TreasureHunters
Hero Member
How do i get a booth, how often do they run etc? Thanks
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
Another good aspect of the indoor booth is that it serves as a storage unit for your stuff.We sell at an indoor flea market.
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.