SHOP WITH A SELECTIVE EYE. "We used to attempt to examine every little thing," says Nelson. "We've now become pretty good at 'eyeballing."' Don't let the show's size overwhelm you: Things of interest will catch your eye.

WHY STOP AT ONE? "You can do so much more with a collection of things," says Nelson, who zeroed in on sets of unusual items—multiples of mahogany T squares from London, antique garden tools, and a collection of papier-mache Halloween ornaments. "When we saw them," Nick adds, "we didn't ask how many—we just said, ‘We'll take them.’”

IT’S OKAY TO TAKE A SECOND LOOK. Although Nick and Nelson shop with an editor’s eye, they are not above poking around or revisiting a favorite dealer's booth. Walking back to the car after the first day of shopping, I saw this little two-tiered shelf decorated with Popsicle sticks outside one of the closed off tents," says Nick. "I put a note on it saying, 'If this isn’t sold, I'll be back to buy it in the morning.' It wasn't, and I did."

IT PAYS TO DIG. "We were thrilled to find the tile-top Art Nouveau table at the Scoville-Brown Cooperative in the fields at Warrenton," remembers Nick. There are great bargains to be found almost everywhere. Sometimes you just need to invest a little more time hunting and digging.

PREPARE TO BRING IT HOME. The final challenge lies in getting your treasures home. "We coveted a lot of large pieces," says Nick, "but we realized smaller things would cost us less to ship back East." If you're going to buy big, first research shipping services. A bargain that incurs expensive shipping might not turn out to be such a bargain after all.