My dad loved flea markets and occasionally rented a table for him to get rid of things he no longer wanted. At least that's why he said he rented a table. I personally thought he did it more to have an excuse to spend a lazy day or two at the local flea market chatting with his buddies and sipping ice cold Cokes on a sunny summer afternoon.
Later, I introduced my two daughters to flea market fund raising when they needed money to cover their fees at Girl Scout Camp. Since I was my father's daughter, I spent a lot of my time wandering around to visit and find out what other flea marketers had to sell while my daughters manned their rented table,
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Two years ago, a friend told us about "the world's largest flea market," held three times every year in the tiny town of Sumpter, Oregon. Of course we had to go.
The Sumpter Flea Market was quite an experience. Although it probably wasn't really the world's largest flea market, it was large, and managed to stretch clear through the whole town of Sumpter as well as up a hill beside the town.
Anyway, my point is that flea markets are very popular these days so they are also places where, with a little practice, you can provide things customers are looking for and pick up a nice little chunk of cash for yourself at the same time. Here are a few suggestions to help you get started.
1. Start gathering items to sell long before the date you intend to sell them.
Make sure your family and friends know you are planning a flea market sale, and they will dig up tons of things to help you out. (Of course some of the things may make you wish you hadn't mentioned your sale, but people who come to buy at flea markets will buy almost anything. I remember selling a partial set of guitar strings at a flea market. I had purchased the whole set in order to get the two strings I needed. I slapped a price of .50 on the remaining strings and they sold immediately. Put some cardboard boxes in a corner somewhere and direct all donations to them. Who knows, someone out there may be looking for a hairbrush with half the bristles missing---for their cat, of course.
2. Take some time to prepare the items you plan to sell.
You will make more sales at the flea market if your items are clean, somewhat organized and individually priced. A week or so before the sale, go through all the items you have collected and make sure they are ready to go. If you put all the books in one box, all clothing items in another, and miscellaneous in another it will make things easier when you actually set up shop at the flea market site. Plan ahead for how you will handle money during the sale. Keeping it in a box can be a temptation to thieves if you aren't very careful. A money apron can be purchased or sewn very inexpensively from heavy denim material. That way, the money is always safe in front of you, and you can make change for your customers without going off to find the money box. While I'm on that subject, remember to take plenty of change to begin with. Lots of flea market sales are lost, because the vendor didn't have change for a ten or twenty.
3. Take along a helper if possible.
If you can't talk someone into spending the whole day, at least have your spouse or one of your children relieve you for an hour or two during the day. It can get really tiresome being cooped up behind a table for 5 hours or so, and the crowds can get pretty noisy. So, plan ahead for a break, or, at the very least, some help with setting up in the morning and packing up to go home that evening.
An even better solution is to share your flea market space with a friend or relative. When you split the cost of the table, the whole event will be more profitable for both of you and you can keep things that won't fit on your part of the table in boxes under the table to restock your space as soon as other items sell.
4. Be friendly to customers, but not overbearing.
When I visit a flea market table, I like to be greeted with a friendly smile and asked if I am looking for anything in particular. After that, I prefer to dig through the offerings without being followed around or bombarded with comments about what a good deal this or that item is. So, my advice to the newcomer to flea marketing is to be friendly, be available, and be reasonably quiet. Your customer should have the privilege of making up his mind without being pressured.
5. Don't overlook possible extra chances to make money during your sale.
Set up a coffee urn with some Styrofoam cups and put a price per cup sign on it. Some people are already tired from browsing other booths and ready for some refreshments. A plate of cookies wrapped individually might also go over well. If you have room near your table, bring a couple of folding chairs so a weary shopper can rest for a few minutes (while enjoying your coffee and cookies of course.)
If you have a talent for other things such as cake decorating, child care, alterations and sewing, lawn work, etc., don't miss this opportunity for free advertising. Put a pile of flyers advertising your side business in a prominent place on your table. Gaining even one extra customer from the flea market will make that small effort worthwhile. One lady I know makes gorgeous beaded earrings. She always has a few samples on her flea market table and takes order to make them in custom colors. She also keeps a few extra samples in her purse in case someone wants to purchase the samples on her display board.
Another good way to make more profit from your day at the flea market is to rent a larger space and offer to sell items your friends have for a commission. Just put a sticker on each item with the name of the person who owns it. When the item sells, write the price and the amount of your commission in a small spiral notebook. At the end of the day, it will only take a few minutes to add up the amount you owe to each person, and you will have an extra pile of cash for yourself that you wouldn't have had otherwise.
Spring and summer are the time for flea markets, so keep your eyes and ears open. It shouldn't be long before you hear of a nearby flea market you can attend. Start your preparations now, and I think you'll find flea marketing can be a lot of fun as well as being very profitable.
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