SHIPPENVILLE, Pa. (EYT) — Charlie and Jessica Crosby like auctions so much they decided to open their own auction house and flea market on the outskirts of Shippenville.

(Photos by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media Photography)

“I kind of got addicted going to auctions myself, and now I’m so ‘sick’ I had to have my own auction house,” said Charlie. “Some of it is consignment, and some of it is my stuff. People can either bring it in, or we’ll pick it up.”

Crosby’s Auction and Flea Market is in the former Oak Grove Bar building located about three miles outside of Shippenville. Housing numerous bars over the years and businesses like Kennedy’s Castle, the Crosby’s leased the building to expand on their dreams.

“A consignment auction twice a month mostly features antiques and household items.  We’re having a flea market on the other Saturdays,” said Charlie.

The Crosby’s have already had four auctions and four flea markets. The next auction will be on February 26, and the next flea market is on March 2. Their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/crosbysauction/, has Charlie’s telephone number, and people can contact his there with questions or if they would like to auction off some of their own things.

Charlie said their last flea market on Saturday included 16 vendors inside.

“Every Saturday we go to an auction because I have ‘a problem,’” Charlie said. “People sometimes shop because they are looking for a bargain and sometimes there are a lot of people out there who enjoy looking for a deal, but there are also some people who are inspired by those TV auction shows.”

“Auctions are a great place to get bargains, but if you need to get rid of stuff, it’s a great place to sell it. The flea market is fun because you get 15 different flavors.  You never know what you’re going to find there. We have everything from military to leggings to jewelry.”

“One of our vendors at the flea market is an extreme coupon lady, and she probably had close to a thousand items for sale that were priced less than at the store. She bought the merchandise with coupons. She pays her vendor rent to me in laundry soap and I get it for half price. You can’t beat wheelin’ and dealin’ like that.”

Charlie is a guy who likes to stay busy.

“I do all kinds of stuff, I work part-time for Ted Whitney heating; he’s my uncle, so I work with the family business, and also cut timber in the woods. There’s about two times a year where the heating or air conditioning is busy — the spring and fall — and in between that’s a terrible time for cutting wood. (In the) summer and winter, when the heating is slow, we cut timber.”

Crosby is hosting the Amish this weekend and expects a “mountain” of stuff.

“Friday and Saturday this weekend, there will be an inside yard sale by the local Amish families who rented the building. There will be a mountain of stuff there this weekend. This is normally an off weekend, but because they needed a building, we opened up for that. This has been kind of new and exciting.”

“We have Amish baked goods for pretty much every auction and flea market we do. We’re trying to support the community, and that includes them.  You never know what you’re going to get for food, either. I ate the best barbeque hot dog there two weeks ago.”