FLEA MARKET

[TreasureHunters]

How do i get a booth, how often do they run etc? Thanks

 

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[jeff of pa]

believe it would depend on the particular Market.

First one I set up at, We drove in, And just started setting up.
there was someone who walked around after everyone was in & collected fees.

second was in an Old Drive-in & if I remember correctly we paid at the Ticket booth .

I never did one where Tables (& a roof) were supplied, but my understanding,
in these cases, there is probably a higher fee, and maybe even politics
if the place is full & you have to wait to jump in someones grave so to speak,
when they retire

 

[allen]

We did one two weekends ago and the booth was $15
and each table we used was an extra $2 each.
Thank God we made around $150.

 

[Citiboy289]

Know I might catch heck for this but take it from me --- Flea Marketing is one royal pain !!! By the time you pack the suff haul it , set it up, deal with crazy people, never get the asking price, bad checks and then load the stuff all back up and start all over I found it much easier to just take it to an auction house and pay the 20 % --- it goes for a reasonable price, no one driving you nuts, no hauling it around , and you get a check from the auction house in about 5 days

If you have something of value it gets advertised increasing your market of buyers

Quite Flea markets years ago

 

[clovis97]

We sell at an indoor flea market.

We price the stuff with our booth number at the top of the tag, and the customer pays for it at one of the cash registers at the front of the store. The flea market has 5 to 10 employees manning the cash registers and walking the floors at any given time.

The nice thing is that we go and restock about twice a week, and our stuff sells while I am sitting at home. No baby sitting the booth, or missing out on weekend festivities because I am sitting in a hot field in the blazing sun at an outdoor flea market.

Booth rent is $150 a month at the indoor FM. A single Sunday at the local outdoor FM is $25. After you do the math, $150 for the indoor FM is a good deal considering I get 30 days of selling instead of 4 Sundays...and I can sleep til noon if I want to, and my stuff still sells...and someone else is ringing it up.

Another good aspect is the weather. Rain or shine, cold or hot, this FM is open everyday except major holidays.

This is a good outlet for stuff if you don't want to list it. Selling for $15 on ebay? It will sell easily for that at my FM, generally speaking.

I don't have to stand and dicker over every dollar. The buyer either pays the price that I marked the item, or they don't get the item. Simple as that.

The bad:

Theft. Not really an issue for us, but stuff is going to get stolen. I hate it with a passion, but it is the cost of doing business. I am careful NOT to put items there that would kill me if they were lost. Lots of thieves steal the dumbest stuff in the world. A few months ago, a guy was arrested for trying to steal two blue mason jars worth a whopping $3 each. Go figure.

Breakage. It is going to happen. Last year, some kid picked up a boxed train car, and upended it. The car came out, and it smashed all over the floor. Good thing I only paid $4 for it. Accidents do happen, and then again, you also have hill jacks who just don't care about your stuff.

Limited selling. This is not a place I try to sell high end Lionel train engines, Civil War rifles, or gold coins. See above.

Lack of negotiating power. Everyone wants to feel like they got a good deal, and since I'm not there in person, I can't make any deals.

I could write a book on this topic. Hope this helps.

 

[austin]

Know I might catch heck for this but take it from me --- Flea Marketing is one royal pain !!! By the time you pack the suff haul it , set it up, deal with crazy people, never get the asking price, bad checks and then load the stuff all back up and start all over I found it much easier to just take it to an auction house and pay the 20 % --- it goes for a reasonable price, no one driving you nuts, no hauling it around , and you get a check from the auction house in about 5 days

If you have something of value it gets advertised increasing your market of buyers

Quite Flea markets years ago

I had a friend who thought I needed to "pulga"(spanish for flea) with her every Wed. plus the weekend. You are right about everything you say, EVERYTHING. Glad you posted it. See, Wed. down here was dealer day and I got real tired of hearing"I'm a dealer from Dallas. Give ya a buck for that". Jerks. Why did I do it? She was an ex SPURS ball girl and an ex SPURS Silver Dancer with a 42" rack...

 

[jnkhntr]

We sell at an indoor flea market.

Another good aspect of the indoor booth is that it serves as a storage unit for your stuff.

 

[Citiboy289]

We sell at an indoor flea market.

We price the stuff with our booth number at the top of the tag, and the customer pays for it at one of the cash registers at the front of the store. The flea market has 5 to 10 employees manning the cash registers and walking the floors at any given time.

The nice thing is that we go and restock about twice a week, and our stuff sells while I am sitting at home. No baby sitting the booth, or missing out on weekend festivities because I am sitting in a hot field in the blazing sun at an outdoor flea market.

Booth rent is $150 a month at the indoor FM. A single Sunday at the local outdoor FM is $25. After you do the math, $150 for the indoor FM is a good deal considering I get 30 days of selling instead of 4 Sundays...and I can sleep til noon if I want to, and my stuff still sells...and someone else is ringing it up.

Another good aspect is the weather. Rain or shine, cold or hot, this FM is open everyday except major holidays.

This is a good outlet for stuff if you don't want to list it. Selling for $15 on ebay? It will sell easily for that at my FM, generally speaking.

I don't have to stand and dicker over every dollar. The buyer either pays the price that I marked the item, or they don't get the item. Simple as that.

The bad:

Theft. Not really an issue for us, but stuff is going to get stolen. I hate it with a passion, but it is the cost of doing business. I am careful NOT to put items there that would kill me if they were lost. Lots of thieves steal the dumbest stuff in the world. A few months ago, a guy was arrested for trying to steal two blue mason jars worth a whopping $3 each. Go figure.

Breakage. It is going to happen. Last year, some kid picked up a boxed train car, and upended it. The car came out, and it smashed all over the floor. Good thing I only paid $4 for it. Accidents do happen, and then again, you also have hill jacks who just don't care about your stuff.

Limited selling. This is not a place I try to sell high end Lionel train engines, Civil War rifles, or gold coins. See above.

Lack of negotiating power. Everyone wants to feel like they got a good deal, and since I'm not there in person, I can't make any deals.

I could write a book on this topic. Hope this helps.

You are correct Indoor set booths are a better alternative to the every weekend type in a parking lot;
I used to refinish furniture and take the pieces to a major local flea market at a small airport in NYS
Would oak tables, dressers and such into a truck haul them , unload early Sat AM , all sorts of lookers, back in the truck late Sat afternoon, back out of the truck early Sun AM , stand around Then by magic at about 3 pm Sun , people would appear , Dresser marked $400.00 , " I will give you $225.00 , Do you take a check ( this was back in the early 90's , so no cell phone instant scans " ------------ " Why carry it back in the truck " " Can you deliver it "
After about 5 months of that . The local auction house guy , who had a great following said to give him a try --- His commission was 15% , if I recall
He would auction once a month. display the stuff, If it was worthy place it in the monthly ad,,, Display it for 3 days at the preview,, and always have a good sale pitch when the bidding started

End of the auction ( I always seemed to get more than my FM asking ) The buyer paid him , he charged the buyer a 10% buyers fee and me 15% 7 days later I would pickup a check from him minus my 15% drawn on a local bank

He also did 2 BIG auctions , one on JULY 4th and one on NEW YEARS DAY , heavy advertising , people had to pay a seat fee to get in, great catalog
If I brought something in that was worthy, he would say , we really need to hold this for one of the big auctions , which we did many times and would get crazy prices from the city buyers

Anyway those were the days ! Indoor standing will always beat parking lot markets but AUCTIONS beat them all

Good Luck

 

[jerseyben]

I have done auctions, ebay, flea market, CL, yard sales, etc... In my opinion, if you want to make the most money, then an auction or ebay is your best bet. If you want to have fun and move a lot of cheaper stuff then the flea market is your best bet. Best of luck.

 

[gunsil]

Just google up flea markets in your area. If you are selling junk pick one that sells junk. If you are selling real antiques and quality collectibles you will need to find one that specializes in that kind of goods. There are great markets and there are crummy markets. Usually the better ones will have websites with days open, hours, rates, and rules listed on the site. Go to a few and look around at what is being sold and look at the clientele. You don't want to set up to sell quality stuff at a market where they sell used silverware and cheap sunglasses.

 

[dogteam]

A lot of good information here. The only indoor markets with unmanned booths that we have here are "Antique Malls"...spaces are like gold and have long waiting lists. Never tried it myself, was always afraid I wouldn't be able to keep product stocked and turning over (people stop looking at your stuff if it's the same week after week).
Takes a lot of hunting to keep quality stuff coming in, I would think.

Never thought about auctions, except for buying....interesting. It would sure cut down on the time commitment on the selling side.