Collingwood Auction and Flea Market!

Collingwood Auction and Flea Market History

The Collingwood Flea Market opened it doors on March 2nd, 1957. For over 50 years Collingwood Flea Market has provided merchants a place to sell their goods. Cliff Schneider started Collingwood Flea Market after the state decided to expand Route 36 thus cutting through his original flea market business, Cliff’s Keyport Auction.

Since that business faced certain extinction; it made sense to move to the southern part of the county, where there were more farms. . When the market started it was primarily produce and livestock auction.

In the 1960’s the market started to change. Area farms started to give way to housing developments. Local farm products began to diminish and in their place ordinary people began renting tables for the weekend to clean out their houses and make a few bucks.

By the 70’s new merchandise started coming into the market. Merchants were able to find great deals in close-out sales and factory overages and sell well below what consumers would pay at traditional stores.

Collingwood business moved briskly through the decades until tragedy struck on Sept. 1st, 1992. A faulty ice machine started a blaze that wiped out the entire main building. Disheartened but undeterred, Collingwood reopened its’ outdoor flea market on October 10, 1992. With plenty of perseverance and determination, Roland Schneider was able to get the main building opened in December of 1993. Today Roland still runs the flea market which is still bustling with a combination of new and used merchandise.