Anyone have a booth at an Antique Mall?

DanyellL · #**701** 09/04/14, 06:53 AM

I love your tips Clovis! Thank you!

**clovis** · #**702** 09/04/14, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaclynne

We had a great August in our AM space. We sold several large pieces of refinished furniture and a ton of smalls. So glad we had some large items ready to move right in the empty spaces. I'm really pleased so far!

I haven't commented much, but have tried to keep up with the reading. Thanks for everyone who shares their experiences, and for the questions too!

Welcome to the thread!!!!

What has taken you so long to post??

Tell us about your booth. What do you deal in mostly?

**clovis** · #**703** 09/04/14, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanyellL

I'm not sure what to do now. lol DH told them yesterday we were moving out and giving our 30 day notice. They got so upset. When DH was in the parking lot almost to the truck, she ran out and gave us an offer. She said she would drop our booth rent down to $100 a month (which is awesome for our size booth) and write off what we owe this month (which is $83 since we only had $67 in sales this month). She said business has been picking up and that she knows that when the weather cools down a bit things will pick up.

So I'm kind of confused. We've also reached out to a few other AM's to see how they run, but none have really seemed to be a good fit. DH wants to give it another shot. But I'm still kind of unsure, seeing how the issue is with traffic. Paying the booth amount isn't the issue, its the fact that they do nothing to bring in customers.

Any suggestions?

Wow. That is a tough one, IMO.

My initial thought, right off the cuff, is that the mall owners are running scared. It might be a sign that they are dangerously close to losing it all, and losing your booth might really put them in the red.

But then again, I don't know.

When you say that they were upset, were they mad, sad, or angry???

As a side note, I have found in life that there are thousands of business owners who have no idea what they are doing. I have seen once thriving restaurants dwindle into bankruptcy because owners and managers refuse to follow common sense, or make very bad decisions...over simple stuff.

Maybe your mall owner is the same way?

What are your thoughts, Danyell? What is your gut feeling about the place?

DanyellL · #**704** 09/04/14, 09:37 AM

Thanks for the thoughts, Clovis!

They were sad to hear of us wanting to leave. We have grown very close with most there. We had those relationships before we started the booth. We have always visited as customers and attend their auctions every month. And have for years. So they were sad to hear we were unhappy.

The owners are VERY business savvy, and I know it's not a matter of them closing. They just recently changed how they rent the booths. Before it was lower booth rent and they took 10% commissions. But they have people who have booths that pretty much use it as storage. So they changed how things were ran (they took over about 2 years ago and a lot of the older people were "grandfathered in" on their booth rates) and it has ticked off the people who could care less about how much they have in sales. So because of this they have had a lot of booths come open. Which is rare. Years ago there was a waiting list to get into this AM. When my husband talked with the lady who handles all the dealers, she was saying it will take a while to phase out the dealers who don't care and use their space as storage. And unfortunately that is hurting the mall overall. She said just in the past week they have had 10 new dealers sign leases to move in. And she thinks they will all be good fits for the mall.

But for me personally, I feel they could do more to bring in traffic. They have a facebook page with THOUSANDS of likes and followers. But yet, they never post anything. Someone will comment on the page asking if they have seen a certain item and no response. The owner's son is the one in charge of "marketing" and he is worthless. I hate to say that, but he does nothing. They used to post "booth spotlights" or post pictures of certain items and pieces. Now they do nothing. I feel if they created that buzz for their mall then it would keep the dealers happy.

My husband and I have talked about it non-stop since yesterday. We even did a whole list of pros and cons to staying or even moving to another mall. Or just doing it out of our home like we pretty much do now, just with no booth overhead cost. I told him to accept the offer and we will give it until the end of the year. Financially we can support the cost of the booth regardless if anything sells. It's just disheartening. But with accepting that, I'm going to sit down with the owner and the manager and let them know how I feel and why they almost lost us. To see if maybe they just aren't aware. And to let them know how the dealers feel. It could go either way. It will either help, and they will work harder to promote. Or they could take offense. Regardless it will make me feel better. Of course, it will all be presented in a calm and helpful manner

**clovis** · #**705** 09/04/14, 09:44 AM

So, what happens if you offer to trade some or all of your booth rent for being their Facebook manager????

DanyellL · #**706** 09/04/14, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clovis

So, what happens if you offer to trade some or all of your booth rent for being their Facebook manager????

LOL! I have actually thought about that. It is def something to think about. I would love to do it.

earthymomma · #**707** 09/04/14, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanyellL

This is one of my issues, having things to go right back in the "holes" once things sell. I have got to be better about this!

Yes! Same here! I am getting better but I'm still not at the point where I have completed items at home waiting to fill slots when the open up. I hope to get there soon!

**clovis** · #**708** 09/04/14, 10:18 PM

Daneyll,

I've been thinking about this all day, and still don't know what to make of your situation with that mall.

We are in one AM where they advertise heavily. TV, Antiques Weekly, newspaper, highly visible billboards, mass mailings, emails, etc., and even though the mall is professionally kept and run, the place is dead.

They own another mall in another town...and I don't know how they are keeping the doors open. That mall also advertises heavily, and is active with the community. They are across from a legendary farmer's market. You would think that the place would be swamped on the weekends, but it is DEAD. We lost money, many months in a row.

One of the AM we are in is known for being THE place to be. I don't think they have spent a dime in up keep in the past 5 years, but it is a cool place...and busy packed. Today, on a Thursday, there were 22 cars in the lot, and people were buying. Go figure. They don't advertise much, and nothing like the other AM we are in.

The FM where we have 5 spots: The owner does NOT advertise at all. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. I was shocked last year when I saw a stack of photocopies that listed all of their locations. It is the only advertising that I ever recall seeing.

The only thing I can pull from any of this is that a mall either has mojo, or it doesn't. Over the years, I've seen mall thrive and have a 3 year waiting list, and then, out of the blue, will become the most stagnant and depressing place you've ever seen, only to fall into a tailspin until it crashes.

One other thought...I have seen vendors take a toll on a mall, whether the place deserved it or not. If you spend much time around enough vendors, they often spew the most vile stuff about a mall, but at the same time, never move out of it. How on earth can that be good for business?

I once heard that a disgruntled customer will complain and tell 200 other people about their experience. Can you imagine how many people 25 disgruntled vendors will tell? If I am figuring right, that is 5,000 customers!!!! Talk about shooting themselves in the foot!!!

That is one reason that I always say positive things about the malls that we are in, especially when I am talking to someone local. "Business is very good." "That mall is HUGE." "We are very blessed. Thank you for asking." "Sales are stellar." "I couldn't ask for a better fit."

When we move out of a place: "I can't seem to find a niche here." "A wonderful mall. We hate to leave." "We've over-extended ourselves in regards to time and commitments." "It was a nice opportunity, and I am thankful for our time there."

DanyellL · #**709** 09/05/14, 07:42 AM

That all makes so much sense Clovis. I never talk bad about the mall, except to y'all. LOL But I can totally see how the other vendors are. It wouldn't surprise me if that is the case. Plus where the mall is a very small old town. And all the people that live there know each other. So it wouldn't surprise me in the least if a lot of smack talk is going on. lol

I guess we will just see where it goes in the next few months. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. lol

On a positive note, we had 2 furniture sales yesterday. One was a sofa table that we just flipped for a good profit. I just cleaned it up a bit. And the other was a funky table I did. Usually my husband is the one that meets with our customers and meets people to drop off pieces when needed. But last night...that was my job. lol I was soooooooooooooo nervous. I'm usually the behind the scenes person and my husband is the "face" of the company. He's the friendly outgoing one, that loves to chat it up about random things and he's also an amazing sells person. He can sell beef to a vegetarian. But last night he was out late working so I met with them and let me just tell you.....IT WAS AWESOME. lol I was so proud of myself. Our garage is completely full of unfinished projects so they pretty much went "shopping". They bought the pieces they came to look at but ended up finding other pieces they want custom finished! So it was a great night! I loved meeting them and getting to just ramble about all our "treasures" in our garage!

**clovis** · #**710** 09/07/14, 10:43 PM

How was your weekend, everyone?

earthymomma · #**711** 09/08/14, 07:48 PM

We've started out super strong this month (well for us anyway lol). It's looking like we can easily double our best month to date!!

We also had a great flea market pickin' day, found several items that just needed to be cleaned up and we had them in the booth later that same day, plus a couple pieces of project furniture. Me and my boys leave in less than 2 weeks for a trip to Oklahoma so it is definitely crunch time in getting furniture done and the booth well stocked.

DanyellL · #**712** 09/09/14, 07:03 AM

We had a great week, and took it easy this weekend. We bought a few pieces to refinish. Our garage is completely full and our booth looks pitiful. LOL We are restocking our booth this weekend!

**clovis** · #**713** 09/09/14, 12:40 PM

Is it Tuesday again?

Here is my Tuesday Tip:

Today's tip might strike some of you as common knowledge, but it can be important to remember. Generally speaking, the more you can split something into smaller items to sell, you stand a good chance of making a better profit.

I'll share some examples:

You buy a box of woodworking magazines at a garage sale for $2. There are 24 issues in that box. Many sellers will bundle those mags into two lots of 12 each, and mark the bundle for $7. That would give you a total gross profit of $14 for the box. But, if you mark each magazine $1 each, and you sold them all, your total gross profit will be $24.

A box of quilter's fabric is going to be the same way. You might get the whole box for $3, which contains a total of 14 yards. A quick flip might be pricing the fabric at $1 per yard, which would give you a gross sale of $14.

Now if you take that fabric, and cut it into fat quarters, which are simply 1/4 of a yard, and sell those for a $1 each, your total return will be $56, less the $3 you spent buying the fabric.

I see this done with sewing notions, where the seller will mark a large zip lock bag for $2. I generally will mark each item individually, at 50 cents to $1 each, and they sell well for us.

I recently bought a table saw at an auction for $65. it had quite a few accessories with the saw. I sold the saw for $200, but I split the extra saw blades out for $8 each. I sold a few accessories on ebay for another $14, and I still have the expensive roller set that sits under a table saw, which should sell crazy fast for $30.

I also bought an old router for $4 at that auction. I sold the router for $15. I have the bits listed individually on ebay for $20 each. Someone had made a wood box for the router, and I marked that box for $8 by itself. (I put that box in our 'antique booth') Most sellers, especially those new to the business, would have marked the whole router and bit lot at one price, and been done with it.

I try to look at each buy that we make as "how can I maximize our profits?" If you buy a full set of dishes for $20, including the hard to find serving accessories, can you pull the very best pieces out for ebay, and still make a profit on what remains? If the soup terrain will sell for $95 on ebay, there is an outstanding chance that your buyer of the rest of the set won't even know that it was gone, and will still pay $75 for the set.

As you can see, splitting stuff up into smaller quantities can pay off in spades.

A few things to remember:

*Some item are impossible to piece out. Who wants a model kit that is missing the engine?

*You will have to decide which items are worth parting out, and if it warrants your time and efforts.

*Much of this depends on your selling philosophy.

Hope this helps!!!!!

Maximize those profits whenever you can!

As with everything that I post, YMMV!!!

earthymomma · #**714** 09/09/14, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clovis

Is it Tuesday again?

Here is my Tuesday Tip:

Today's tip might strike some of you as common knowledge, but it can be important to remember. Generally speaking, the more you can split something into smaller items to sell, you stand a good chance of making a better profit.

I'll share some examples:

You buy a box of woodworking magazines at a garage sale for $2. There are 24 issues in that box. Many sellers will bundle those mags into two lots of 12 each, and mark the bundle for $7. That would give you a total gross profit of $14 for the box. But, if you mark each magazine $1 each, and you sold them all, your total gross profit will be $24.

A box of quilter's fabric is going to be the same way. You might get the whole box for $3, which contains a total of 14 yards. A quick flip might be pricing the fabric at $1 per yard, which would give you a gross sale of $14.

Now if you take that fabric, and cut it into fat quarters, which are simply 1/4 of a yard, and sell those for a $1 each, your total return will be $56, less the $3 you spent buying the fabric.

I see this done with sewing notions, where the seller will mark a large zip lock bag for $2. I generally will mark each item individually, at 50 cents to $1 each, and they sell well for us.

I recently bought a table saw at an auction for $65. it had quite a few accessories with the saw. I sold the saw for $200, but I split the extra saw blades out for $8 each. I sold a few accessories on ebay for another $14, and I still have the expensive roller set that sits under a table saw, which should sell crazy fast for $30.

I also bought an old router for $4 at that auction. I sold the router for $15. I have the bits listed individually on ebay for $20 each. Someone had made a wood box for the router, and I marked that box for $8 by itself. (I put that box in our 'antique booth') Most sellers, especially those new to the business, would have marked the whole router and bit lot at one price, and been done with it.

I try to look at each buy that we make as "how can I maximize our profits?" If you buy a full set of dishes for $20, including the hard to find serving accessories, can you pull the very best pieces out for ebay, and still make a profit on what remains? If the soup terrain will sell for $95 on ebay, there is an outstanding chance that your buyer of the rest of the set won't even know that it was gone, and will still pay $75 for the set.

As you can see, splitting stuff up into smaller quantities can pay off in spades.

A few things to remember:

*Some item are impossible to piece out. Who wants a model kit that is missing the engine?

*You will have to decide which items are worth parting out, and if it warrants your time and efforts.

*Much of this depends on your selling philosophy.

Hope this helps!!!!!

Maximize those profits whenever you can!

As with everything that I post, YMMV!!!

This is a great tip Clovis! I am learning this more and more as I go. For instance when we were buying several items at the flea market about a month ago, the gentleman threw in a rickety side table (diy gone wrong) lol at first I thought id slap a quick coat of paint on it and sell it for $10 it was free after all . But once my creative wheels started turning I took out the drawer, painted it and made it a shelf, and took the scrap wood sides and top for some reclaimed wood signs! Managed to get around $35 in total out of a freebie piece :-)

Here's my Tuesday tip:

Don't shy away from antiques with layers upon layers of paint... I have redone (I use that term loosely) two pieces that were caked with paint. The cost of paint stripper and time alone would've made them not worth the investment... However ultra chippy/distressed/shabby chic is very "in". Between a putty knife chippy off large chunks and my orbital sander, we ended up making these two pieces ultra distressed yet a smooth finish. When enough colors were showing through to my liking I sealed them both with furniture wax. These pieces FLEW out of my booth! Within 1-3 days per item! Instead of shying away from those pieces now I look for them! Lol. I'll attach a few pics. ImageUploadedByHomesteading Today1410290075.548289.jpg ImageUploadedByHomesteading Today1410290100.870898.jpg ImageUploadedByHomesteading Today1410290127.351509.jpg

DanyellL · #**715** 09/09/14, 02:38 PM

I LOVED those pieces earthy! Totally up my ally! And I LOVE buying furniture that has layers! Because I love that look too. I have "messed" up a few pieces myself and they ended up selling super fast! I'll post mine too! My husband went crazy with spray paint on both of these pieces and I didn't like it. LOL So I started sanding so I could repaint them and ended up LOVING how they turned out

They aren't everyones style, but it is very "trendy" at the moment!

**clovis** · #**716** 09/09/14, 08:25 PM

WOW!!!

I LOVE the pics from both of you!!!!!

**clovis** · #**717** 09/09/14, 08:27 PM

Earthy,

So you just put a light coat of furniture wax over the painted surfaces?

Again, I love what you've done!!!!

earthymomma · #**718** 09/09/14, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clovis

WOW!!!

I LOVE the pics from both of you!!!!!

Clovis, yup I use Minwax natural to finish off most of my pieces. Just apply with a shop towel in circular motions, drys in about 15 min. You can even buff it out to make it shiny if you like. I prefer it over polyurethane especially with pieces like these. Easy peasy! :-)

**clovis** · #**719** 09/10/14, 11:06 PM

It was very humid tonight, with a storm coming in, so my wife and I spent the evening cutting a stack of fabric into fat quarters.

We cut and marked a little over $100 worth of fat quarters in about 2 hours. We aren't getting rich doing this, but the fabric certainly helps the bottom line!

jlxian · #**720** 09/11/14, 08:25 AM

Clovis, a fat quarter is just one quarter of a yard of fabric? I could certainly get rid of a TON of fabric I have languishing away. What do you charge for a fat quarter?

Our booth made money again in August --- $9.60 after rent and commission. The city's annual fall festival is coming up in mid-October --- and I need to get the booth revamped and ready for that. I vacillate between wanting to close the booth and wanting to keep it open. The market owner seems upbeat about business and claims it is picking up. I guess I'll see how October does for us and then decide.