Clovis

I seen in a post about you buying under priced items and reselling them in your booth, my mother in law would do that to when she had her booths in a couple of antique malls. One store was on route 66 and had a fair amount of tour bus traffic, she sold a decent amount of used paper backbooks, westerns mainly, at that one.

Clovis, I think the $4 gas and higher prices for almost everything has definitely hurt resellers. We were still shocked at our horrific holiday sales locally, though! But, like any other business, you have to hang in there, rough patches will probably not last forever. I am so glad we didn't take the big jumps we were toying with, though, like opening an independent retail store, we never would have made it.

We went back to the outdoor flea market this past weekend, and while it didn't seem incredibly busy, we did quite well and were pleased with sales by the end of Sunday. We heard several people talking about their tax refunds, so that had to be what spurred it along. Whatever it was, we will take it lol! So, while we had been taking a break for a while, we decided to get back at it till at least the end of April, then maybe slow back down to every other weekend.

Oh, and I have to agree with you about people seeing you make money, and copying you! Two years ago we had that problem, with 3 booths copying us, as well as people asking exactly where we bought our merchandise, wanting to know how much we made, etc., to the point of being rude! The copying booths eventually gave up, and we are pretty much the only people selling games regularly again. Sunday the veggie vendor stopped by and basically said the same thing. So many people have set up identical booths to his, he is barely making it now. He used to have 4 booths in a row, now has 1 and had to lay off his helper. He has been there for about 20 years, so hopefully he can just ride this out as well.

Thank you for posting your insights, it is very helpful to read about your and everyone else's experiences!

I am glad you are making some money, Shannsmom!

It is funny...you all are making money selling video games, and I swore them off long ago. I have lost money, albeit just a little, on every video game deal that I've ever bought. Sure, if I could pick them up for pennies on the dollar I might try it again, but for the most part, I will never touch another game or game system as long as I live, LOL.

It is funny! Here we can't make money selling antiques, but we do make money selling video games and DVDs. I will admit that it is really because DH is an avid gamer and knew off the top of his head what games were highly sought after and which were common. He also is able to repair game consoles, and after we were at the flea market for a few months, we were approached by the owner of a few local stores to repair things for him, he introduced us to other store owners, and we quickly had a side business. They all also give us good deals on games or movies we are looking for, which has been helpful. That's our primary focus, but we also sell toys, and flip household items when we can get them cheap enough. We always have a movie/game table, and frequently get a 2nd table for "junk" (toys, clothes, kitchen items, etc). We have let it be known to the store owners we know that we will buy lots of items when they just need quick cash, so we are often offered giant boxes of Star Wars collectibles and things along that line for pennies on the dollar.

Two years ago we swore off selling DVD's, the going price at our flea market had gotten down to 50 cents! That is not worth it to purchase them and resurface them! But last year we bought about 10,000 of them, as we can now sell them for $2 each, at that we can make enough profit to make us happy :) Of course, the top of the line or collectible things go online since people will pay more in other parts of the country. It is a business of constant watching and adjustment, for sure!

On the subject of adjusting, keeping up with developments in your area of sales is also important. DH said to quit buying games around the middle of last year. The new systems (Xbox one and PS4) were coming out and he knew that sales for the previous systems' games would be wonky during the adjustment, and we needed to see what our new selling price and therefor our new set purchase price would be. And he was right, I think that's part of why our sales slumped so much, people were hoping to be able to afford the new systems, now most around here have found they can't, and are buying games for the systems they still have. So waiting has paid off.

I stumbled upon another blog pertaining to flea market/antique mall booths. Hopefully one or more of you will find it interesting. http://vintagerescue.typepad.com/vin...ps-and-advice/

Thanks for that link, jlxian! Even though we don't sell antiques, I enjoyed it :) While looking at the pictures, though, I decided it is a good thing we don't sell them....I would probably let a LOT of that migrate home lol!

That is my problem

Went into the market yesterday to pay my rent for March. First I checked on my booth and all of my blue dishes I had put into the booth about three weeks ago are still there. The booth did look like a few things were gone, but I couldn't place what they were. So, discouraged, I went to the counter to pay the rent. While I was scrounging for my checkbook the owner says I owe you $17.50! I MADE MONEY! Turned out that most of what sold was things I had marked down and most of that was my sons stuff. So the $17.50 all went to him. LOL. He was happy though. One piece of my Harkerware blue dishes had sold, a covered pitcher. I'm bummed about the other things. The owner gave me a pep talk and said that things are really picking up --- tax refund season gets people out. And warmer weather too.

On Saturday I'm FINALLY meeting my friend who is going in on the booth with me. She will be bringing a few things to place. And I hope she can help me re-stage the entire booth. I know it needs it. I have got to figure out how to use my vertical space from about waist high on up.

So a little progress report for you all. :)

I lost money this past month, but that's understandable because the weather around here has been so bad. Business is terrible for everybody. :(

It's incredibly frustrating, thesedays!

How is everyone's sales so far?

We finished February with a decent month at the FM, which surprised me. We often struggle during the second month of the year because it is a short month.

I am definitely still having a hard time figuring out the antique malls where we rent space. I still wonder if antique malls aren't fading from popularity, as is collecting in some respects.

Indoor flea markets have really grown in popularity in our area in the past 10 years, and I believe that has hurt the malls too.

For the first time ever, I lost money at one of the antique malls and owe $22 in booth rent.

Clovis I think many physical retail locations are fading. When we can buy something with a few clicks on our phone why visit a dz shops looking for it??
I don't think collecting will ever go away, there is always at least 1 item that can make almost any buyer weak.
I noticed when I was in OKC that each time I drive by the antique store on the corner from the state fairgrounds always has customers in the parking lot, while many others you can't tell they are even open. Made me think..... Location location location.

I agree, jcat.

Once upon a time, I spent hours of my life scouring antique malls looking for old Lionel trains.

If I want something these days, like a Lionel Lackawanna 2321 maroon top, all I have to do is tap on the ebay app on my phone, and I have instant access to ten of them. In all those years of shopping, I don't believe I ever saw a 2321 at an AM.

The indoor FM where we make most of our sales is, generally speaking, very busy, every day of the week...if it isn't bitter cold, expecting 7 inches of snow, or if the Colt's aren't playing.

Personally, I think the FM's have stolen the a big part of the AM crowd. Who wants to walk around and look at overpriced antiques when you might be able to score something cool and unique at a FM for a fraction of the price it would be at an AM?

Our FM here try to price like AM. Only bargains to be had are from the ones that are setting up at the FM as a yardsale. I love going to see new things, but do NOT like to get out in shop in the cold. Tax checks will be rolling in so this month should be looking up for a sellers!

Many of the outdoor FM's around here seem to be dying a slow death too. Back in the 90's, you couldn't find a place to park, and walking the aisles was like walking Disney World on their busiest day of the year.

The vendors at the local outdoor FM (OFM) have been crying the blues for many years. They say that they no longer have the crowd, nor the buyers. Back in the day, the big time collectors would go to the OFM to hook up with the serious dealers.

Personally, I think that the IFM's here took both the crowd and the vendors from the OFM's.

From a vendor's perspective, it is $25 a day to set up at an OFM, but I can rent a full booth at an IFM for $150 a month.

Interesting how malls very around the country.

Our AM aren't really overpriced.
Yeah, sure, there are some things I scoff at, But most of its reasonable.
(Usually everything's under $500)

The owners I've noticed are a lot more lenient about what you can sell so it's pretty much a mixture of AM/FM.
I mean, you won't find the chewed up plastic dog house for $60 at the AM (and yes, I couldn't believe that price) like you will at the FM down the road..

I honestly try and avoid the FM in town because they are too lenient.
It's a anything goes in there.
Dog beds that smell like urine, reallllly old shoes, loose nails and screws..
I get trying to make a dollar, I really do, But when the establishment smells from outside the door ... its time to rethink some things.
These people give FM a bad name.

Our IFM is really clean.

As far as what you can sell, they are very lenient, but they will tell you to move stuff out if it is a problem.

One time, some one was selling badly out of date candy. That vendor was told to hit the road. I'm not talking about a few months out of date, but stuff that was several years old.

They also will ask anyone to stop selling poor quality new stuff. The big issue with this, like the people selling store returned and rebuilt air compressors, is that the customer buys it, gets it home, finds it not working, and then the customer is ticked. While there is a 'no returns' policy well stated on every door, some people come in screaming and yelling trying to get a refund.

The bottom line is that the staff isn't paid well enough to take the abuse of someone demanding a refund, and overall, the IFM wants happy customers, just like every other business in the world.

If you are selling stinky stuff at this IFM, you will be asked to remove the stuff or face having it removed for you...and they won't even call you to let you know that your stuff has been pulled.

The mall nearest my house is having a bus stop by this weekend! They do have a small cafe, so that's going to be part of the draw. :)

Wish me luck.

Tomorrow is an estate tag style sale. I find some killer deals at these sales, but they are very hard to work, IMO.

I have scoured the 102 pictures that the estate company posted, and found about 12 items that are really worth going after. The bad part is that we have to wait in line, and at 9:00 am, they let about 15 people in, which is a mad dash to find the things you want somewhere in the house.

I hate trying to find the original Herman Miller chair, while someone else is picking up the super rare Stanley #1 plane in an original box down in the basement for $5. It is maddening to me to try to be in eight places all at once, all while knowing that I am losing out on some killer stuff.

At the last sale, I asked about a bench vise, and the estate worker quoted a price, and then asked me how my wife and kid were. In mid sentence while telling about my fam, some old man walked in, interrupted and said "I'd give $25 for that vise over yonder." So, I lost a $150 vise to an old man.

Overall, I prefer auctions. Sure, you have to wait all day sometimes, but at least everyone has a chance at an item.

If you are an hour late to an auction, they will still have stuff to sell, but if you aren't two hours early to an estate tag sale, the only thing left will be dirty stuffed animals and boxes of old Cool Whip containers.

I should be relaxed, as many times as I've done this, but I still get somewhat tense before the tag sales...and the agony of losing a mint condition Mid Century star burst clock for $5 to a college girl because she thinks it would be cool if she spray painted it neon green...sometimes I want to scream! LOL, but true!

Eager to hear your stories about the estate sale, Clovis! I've never been to one like that and I'm not sure I could handle that set up either. Frustration! Good luck.

The estate sale went well, but I am exhausted. My day started at 6:00 am, and I didn't stop working until 7:15 pm.

I went early, and was the first one there, showing up before the estate sale employees and any other buyers. Being first in line was a big plus, but it never guarantees that you'll find anything you want.

I spent about $300 on:

2 aluminum rockers from the late 50's.
6 Mid Century wire magazine racks, end tables, etc.
1 box of TV and Radio Tubes.
A very unusual milk box
A small lot of NOS AC Delco and Ford sparkplugs
About 20 long handled tools
1 lot of N scale trains, NIB
1 Wilton bench vice
2 very cool garden fence gates
A very large lot of small cigar boxes filled with hardware
1 box of Jarts from the 1950's. I sold the last set I had for $100.
Set of pipe dies for threading iron pipe
A large armful of women's clothes from about 1966 to the early 70's.
1 Westinghouse 1920's brass fan in very rough condition. About $75 to $100 on ebay.
1 Coleman lantern in stunning condition.
The balance was in tools, which are far too numerous to list. I love tools!!

I passed on the ugly Herman Miller chair. It was too rough to have any real value.

Should have bought the two steel framed art deco style outdoor chairs, but they were priced at $100 for the pair.

One big score was finding a city directory for 1964. They gave it to me, most likely for buying so much, but I would have paid $25 for it. I would think it should easily fetch $100-$200 on ebay, but I haven't checked.

So far, we've already taken the big stuff to the IFM. We've marked $684 worth of stuff, if it sells, we'll be golden. I might take some of it to an AM where we sell; Mid Century is H-O-T there.

Nonetheless, it is easy to sit here and tell you how easy the picking is, and the grand amounts that I hope this junk brings. But even after going to auctions all of my life, and being in this business for years, I've never left an auction, estate sale, garage sale, retail store where I spent a pile of money, and didn't think, at least once, "a fool and his money", LOL.

Thanks for letting me share.

Great finds Clovis. Being there early pays off, especially if you can take a companion that is knowledgeable enough you can split up. I send DH to look for very specific items, he doesn't do well if there is bunches to pick from.
I always get excited when I find Jarts or lawn darts! Got a box that had never been opened a few yrs back & a used set at the same thrift store. That store has stayed on my regular list ever since.
I would not do so good at picking tools, each of us having our own strengths makes this a wide field to be in.
DD14 is a toy guru for her age. We were at a sell where another reseller was picking toys. DD went behind & snatched up several they had not chosen. They had passed on at least $100 of toys. The person with them even commented on how DD seemed to know more about toys. DD15 is into dresses. I passed on a dress that was 99c the other day. She snatched it up, brings anywhere from $75-$125 everytime one is listed on eBay. Evidently Madonna wore the same dress in an 80s video, go figure!

Clovis, I think mid century mod is becoming hot everywhere!
I would love one of those rockers!
I hope it all brings what you ask for it!

Thank you for the replies.

Jcat: Nice picks! Care to share about the dress?

MJsLady: We put $85 each on the rockers. They should sell at that price; I typically see them priced at $125. Who knows though? I can't ever seem to second guess the buying public!

BTW, I've had a few surprises and a few disappointments with yesterday's haul.

The Ford spark plugs in the original boxes? Yeah, used. I should have looked at them first, but was in a hurry. A total rookie mistake! I figure that I have no more than $2 in them, so no big loss.

The AC Delco oil filter? Well, it is not the super desirable one that everyone wants, I don't think.

Surprises, so far:

The Westinghouse fan was a good score too, but that thing is really rough.

The N scale trains were an awesome pick by my wife. She grabbed them up while I was grubbing around in the basement overpaying for used spark plugs and an undesirable oil filter, LOL. There are more train cars than I expected, almost 2X as many. I know HO and Lionel O fairly well, but I know nothing about N scale.

The dress DD picked was a Loralie. Our goodwill has 2 colors on sale every wk. one color is buy 1get 1 & the other is 99c. When formals go for 99c I grab up the modern ones, they are usually an easy $20 sale especially this time of yr. not very many older ones are desirable.

Bummer on the parts, I know it is hard to check everything out when you are rushing to grab up the good finds. It's always a gamble not checking everything over.
DD spent 99c on a Disney 1000 piece photomosaic puzzle & she is still trying to figure out if it is all there. Stuff in boxes are always a gamble!

Thank you for the info on the dresses!

On my deal, I lotted up the plugs and filter with the radio tubes. It was a sheer gamble on my part, but one I take quite often if they are cheap enough.

I bought a sleeve of GM plugs too. They are new, but I don't have high hopes for them. I still have to look those up. I had 6 GM plugs a year ago that sold for $50 on ebay.

Is that really how "cheap" estate sales are priced?
I've never been to one thinking they want top dollar for everything

IMO when you shop estate sales you learn quickly which companies are affordable & the ones that are not. I love the ones that post LOTS of photos & catalog prior, but those are the ones that are more expensive usually.
One company locally does 3 day sales. Thur-Sat. Those are nice since you can go & not miss prime yardsales.
Some families host their own estate sales & those can be awesome!

In our area, 99% of all estates are settled by auction. Any estate of size is generally sold at an on-site auction, meaning that the auction is held at the house where the people lived.

A new thing in our area are tag sales. These are on-site sales too. There is only one company, so far, selling estates with tags. For the most part, they are pricing stuff to get it sold. In their early days, they were putting crazy amounts on furniture, and letting all the smalls go super cheap. We've had more than a few 'wowzer' moments, like the $25 asking price for a cheap camp cook set, but I bought two vintage lanterns for $15. One lantern sold on ebay for $125, and went to Japan, and the other sold at the IFM for $35.

These guys at the local estate company are just winging it, I think. They are making up prices as they go, but tend to be on the very cheap side. I could write blogs on all the killer deals I've gotten from them. We've butted heads a few times, and I've been frustrated with a few things in the past, but all in all, I've made great money at these sales.

As always, YMMV.

Is it even legal for a thrift store to sell lawn darts? It's certainly legal for people to own them, or sell them privately.

I don't know, thesedays, but I'm not telling, LOL!

The fact that ebay won't allow them to be sold on their venue makes any Jarts hard to sell, but it also has made them more desirable by jart enthusiasts, IMO.

Back in the day, when the economy was booming, I found a bunch of Jarts and made very good money selling those.

The Jarts that I bought on Friday look to be pristine, but the box is badly damaged.

The oldest Jart sets are getting very hard to find.

Great finds Clovis! I'm eager to hear how your sales go.



We went to our local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store over the weekend looking for bathroom fixtures specifically, and just looking in general. I found one of those wooden handled toolboxes our grandpa's all used to have, larger than a shoebox, in lovely weathered condition. $2.00. I snatched that baby up. I'm thinking I can get at least $12.00 maybe $15.00 for it. I'll start out high and see how it goes.

Jlixian: I'd put $16 on that tool tote...and maybe $20 or higher. At $16, I would expect it to fly off the shelf in the first few days, and would expect it to sit for a while at $22-$25.

Sometimes we have progressive mark downs on items. We start with a much higher price, and gradually mark it down as the weeks go by. Progressive mark downs are much easier when you only have one or two booths.

I am happy to report that we've already sold quite a few items from the recent estate sale.

One of the aluminum rockers sold for $85 the very day we set it out. I suspect that I sold it too cheap.

We have sold several long handled tools @ $10 each, a table saw roller stand for $25, and some miscellaneous junk.

We haven't sold any of the stuff on ebay yet. The N scale trains should sell for $4-$5 each at an AM, but the big score was a passenger car set that we listed yesterday on ebay for $100. We have about 25 other cars, but at $5 each, I think they are better at the AM than eBay.

I bought a large lot of cigar boxes at this estate, all filled with hardware. Each of these small cigar boxes have a knob on the front where the owner had made them into a drawer, of sorts. At the ES, the women were swooning over the boxes (and complaining that they were full of hardware), so I quickly snapped them all up for $12. I'm guessing we have 35-40 cigar boxes.

We are taking the hardware out, and put them into Crystal Light containers, and mark them about $1.50 each, which is an outstanding value for those who know how expensive nails and screws are these days. The old 99 cent box of nails is now $5 at Lowes. I've sold a TON of hardware in the past years. Much of the hardware comes from the bottom of tool boxes that I've bought, and adds a $1 or $2 to the bottom line, even though most people would trash it all.

We've marked the cigar boxes at $5 each. Past history tells me that they should fly off the shelves at that price, but women can be as fickle as they come! I think that they will sell crazy fast...or sit for eons until I mark them down.

At any rate, I am blessed. I am thankful for the sales!!!

Clovis, I'm drooling over the finds you got at the ES! Oh my. My husband would have loved those cigar boxes full of "stuff"..... what treasure! And of course the boxes are treasure in and of themselves. Sigh.....

Okay, I'll take your advice and begin with $22 on the tote. We'll see what happens! I noticed that a lot of stuff I marked down last month has begun to move so markdowns do help. Maybe regulars to the market watch to see if things will be reduced in price.

My house is still so chock-full of STUFF that I hate to go out looking for more STUFF to put in the booth, but finding that tote at the Re-Store was so lucky. I was amazed they sold it so cheap. I guess they need to keep things moving.

One philosophy that has served us well over the years is "it all adds up."

Many years ago, I read a book about an envelope company that couldn't turn a profit. The owner went to an envelope and printing trade show, and happened to run into a janitor that worked at another envelope company. The owner was bemoaning the fact that they were losing money every month, and the janitor asked "How much are you getting for your scrap paper?"

At that point, the company had been paying big bucks to have it hauled off. They bought a baler, and started selling all of their waste paper, and was able to start turning a profit immediately.

In the FM business, the sales of 50 cent and $1 items add up fast. At every auction, I see people buy a box for one single $10 item, and throw out $25 worth of 50 cent to $2 items.

These cheap items tend to sell fast, and can add great profits to your bottom line. Many buyers think nothing of spending a dollar on an item at a flea market.

The trick is knowing what to trash, and what to keep and mark.

Another trick is to limit your time involved with these low cost items. There is no sense spending 6 hours trying to fix, prep or mark a handful of items that will bring $4 at the flea market. KWIM?

So, what are you getting for your scrap????

As always, YMMV.

Excellent advice and insights, Clovis. And much appreciated! Thanks!

I too thought the toolbox was worth $20+, but I know everyone's location is different.
We have a "variety store" in town that will allow you to consign anything, but you would be lucky to get $8 for the tool box. Drive 20 miles to a populated area and $20+ would be easy.

Ain't that the truth, jcat?

You couldn't give away a wrench at one AM we are at, but I can't keep them in stock at another place.

I think this is why we have such a tough time with pricing. An item is worthless at one place, worth $30 at another...and $50 at another.