History of the Flea Market
Flea markets originated in Paris when the rag-and-bone men or Pecheurs de lune (moon fishermen) travelled the city at night in search of old objects that had been discarded with the rubbish. These rag-and-bone men were thrown out of the city toward the end of the 19th century by new city authorities and from outside of the city they formed small groups and became bric-a-brac traders. Soon, these traders decided to group together and the people of Paris grew curious at the displays of miscellaneous objects spread out, just outside the city. As time went by, the number of visitors and traders grew and it became fashionable for a genteel population of collectors in their sunday best to come and hunt for bargains among the bric-a-brac and the flea market was born...
And the term "flea market"...
Legend has it that in 1880 an unknown bargain hunter was looking down at the scrap metal, old furniture and various rags and exclaimed "my word, it's a flea market!" the expression caught on quickly and the rest is history...
(source:http://www.parispuces.com)
The Thrift Store
The Oxford pocket dictionary defines a thrift store as "a store selling secondhand clothes and other household goods , typically to raise funds for a charitable institution."
One of the first thrift stores was a Red Cross shop in London in 1941. A condition of the shop was that all goods offered for sale were gifts. Purchase for re-sale was forbidden. Most premises were lent free of rent and in some cases owners also met the costs of heating and lighting.