The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-09-27 · by Indigo Lemay-Conway
While most people are still tucked in bed on a Sunday morning, bargain hunters and sellers south of Perth have already begun their day.
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hunters → tuck → 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.
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buyers → sell → score
But getting a spot in the Melville Plaza Shopping Centre carpark is no easy feat, and requires some serious dedication.
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getting → get → dedication
For Valerie and Stephen Brennan, setting up their stalls is a 12-hour process.
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setting → set → stalls
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.
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duo → open → spot
“We usually get here at 6pm, put one car and some witches hats out and go home and sleep.
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We → get → car
Then we leave home at 1.30am and come back,” Valerie said.
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Valerie → leave → 1.30am
“We will sit in the car for about an hour, and then we set up.”
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we → sit → hour
The couple sets up across six car bays, which costs them $120 or $20 per car bay.
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which → set → bay
They sell second-hand clothing, shoes and accessories.
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They → sell → clothing
“If it’s raining, we’ll go to Karrinyup SwapMart because it’s undercover, but here there are better sales.
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it → rain → SwapMart
We get much, much more money,” Valerie said.
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Valerie → get → money
On a good day, the duo will make more than $1000 in sales.
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duo → make → 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.
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markets → ’re → spot
“They’ve always known that Melville is the place to get a good bargain,” he said.
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he → know → bargain
Stalls across the market will vary from second-hand items like clothing and accessories to art, books, tools, bikes and plants.
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Stalls → vary → art
Friends Anna Ott and Lucia Zanini arrived at 4.30am and said people were already looking through their bags with torches on their heads.
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people → arrive → 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.
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Ott → come → money
“I think most of these items have a second life.”
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most → think → life
Zanini said the markets are a good way to socialise as well.
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markets → say → ?
“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.
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she → think → friend
One thing that sets the Melville Markets apart from others in Perth are the prices.
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that → set → Perth
Paula Garcia said while some sellers can make great money, it really is a buyers’ market.
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it → say → money
“If you are the buyer, it’s amazing.
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it → ’ → ?
But if you want to sell these things to make a lot of money, it’s harder,” she said.
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she → want → money
“A guy was telling me that I should sell my things more expensive, but this is not the place.”
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this → tell → things
Items are typically priced anywhere between $2 and $30, with more niche pieces selling for a higher price tag.
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pieces → price → tag
Garcia uses the markets to declutter some of her wardrobe, and sell her handmade pottery.
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Garcia → use → 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.
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she → make → friends
“So at least selling at the markets, I can make a little bit of money to just buy more clay and make more pieces.”
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I → sell → 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.
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she → ’ → peruser
“Sometimes you just get absolute gems.
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you → get → gems
I think now as women, we consume so much, and we don’t know where else to sell stuff as well,” she said.
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she → think → stuff
“So it’s great to see what’s down here.
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what → ’ → ?
I think when you do a big wardrobe clean out, then this is a great place to come.”
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this → think → clean
Run by the Melville Rotary Club, the markets first began in 1984 in the same location they’re in today.
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they → Run → location
In one morning the market raises around $4500 and in a good year more than $80,000 for local charities.
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market → raise → charities
Market manager Kareena Ballard says there are strict rules on what people can and can’t sell.
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people → say → what
“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.
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we → get → centre
The shopping centre gives us the license to use their grounds, and we have to be out by 10am.”
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we → give → am
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
