this flea market out, during a recent trip back to a city which I lived in for 11-odd years. I looked forward to (hey, maybe my memory is flawed) what I remembered to be a decent collection of original crafts & even better ethnic food. What I got was cut-rate laundry detergent, the most impressive collection of switchblades I've yet seen, & a clientele of which I shouldn't comment further for fear of Giving Offense. Although, really, defense (the self kind) was primarily on my mind. I won't be going back. Times change. Sadly, at that.

Maybe I had my hopes set too high before coming. Maybe I'm spoiled by the flea markets in Brooklyn and Hell's Kitchen. Maybe Expo has gone drastically downhill since the previous reviewer's visit in 2009. One thing's for sure... it was a wee bit disappointing.From chatting with locals at my hotel and strangers I'd met throughout the week in Albuquerque, I anticipated walking into an oasis of local artwork, crafts, and handmade jewelry. I came in search of an authentic Zumi-crafted turquoise+sterling silver ring (my choice souvenir from our sojourn in ABQ), but instead was met with 15-year old household appliances, bulk sock vendors, and tacky blingy rhinestone jewelry galore. Basically, giant garage sale meets Santee Street in Downtown LA.To be fair, the fiance and I had a ton of fun. We chanced upon a man selling freshly roasted chiles, and even did a taste test fresh out of the flaming chile-roasting contraption. I also eventually did find my turquoise ring, but it wasn't sold to me by its creator, and it wasn't flea-market priced. Oh well.All in all, I wouldn't recommend Expo to someone looking for local jewelry. You may be able to score some awesome antique household items if you're up for the hunt (I spotted a couple of tantalizing items, but had to turn away since I couldn't take anything back in my suitcase), but be ready to sift through a lot of plain ol' 1990s junk.FYI- Parking is a flat $5 per car.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME....unless you are looking for cheap cell phone covers, counterfeit sunglasses, socks, and/or cheap tools. The artisans that had been here years ago (the last time I was here it was over 15 years ago) have long since packed up and left. There was nary a handmade piece of jewelry in sight and the trip was a complete bust. We actually varied travel plans to make it and I couldn't wait to jump in Yelp to warn others not to make the same mistake. Sad that its no longer what it was. One vendor said its just a matter of time before the whole thing shuts down.

Biggest flea market in New mexico, but really $5 to park? thats pricey. Customer service is horrible and ita so hot out side

Go early in the morning before it gets hot! There is little shade in this area. Also, if you don't go early, most stalls will only have a minimal selection left. There is usually a large selection of vendors that carry a huge assortment of items. Some stalls are strange and sketchy and some are amazing. Beware of weird, knock-off goods. Horchata and juices are available and yummy.Park across the street or behind the gates, not actually in expo. They charge for parking on the actual grounds, but the walk is about the same from any direction. It makes no sense to pay for it. Pros: You can find cool things for cheap. I found my niece a VHS she had wanted for a long time for 5 cents. It works! (yes, she still has a VCR). You can get nearly anything here. Cheap food and drinks. Great weather in the mornings. You get your exercise. Cons:Parking. Heat!Crowded. You have to get there early. Overall, it's not a bad way to spend a weekend morning. It's essentially a massive garage sale- I wish there was more of an arts and crafts showcase here, but there are only a few.

This review is solely on the flea markets management. If you are looking for the worse customer service and the greediest of people in New Mexico, then you found it at the New Mexico Expo Flea Market. Not only do they charge a ridiculous $5 per car charge for entry, but they will do anything to squeeze more money out of its vendors and their customers. As an example, if you are a vendor say with two people running the booth and one of you shows up shortly after the other they will charge that vendor an additional $5. Even though you are already paying $120 a month, per spot, to sell there. A recent example of their sheer greed; There is an elderly man who sells shoes and has been renting the same two spots for over 35 years. He recently fell really ill and had to fight for his life due to pneumonia and was unable to attending for about 2 months. However, he had paid for his spot 6 months in advance as he has for the past 35 years. After fighting one hell of a fight in the hospital and his survival being nothing short of a miracle, he returned to what he loved. Now due to his absence he had lost out on hundreds of dollars. To hopefully make up for some of this horrible incident he went to management to seek help and to discuss the possibility of either a partial refund or future credit towards his spot. Coldly, they told him they would not work with him in anyway.Now what's even more disturbing about how they couldn't even bother to credit him even a single additional day is that while he was gone they rented out his spaces. So every day he was gone they actually made double the rent! Yet they said there was no way for them to help this loyal vendor of over 35 years. Talk about the greediest of places. This poor man is still fighting to try and reason with them, begging for some sort of help. He not only paid hundreds of dollars for two spaces he did not use, but he is also dealing with the lost income he didn't receive during this time. This is only one of the few recent incidents that has occurred at the flea market. They are slowly driving out all of their vendors and are ultimately running the flea market into the ground. The saddest part of it all is the families who are suffering as this has been their main source of income for many of them.