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bazaar is a bargain hunter's paradise - an all-in-one place offering cheap but good-quality items, from dresses and bags to designer shoes. But sometimes finding bazaars can be tricky.

Just as well there is the mailing list Bazaar Hunter Jakarta (BHJ).

Since the mailing list was established in August 2006, members who receive BHJ email updates have been extraordinarily busy. The list has expanded to hold 2,249 names - names of micro business owners who want to market their goods, bazaar organizers or old-fashioned shopaholics.

Consider, for example, 31-year-old Wenny Yuliasari, who joined the team as an event organizer for a bazaar called Qita Bazaar. Since 2006, Wenny and four of her close friends have run 19 bazaars, including the Kemang Mid-Year Bazaar & Garage Sale at the end of June.

Before turning to organizing bazaars, Wenny and her friends held garage sales in the Cikajang area in Kebayoran Baru.

"By chance, we are four women who are crazy about shopping, but we quickly get bored or regret the results of our shopping afterwards. So instead of having these goods piling up and not being used, we came up with the idea of running bazaars and garage sales," Wenny says.

"The funny thing is that in the beginning the idea was to use the bazaars as a way to get rid of goods that were not being used. But it's basically crazy shopping; at the end we just bought goods from other stands."

She can't help but laugh at her own behavior. "We're all crazy about shopping because we feel we have a private mall, which can be used for two days!"

Wenny uses the BHJ mailing list as a bridge with possible stallholders. Quite a crowded bridge too: Sometimes, within minutes of information about a planned event being mailed she has been inundated with responses from members.

"I feel so happy if I get an enthusiastic response, but the downside is that there are some people who have a hobby and are in a hurry to book a place, but when they are asked for the overdue rent they avoid the request and pull out." It is natural, she says, for her to be disappointed. "It's difficult to find a replacement at the last minute."

According to 32-year-old Riva Syarif, the moderator and founder of the BHJ mailing list, the mailing list was created as a way to share information about bazaars planned in Jakarta and other cities. Riva also hoped the mailing list could become a meeting place between suppliers and bazaar agents.

"Consequently, to give everyone what they wanted, all members were welcome to offer their trade goods through the mailing list, with the requirement that the goods could be resold in the bazaar by other people," says Riva, who works in the marketing department of an international courier company.

"But that rule is flexible, because, apart from the difficulty of monitoring all the postings, I also give members the chance to sell directly through the mailing list."

Her desire to keep everyone happy cannot be separated from her own personal experiences. Before setting up the mailing list, Riva, together with a number of her friends, was actively involved in various bazaars in Jakarta, selling small quantities of clothes.

"But at that time it was difficult to get information about the bazaar schedules. I looked for Internet sites but none existed. There were no mailing lists or discussions about bazaars. So that experience motivated me to set up this mailing list," she said.

"After several weeks Dwi Cahyo, a member who also became one of the moderators, joined. Cahyo then promoted BHJ so that the total number of members increased rapidly. That showed us that many people are interested in bazaars."

They kept at it, spreading information and connecting parties who wanted to work with them, collaborating on the BHJ mailing list, which was used as a means to share experiences. For example, a beginner bazaar organizer asked for advice from experienced bazaar organizers about the best promotional strategies.

Such promotional strategies might include those used by the Qita Bazaar team: Offering door prizes and distributing fliers that could be exchanged for goods at half price, or inviting a celebrity to take part in opening a stand. The proof of their success was the last Kemang Mid-Year Bazaar, where the stall belonging to Cynthia Lamusu and Arzetti Bilbina became a strong shopper magnet.

Those people who are new to selling at bazaars can also ask for tips from more experienced sellers about the best way to display goods to make them look attractive. Many also use the mailing list to find a partner to help with selling in the bazaar. This can reduce the sometimes steep burden of renting a stand.

All members of the mailing list join in with sharing their ideas, which can prove helpful, says 32-year-old Lita Edia. Lita, who owns a gallery that produces mukena and sajadah (Islamic clothes and prayer rugs) at www.ediashop.co.cc, says that several weeks ago the members discussed a recent bazaar that showed a clear lack of professionalism.

"There were some who complained that the EO *event organizer* wasn't cooperative and was too tough," she says. "There were some who complained because there was a complicated process for refunding money to rent the stands if the bazaar was canceled. There were also people who protested because the EO promised that there would no stands selling the same types of goods, whereas in reality it was not like that."

Lita said that she drew on all sorts of information when considering how to choose a bazaar to sell her goods, and had decided to wait for a bazaar that suited her needs and was near her house in Depok. Then she took a different tack - offering to supply goods for other members who wanted to open a stand.

As the pioneer of a mailing list about bazaars, BHJ is committed to making it easier for people to get information about bazaars. Even those who aren't interested in becoming a mailing list member but want to stay updated can access the bazaar schedule through www.bazaarhunter.blogspot.com.

Indra Sugihwo, who joined BHJ as a member two years ago, routinely takes part in bazaars whose details are passed on through the BHJ mailing list or through the website of the supplier service belonging to www.bursainternet.com.

"The majority of bazaar organizers are still part-time business people, so it's rare to find a bazaar organizer who has their own website for promotion," says Indra, a 41-year-old businessman whose business is based in Singapore. "Today a person might become a bazaar organizer, but tomorrow they turn out to become a bazaar participant or office employee. And people's response to events like these is quite big."

What makes joining the bazaar mailing list even more exciting, apart from having information about places to hunt for interesting goods at a bargain, is that members of the BHJ mailing list also hold special face-to-face meetings.

"Special gatherings for all members are rarely held," says Wenny. "Once was when the BHJ held a cheap bazaar in the Cijantung area. The other meetings are held in the bazaars that are held by each person. The sellers were busy, the shoppers was busy."