Whenever I am out and about at an antique mall or flea market, there are some basic rules of etiquette that I follow.

Here are a few of them:

Put items back where you found them.  You picked up an item with the intention to buy it, and along the way you decided not to.  That’s more than fine—make sure to put it back where you found it.  Antique malls and flea markets have booths for dealers to stock with their items—this way the dealer gets their items back.

If you happen to bring a drink in with you, see if it is ok to bring it in with the people that run the shop.  I have run across several shops that don’t allow food or drinks in the front door.

Make sure that you follow the golden rule of antique shopping—buy what you like when you see it.  If you let it go, it might not be there when you come back for it.

And remember to watch where you walk and keep an eye on your large bags or purses that you bring with you.  There is one rule that I have seen stores enforce quite a bit—you broke it, you bought it.

This is a small handful of the common etiquette that you will run across while antique shopping.  What have you run across?