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This Knoxville, Tenn. flea market expresses the sentiment of a nation.SAN JOSE, Calif. (CAP) - As the week-long strike by eBay sellers continues, a battle is brewing between those online vendors seeking a new venue for their goods and the established community of the so-called brick-and-mortar flea markets. By all accounts, the turf war promises to be bloody and prolonged.
"I paid my $35 for a table just like everyone else," said eBay vendor Julie Bismark, who is selling a variety of items at The Indoor Flea Market in Fargo, ND while on strike from eBay. "I can deal with the name calling, the snide remarks - but the death threats, that's a bit much."
Bismark said the day after she set up shop at the flea market, she arrived in the morning to find pig's blood splattered all over her booth and a hastily-written note telling her that "your kind isn't welcome here. Go back to your website, bitch." A CAP News investigation has uncovered similar scenes at flea markets throughout the country.
"These eBay sellers understand they're encroaching on territory they gave up long ago," said CAP News terrorism expert Ken Ober. "As long as they keep turning the other cheek, I think we're fine. But the minute they retaliate, this thing won't stop until somebody's killed."
According to Ober, prior to the advent of eBay, flea markets were the only option for people who wanted to make a living selling their old junk. Then when online auction sites came along, a splinter group broke away and embraced the new technology, and the rift between them and their former colleagues has grown wider ever since.
"I don't make hundreds of dollars a week like those computer types," said Chet Upton, who has had a booth at the Hillbilly Flea Market in Ashland, Ky. for as long as he can remember. "They come in here with their fancy shrink-wrapped toys and games - stuff's 20 years old and still in mint condition! How can I compete with that?"
"Exactly, Chet, exactly," chimed in fellow dealer Martha Henke. "I mean, seriously, who has eight brand-spanking new copies of Smokey And The Bandit on VHS lying around like that? It's just not right.
"Our blood is on your hands, eBay," added Henke as she unpacked a box of romance novels with the covers torn off. "Our blood is on your hands."
While the eBay strike is only expected to be temporary, the effects of that strike will undoubtedly be far-reaching. And for folks like Chet Upton and Martha Henke, falling victim to a corporate world they tried their best to avoid may be something from which they can't recover.
CAP News Investigative Blogger Daniella DeGlazica contributed to this report.
