Markets 
While most people are still tucked in bed on a Sunday morning, bargain hunters and sellers south of Perth have already begun their day.
For more than 40 years the Melville Markets have been an institution for people to sell their second hand goods and for buyers to find an epic score.
But getting a spot in the Melville Plaza Shopping Centre carpark is no easy feat, and requires some serious dedication.
For Valerie and Stephen Brennan, setting up their stalls is a 12-hour process.
While the markets officially open at 6am, the duo – among a number of other stallholders – will arrive at the car park at 6pm the previous night to drop off their car to reserve a spot.
“We usually get here at 6pm, put one car and some witches hats out and go home and sleep. Then we leave home at 1.30am and come back,” Valerie said.
“We will sit in the car for about an hour, and then we set up.”
The couple sets up across six car bays, which costs them $120 or $20 per car bay. They sell second-hand clothing, shoes and accessories.
“If it’s raining, we’ll go to Karrinyup SwapMart because it’s undercover, but here there are better sales. We get much, much more money,” Valerie said.
On a good day, the duo will make more than $1000 in sales.
But they’re not alone with setting up early, as Stephen points out many people will sleep in their cars overnight to reserve a spot as the markets are a first-come-first-serve basis.
“They’ve always known that Melville is the place to get a good bargain,” he said.
Stalls across the market will vary from second-hand items like clothing and accessories to art, books, tools, bikes and plants.
Friends Anna Ott and Lucia Zanini arrived at 4.30am and said people were already looking through their bags with torches on their heads.
“We come here just to declutter a little bit and instead of giving it all to the op shop, maybe we can make a little bit of money,” Ott said.
“I think most of these items have a second life.”
Zanini said the markets are a good way to socialise as well.
“I think it’s a good idea as well to share it with a friend, it’s kind of a fun thing to do, and something that is really easy to access for people to do,” she said.
One thing that sets the Melville Markets apart from others in Perth are the prices.
Paula Garcia said while some sellers can make great money, it really is a buyers’ market.
“If you are the buyer, it’s amazing. But if you want to sell these things to make a lot of money, it’s harder,” she said.
“A guy was telling me that I should sell my things more expensive, but this is not the place.”
Items are typically priced anywhere between $2 and $30, with more niche pieces selling for a higher price tag.
Garcia uses the markets to declutter some of her wardrobe, and sell her handmade pottery.
“I’ve been making pottery for a couple of years really just for fun, and just gave it to my friends, just because it was just a way of practicing,” she said.
“So at least selling at the markets, I can make a little bit of money to just buy more clay and make more pieces.”
Dani Hansen has been both a buyer and a seller at the markets for around 15 years, but these days she’s more of a peruser.
“Sometimes you just get absolute gems. I think now as women, we consume so much, and we don’t know where else to sell stuff as well,” she said.
“So it’s great to see what’s down here. I think when you do a big wardrobe clean out, then this is a great place to come.”
Run by the Melville Rotary Club, the markets first began in 1984 in the same location they’re in today.
In one morning the market raises around $4500 and in a good year more than $80,000 for local charities.
Market manager Kareena Ballard says there are strict rules on what people can and can’t sell.
“It’s got to be second-hand, and we’re allowed to sell plants,” she said.
“Because we’re not allowed to also be in competition with the shopping centre. The shopping centre gives us the license to use their grounds, and we have to be out by 10am.”
Ballard describes the traders and items sold as “eclectic”
“It’s a great meeting place for people who once a week get together. It’s a bit of a lonely hearts club,” she said.
The markets run from 6am to 10am every Sunday except for Christmas and New Year’s Day and while winter attracts slightly fewer traders, summer is a different ball game.
“For sellers, some of them have sold everything by 6am because people come down here, especially in the summer, with torches on their heads ready to buy,” Ballard said.
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