Nicholas Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Hello, as I prepare to start selling candles in the next two months, I ponder the idea of setting a booth up at a flea market. Just wondering if anyone uses this method to sale? and if so, what days are typically the best? any advice would be helpful. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I have, and it was very positive, it is where I gained my first real customers, some of them are still with me today but it will depend on what kind of flea market you are talking about. Some flea markets are crummy, some are higher quality, and attract a different set of people. Won't know until you try, and give it more than a few days when you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitn Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Like the poster above me said they can be great or lousy. Many people here go to flea markets to haggle and get things cheap. Give it a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacktieaffair Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I'd get in an "indoor market" if I were you. Even if it doesn't get 114 where you are like it does here, if its raining, snowing , too hot or too cold, you will still have customers and your product wont be going through extreme heat/cold changes. Not to mention you're going to be a lot more comfortable and therefore in a better mood.Weekends are the best as far as I am concerned.PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE INSURANCE FOR YOUR PRODUCT AND YOURSELF!!!! This is an absolute MUST! I hate to say this but, everyone makes mistakes when making handcrafted items............. and the world we live in, is "sue-happy". You really dont want your entire life torn apart because someone wants to be an idiot and sue you because they dont know the correct way to burn a candle ... Food for thought Like 001 said, the type of market you are in will either make or break you. I'd also check it out for a few weekends or a month, talk to other vendors, see how they like it there, find out if or how many more people are there that do what you do. Ask to be set as far apart from them as you can, but you want to be as close to the In/Out door as you can get. OR some have good luck being on the "back aisle" that way they catch the customers that thought about getting candles earlier as they walked through, but decided not to, and you can snag them. I myself like to be as close to the door or in the middle as possible. ( one tip is, when they purchase, if you are near the front or middle, when you give them a receipt.. ask if they would like for you to hold their stuff behind the counter, so they dont have to lug it around. I know I have actually made larger sells that way because no one wants to lug around 10 lbs of stuff lol )Find out how many people on the average weekend go. Are holiday weekends better or worse? Do they rent tables/electricity if you need it? There's a ton of questions to consider but honestly, you'll think of 100 more just as soon as you think you have a handle on it Good luck and let us know ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 Hey everyone, thanks a bunch for the advice! Just have one, well maybe two lol more questions. i'm currently looking into product liability insurance for my products, can anyone recommend a insurance company? I hear that it is hard to obtain this type of insurance. also, what type of insurance do I need for myself? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I would suggest the soapmakers guild if you do make soap, it is the least expensive way to get insurance for handmade products.http://www.soapguild.org/industry/insurance-faq.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I have a different view. I don't think flea markets are good venues for handcrafted items. People who go to flea markets are looking for a bargain or something dirt cheap. I went to a flea market once and was sorry I went. It was a waste of my time and money. Sorry but my candles and soap I don't consider dollar store or bargain basement stuff or hand me downs. Thats the kind of stuff I would look for at a flea market. That and the occasional rare valuable find. But not premium quality handmade candles and soap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleasureridgecandles Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 As some others have said it really depends on the area you are in and the type of flea market. There are some that are just junky, those I would stay away from. We have one here that comes once a month and it is really good for us. We've gotten alot of customers from it and they return every month and buy more. We've been doing this flea market for about 3 years or so and mostly it's been great. Do you have other candles or soap sellers at the particular flea market you are interested in? That can have a huge impact on your sales if there are. If it's a decent flea market and these other sellers have been there for x amount of time they will have alot of repeat customers and some may not try a new unknown company to them. The one we do here has atleast 2 other booths of candles (aside from us) and several soapers. As for the days it really depends. Sometimes Friday is slow and other times it's an awesome day, sometimes Sunday is slow and other times it's great. Saturday is usually always great. How many days and how frequently does this flea market open? Is it something that brings in alot of traffic? Take in to account the booth size and price also. Is this a flea market that you have attended before? If not I'd go and check it out as a shopper to see how much traffic comes in and if they are actually buying or just walking around looking to have something to do. I'd check out the other sellers there to see what type of stuff they are selling. If it's alot of junk and dollar type store items then handmade products probably wouldn't go over well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EccoLights Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Each and every one has pointed out some great facts and thoughts =) We are currently in a indoor flea market ourselves and have done very well. With that said we also did and do a LOT of advertising, promoting and marketing for us and the market. Have been there almost 2 years now we have a good client base that shops every month with us and that's going to be your key. Getting your items out there and keeping your customers happy. Promote, promote, promote!!!Now as for the market itself. You can see a post we put up recently in the "Business Side of Things" section for just an example of what you MIGHT come into. Hopefully the markets in your area ADVERTISE and MARKET themselves, this is how you get NEW people into the market. Do they have something that will "draw" customers? Events? Shows? Auctions? Bands? These are all big "draws" for customers which in turn will lead to more $$$ for you and all the vendors. If it's a dirty place, don't fret! You can still do very well but keep your standards up! Keep your booth looking tip top and you might just sway some of the others to clean up their acts too =) Overall, if the price is right (less then $50 a week for a 10x10 inside) I would say go for it. Give it a shot for a month or two but not less. You can't go into this thinking that 1 or 2 weeks will get you the big $$$, that takes time. Set a timeline & goals of just covering your rent at first, then as you grow you might even expand. I would also say here if your not making your rent within that 2 month time frame... GET OUT! Move on to another market, shop or pop the trunk of your car and set up on corners (just kidding), but don't throw your money away if it's not going to be a return eventually. (Weirdly I say that and just thought of the thousands we spent in testing...... Wonder if we got that back yet???) +) Enjoy and the best of luck to you!! Oh, as for insurance... We called our agent with Grange and worked out a package deal with our home, auto, life and now business =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAgirl89 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 In the area where I live, I stay away from flea markets and stick with strictly craft shows. Here, there are two different types of people, flea market people and craft show people. Flea market people are looking for cheap, and something for free, they also like to haggle on price. Craft show people are shopping for homemade and will pay for homemade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 In the area where I live, I stay away from flea markets and stick with strictly craft shows. Here, there are two different types of people, flea market people and craft show people. Flea market people are looking for cheap, and something for free, they also like to haggle on price. Craft show people are shopping for homemade and will pay for homemade.Its the same here in Virginia. You only find junk in flea markets and I mean crap. People looking for crafts don't go to flea markets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Around here we have two major markets that call themselves flea markets. One prominently features the used tire person and used clothing vendor who I'm sure is infested with bed bugs. The other one is full of crafty upcyclers that take trash and junk and make some pretty amazing furniture and art with it. The culture is different in each of them and one feels very trashy, the other has that cafe feel (they have a premium coffee vendor there every week) This is the market I made it in. I never even thought to go to the other. They would expect the candles to be stolen, or a dollar... or both. Basically if you walk the market and see things that are like yours, or merch you would buy to pair with your product you'll be good. Otherwise stay away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksranch Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Be careful about calling your current insurance - some companies (including mine) consider this business an extemely high risk and they not only won't cover it, they will cancel your home insurance because you are involved in it..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacktieaffair Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 " Flea Markets" are thought of kinda like the dentist. Not very well. The bad experiences of the "older markets" has tainted the newer markets without even trying. You have different types of people who go to both flea market ( of either kind ) or to craft shows. You have buyers and you have lookers. Nothing you can do will make a die hard looker buy. They are there to kill time only or to get ideas for something else.Yall talk about people trying to haggle you and how you wont do flea markets because of it and people wanting your prices to be cheap..................... Well, I dont know how it goes up north, in the south, even at some of the largest craft shows around filled with expensive well made unique products, you have people CONSTANTLY trying to talk you down in price. It's just how "we" are. It's part of the allusive chase of getting a bargin on something that costs a lot ( think Black Friday lol )There's good ones and bad ones out there on both sides. I've done some rather large craft shows where the attitude of the people made me wish I was at a flea market. Even the bad kind. At least I'd have known the attitude I was getting then but there I sat at an upscale craft show and people with designer clothes on trying to buy a 15.00 item for 5.00. Uugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyJo Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 flea markets are fun. Canton and McKinney are full of both junk vendors and craft vendors. you get the best of both worlds. Although they don't call themselves flea markets... they are Trade Days ... Canton is First Monday Trade Days and McKinney is Third Monday Trade Days .... and both originally began when farmers would all come to town and "trade" their goods on the one weekend of the month that the circuit judge came to town. McKinney has been going for over 100 years. Canton started sometime in the 1850's so it's been going for over 150 years. McKinney sees about 25,000 shoppers a month and Canton gets between 100,000 and 300,000 shoppers depending on the time of year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 LadyJo that sounds more like a Farmers Market. At least it started out like one and still has the flavor. Many farmets markets around here double as craft fairs with both producers (farmers) and crafters. Those are definitely worth doing if you can find one you do well at. Unfortunately around here the flea markets sell junk, hand me downs, dollar store type crap, and old used stuff you find at garage sales. If you have a flea market that is mixed and you do well at it then thats great. Around here it just doesn't happen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAgirl89 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 LadyJo that sounds more like a Farmers Market. At least it started out like one and still has the flavor. Many farmets markets around here double as craft fairs with both producers (farmers) and crafters. Those are definitely worth doing if you can find one you do well at. Unfortunately around here the flea markets sell junk, hand me downs, dollar store type crap, and old used stuff you find at garage sales. If you have a flea market that is mixed and you do well at it then thats great. Around here it just doesn't happen!Yeah here too. The farmer's market holds flea market every other Sunday and every Wednesday, but it's a mix of local produce and flea market type merchandise. The owner of the farmer's market also holds craft shows at the market grounds 5x a year, that is suppose to be strictly handmade craft items. But craft vendors have dwindled over the past couple years and non-homemade vendors have been allowed to set up. If you have the $100 and can get an inside booth, you could have some nice sales, but most crafters end up with an outside booth, then it's hit or miss and sales vary from show to show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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