Sunday, February 22, 2009

Flea Markets - An Easy Way to Get Into Retail Sales

I just love flea markets.

To me, this really is the ideal environment for a beginning entrepreneur to get his/her feet wet in retail sales. The ease at which you can start up a flea market business is amazing. This truly is a level playing field where both large, medium, and smalltime operations have an equal chance at making sales. It's also a great way to test new products and get a feel for what the demand is going to be like.

There are three things that make flea market sales attractive:

1. You don't need a lot of money to get started. Even in some of the most popular flea markets, you can still rent a booth for a weekend for around $100.

2. There is no long-term commitment. Unlike any other retail venue, you don't have to commit yourself for any length of time. Compare this to operating your own retail store (or even a kiosk in a shopping mall) where you have to sign a lease. This can be a major financial obligation.

3. Fleamarket traffic can be quite heavy. In terms of what you pay for your booth versus the amount of foot traffic you get, nothing beats this venue for value. Where else are you going to get thousands of people in front of your product for a measly $50 a day?

Of course, one of the biggest drawbacks to flea markets is that people are out looking for bargains. You won't be able to charge as much as you would in a retail store, but usually the increased number of sales will make up for this.

If you've never done any sort of retail sales before, one of your biggest challenges may be in finding reliable suppliers. You want to make sure that you're going to be able to make a decent profit even though your customers are expecting rock-bottom prices. Usually, your inventory is bought wholesale in larger lots. The bigger your purchase, the more money you are going to save.

Check online for your bulk purchases as well as frequenting local auctions. You're going to have to have the ability to recognize a good deal when you see it, while staying away from things that will be difficult to sell and/or have little profit potential. Much of this is going to come with experience.

Whether you decide to specialize in one area or simply offer a variety of items, you can't beat a flea market for exposure and volume. Furthermore, if you're able to distinguish yourself from all the other vendors, you'll gradually make a name for yourself - and something like this can easily become a full-time income.

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