European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 4, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Ami Fiji quest an antique doll in a Sailor  Rosemary Sawyer Brussels Bureau on sunday mornings before the Suri even entertains the thought of making an appearance Hearty shoppers arrive in Tongren Belgium to peruse antique treasures lining the aisles of the town s huge Market. American Louann Crabbe is part of the hard Core Crew that begins bartering shrewd deals in the town near Liege before most people have tapped their snooze alarms for the first time. Quot you have to take a flashlight Quot she says Quot but that s when you get All the Good  stuff includes a Little bit of everything. Shoppers can take Home antique toys China Light fixtures paintings mirrors frames furniture hardware books and More. Quot in a sense anything you want you will find there Quot says Crabbe who has become a Market aficionado in her nearly three years in Schinnen Netherlands. Quot you can go to so Flea markets and not  you can find at Tongren. Its one Stop  in fact Nathan Neyssen of the town s tourism office says the markets 400 vendors and 5,000 to 7,000 visitors each week Combine to make it the largest in the Benelux countries. However he joins Crabbe in exhorting people with a definite shopping list to defy the Gravity of the bed Springs and go Early. Quot that s also the time dealers buy from each other Quot Neyssen says. Another reason to get there Early is to avoid the crowds. By 9 or 10 o clock Quot you can t get close enough to see things Quot Crabbe says. Dealers at the 20-year-old Market begin setting up their wares on the Vee Markt and along the adjacent Leopold Wall Between 4 and 5 . A rain or Shine Neyssen says. They Start packing up about 1 . Appropriately Belgium s oldest town is fast becoming the antique Center for the entire Benelux Neyssen says. In addition Louann Crabbe one of the faithful at Tongren shows the antique Hall tree she transported in the family jeep a along with friends and relatives. One Stop shopping belgian town offers bargain Hunters. A anything you want to the weekly Market Tongren boasts about two dozen antique shops. And another 30 or so shops Pepper a 10-mile stretch of n-79 Between Tongren and maastricht Netherlands. Crabbe who works As family services coordinator for Schinnen s army Community services says prices in the Tongren Market tend to run a bit higher than those at other Quot junkier Quot markets in the area. Vendors also hike prices to Greet the summer influx of tourists. Buffon the whole its Price tags come in Well under most stateside prices she says. Antique Hunters can expect to pay even higher prices in the shops. But these pieces Are usually in better condition Crabbe says. Quot the danger you run into at Tongren when you re shopping in the dark and outside is that you Don t see All the flaws until you get Home Quot she says. The shops Aren t w without hazards either. Some Are Quot just Plain rip offs Quot a Sample of the buys at Tongren. Crabbe says. If customers do get Gyp Ped in shops or at the Market it probably won t be because they can t speak the language. Crabbe says she and her husband Jim an army colonel have no trouble communicating with belgian dutch and German vendors. Most speak some English Quot and they really like americans Quot she says. Neyssen notes the Market draws quite a few american shoppers from the Mons Belgium and Brun sum Netherlands areas where nato has military Headquarters. Crabbe who estimates she shops the Market about twice a month says vendors expect prospective buyers to Dicker Over Price. Quot that s part of the game Quot Crabbe says. Quot it upsets me to see americans take the first Price because i Don t think they enjoy it  although the Sellers accept German dutch and belgian currencies Crabbe says she receives the Best prices when paying in belgian francs. And one tack Crabbe says she s had Good Luck with is to have the Cash in hand when negotiating. Quot Here is the 1,000 belgian francs. Do you want it or not Quot Crabbe suggests she might say. The Money especially catches the Eye of a Vendor who is afraid he s not going to sell an item. Another important technique to remember is to walk away when the dealer refuses an offer Crabbe says. Most sales Are on a Cash and carry basis but it does t Hurt to ask if arrangements could be made for delivery or a later pickup Neyssen says. Crabbe laughs As she recalls transporting one of her favorite Tongren purchases. Space in the family jeep was already cramped with visiting friends on the Day she and Jim bought their Mammoth antique Hall tree with its Mirror cabinets protruding coat Hooks and brass Racks. After much pushing and pulling the human cargo in the Back seat had to take a Back seat to the wooden freight Crabbe said. And Quot we Rode doubled Over All the Way  1 10 stripes Magazine March 4, 1993