Monday, September 17, 2012

Booth Update

Were you wondering when I was going tell you all about my adventures in reselling like I promised I would? Well, I have been avoiding it, because to be honest, I'm not doing well. BUT why shouldn't I share the bad along with the good? So here we go. 
I have been selling at the Tennessee Antique Mall for two months so far. While I have at least made my rent both months, the first month my profit was only $1.75 and the second month I owed 58 cents, which they graciously called even. Not exactly what I was hoping for. Especially when two of my favorite items sold for pretty great prices and all of that money went to rent. Blarg.
I talked it over with the owners of the mall, who are great and confirmed what I was thinking. I think that choosing a case instead of a booth was my mistake. Several of you expressed the same concern. I am an avid antique mall shopper and I have very very rarely asked for a case to be opened. It feels like a lot of trouble for something small, and if the mall is even a little busy I won't usually bother. I chose a case because it was a cheaper space, but I think it is hurting me in the long run.
The mall owners think I would do better in a booth space too. They told me that certain kinds of collectors aren't put off by locked cases, like jewelry collectors. I'm more of a kitsch vendor. So they are going to let me know when a booth opens up, though who knows how long that will be, and if it will be one of the smaller ones (some of their spaces are HUGE and I couldn't fill one of those up). In the meantime, they are going to see if they can take the door off my case so that people can browse more easily. So we'll see.
I would be lying if I said I'm not disappointed. I don't like to fail, and I can be really hard on myself. I have been working on this post for a few hours today, because it has been so hard for me to write. But you know what? This is a learning experience for me, and I am going to give myself more time to figure things out. 

23 comments:

  1. You are doing it and that is what matters! I think a booth or removing the case is a good call. I've never asked anyone there to open a case for me, though I have bought things from some booths. You can do it!

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  2. Slanging vintage in any capacity is hard work! Keep trucking dear! I know how it feels to have awesome stuff and wonder wth other people don't recognize it and jump on that sweet deal pronto. Maybe a booth will work out better for you! :) I'd be lying if I said Etsy was easy or always fair/fun BUT I see a lot of shops that sell vintage kitsch and appear to be doing pretty well. May be another avenue to explore.

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    1. etsy is so much work! hah, i listed maybe 10 things one day and it took me ALL DAY!

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  3. You have great stuff and a keen eye, but yes - a locked case is murder on sales (unless you deal in jewelery or firearms) - this is what I hear among my fellow booth buddies at least. I have never asked for a case to be opened myself, but I love to window browse them.

    Good luck with getting a new booth - you will do a lot better :-)

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  4. I always thought youd sell your stuff online!
    Don't give up on it, cause you're pretty much breaking even it means you just need to change a few things and im sure once you find out what it is, then you'll do a lot better.
    I hope taking the door off your case will work. I think it will. :]

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  5. The door is off!! I saw it on Thurs or Friday. I was really glad for you that the case is now open. I think you're going to do LOADS better now! Don't be discouraged - it takes time to get into your stride but I think things will be better now. Your stuff is too good!

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  6. I feel ya girl!
    I too have been feeling the same type of disappointment with my "re-selling" However, my feeling of ::blah:: comes from feeling like I never can accomplish even a quarter of what I want to... I've been trying to keep up with my shop, my blog, my "real job", and being a good and attentive wifey and mama...not easy.

    I admire that you have been able to take the step of having your own space in a shop! ((regardless of how big or small the space is)) I would like to think that every step we take to achieve our vintage "discovering and selling" dream is one step closer in the right direction :)

    My dream is to one day have an adorable vintage travel trailer ((freshly painted & full of vintage goodies to sell)) that I tow behind my amazing vintage Winnebago((my future hippie home))... ((neither of which I own yet)) and just travel forever and ever...living life and loving it :)

    That will take me quite some time to get to that point...but I am willing to take as many baby steps as I have to!

    Point is...make the small dreams happen first, live and learn from those...that way you are prepared for the big dreams when the time is right :)

    Sorry for leaving a novel! I just totally get the way you are feeling right now, because I'm in the same boat ;)

    xoxo's

    Ash

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    1. i know what you mean. i feel like i should be doing MORE but my full time job takes a lot out of me. and i don't have the mom excuse!

      thanks for the great comment. i love that i can connect with people online who are at the same point i am.

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  7. Honestly, I think the fact that you broke even your first two months is pretty great. I have no doubt it's discouraging, but I think it's a pretty awesome start. There are definitely people who lose money for the first little while, but you're doing pretty well.

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    1. you are totally right. i told myself when i started that as long as I was at least making my rent i would give myself six months. i guess i just expected to do well right off the bat. so dumb!

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  8. You broke even! Woohoo, most people don't get that in the first month! I'm in the same boat with the stupid case, and I hate to say it, but I don't have the doors on mine, yet I don't think it matters a whole lot. I'm moving to a booth at a different store soon. One thing I did that seemed to help is a craigslist add with pictures. People email me about it quite a bit. Good luck and cut yourself a break! You have awesome stuff, cases just suck, and I think it is just part of our breaking into the business. Just a right of passage or something.

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    1. i really don't know why i choose a case! i know that i don't really look in them, why do i expect others too? haha. i hope your selling gets better soon too!

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  9. Thanks for your honesty! How booths sell at antique markets is something I'm really curious about - and it's better to be real about things, right? :)

    Plus, you're not failing, and after a little tweaking and figuring things out (which is totally normal!) I bet you'll be in a totally different place. :)

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  10. Rae, I want you to know that I really appreciate you posting about your experiences--as a new booth owner myself, it is SUPER HELPFUL to know that someone else faces struggles and challenges like I do. So, thanks for being honest.
    I will say that in the paperwork I got when I signed on with my antique mall, they told me up-front not to expect a profit for two-three months. So I think they hear a lot from vendors about things being slow to start. My first month was a half-month and I paid my rent and made $9. I felt good about that. Well, not really because it was a TON of work for $9, but I tried to feel good! Lol...At this point in September, I'm doing much better than last month; I recouped my rent and am up-top by more than I estimated. I do price slightly less than average for my antique mall, but I sell vintage/kitsch and the market doesn't bear jacked-up prices, in my opinion. I have the smallest available booth; I might consider going bigger in the future but I want to keep my overhead low and build up inventory slowly.
    I think that you are smart to take off the doors on your showcase. As many years as I have shopped antique malls, I have asked to have a showcase opened exactly one time. I really think that showcases are only for high-end breakables, jewelry and valuable smalls.
    I think you have a great eye; your blog is amazing. Since you are going to auctions, if you have room, I would consider starting to accumulate larger pieces with the eventual idea of getting a larger booth. The bigger pieces sell less frequently but when they do, they make a bigger profit...it takes me a lot of picking and estate sales, plus time in cleaning and pricing for small things. But a larger piece, like the tiki bar I found and re-sold, took me the same time but pulled a bigger profit. I think that if you are going to stay in your category--vintage & kitsch--you might want to consider a mix of furniture and smalls. Just a thought from someone who is figuring it out myself...
    Best--Lauren T (www.apronstringsvintage.wordpress.com)

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  11. Don't be discouraged, Rae! It took balls to do what you did and take that step forward. You're still new at it so there is still time to find your footing.

    Also, I love that you mentioned that this post was a difficult one to write. One of the many things I love about reading your blog is that I can really get a good feel of what you are like as a person- I appreciate that you decided to let us know so many aspects of your life for our reading pleasure, whether it be news that you are happy to share or news that is harder to share. All of it is you, and it's great.

    Chin up and keep doin your thang!
    xo

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  12. These are great things to read since I hope to be a store owner in the Nashville area in the near future! Keep trucking and it'll pay off. I could repeat what everyone else here has said, but I think I'll just say DITTO to everything! :) You have a great eye! Don't lose hope just yet!

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  13. The move will be a positive one.

    I`ve never asked for a case to be opened either. I have got my fiance to ask for a case to be opened, just to see a price of a set of bowls. The woman seemed really bothered by it, so we never asked her to open a second & third case we wanted to see prices of that were not visible. I generally pay less attention to the stuff that`s in the cases.

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  14. Rae-
    Don't give up on the booth thing if you had fun over the last two months! I really think it will make a world of difference having the door off of that case. But you might want to consider selling on Etsy too. There's such a demand for the kitchy cool vintage things like you find. I do really well on Etsy when I'm persistant with it!
    Good Luck :)
    Erica

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  15. You know..I still think you can make a good go at it. You have GREAT items and you price them fairly. You might just be right about the case thing as compared to a booth. Hang in there and give it another go with a booth for a bit, I say!

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  16. Keep trying. My first Nerd Burger stall i made $20. You have a certain group of people who will love your stuff. They will come, i promise.

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  17. I have been out of the blog land for a month...stupid life...and have missed your posts. I say hang in there...push for the door off the case and sell out of a booth first chance you get. You will be a success I know it.

    BTW I have a box of stuff for you but I have neglected to send it because I am lazy. This is in no way an indication of my desire for you to have said stuff but is instead a reflection of me. :)

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