Five Steps to Being a Successful Antique Booth Vendor

If you’re reading this, you undoubtedly love old things, and the thrill of the hunt. Maybe you’ve been to some inspiring shops or antique malls or markets. Or you’ve seen some less-than-ideal booths and thought to yourself how you could/would do it better. Maybe you’re already an intrepid vintage picker, or perhaps you have a treasure trove of hand-me-downs that you are ready to part with. No matter how you got here, let’s talk about five basic steps that will take you where you want to go next.

1. Pick your shop or mall carefully. Just because it’s convenient doesn’t mean it pulls in enough traffic, or that it attracts the shoppers that would love your style. Tourists are great if you sell small items. But if big furniture is your specialty, look for a shop that caters to a local crowd. Browse your favorite shops at various times of the day for several weeks to get a feel for their customer base. When you find one that you feel is a good fit, put in your application. And there’s a good chance you’re going to have to wait for a space. It’s probably good to put your application in at your second and maybe third choice as well, just to cover your bases. Keep in mind that mall owners will often “vet” their prospective booth vendors to look for styles that will complement their shop, and their background and level of experience at managing a booth. 

2. Enter into your contract with your eyes wide open. When you get that call that a space is available, be prepared to pay rent in advance for the month. Understand the commission and/or credit card fees that will be taken out of your sales each month. Ask when checks are prepared. Does the mall or shop have a point of sale system that allows you to login to see your sales? 

Also be sure you know how your mall or shop handles sales tax: do they give you all of your sales including the tax, and you are responsible for remitting sales tax to the state periodically? Or will they remit them for you? This is a business endeavor, even if you’re doing it for the enjoyment of it. Be sure you know your financial responsibilities upfront and you’re prepared for them.

3. Plan for your booth set up. This is where your dreams become reality. When you first set up for the first time, expect your booth – no matter how small – to swallow up everything you bring. If you can, stage your booth at home – tape off the floor with the dimensions of your space and do a trial run. Before you stuff your car, van, SUV or pickup wit the first load, make sure everything is tagged and priced. There are a lot of wise tips on how to stage your booth for optimal sales, but just having enough inventory to get started is crucial. Be sure you’ve considered where your small items will go: do you have furniture that can hold them? Or will you need some “fixtures” to display them? (And will those fixtures be for sale, or not?)

4. Be sure you label and track your inventory. If your mall uses barcoded labels to scan purchases, you will enter all of your items into their inventory system and print off tags, probably on-site. No matter how you do it, be sure every item is clearly priced; your tags should have your vendor name or number, a brief description of the item, and of course, the price. If your mall doesn’t have an inventory system, it’s a good idea to keep a log (spreadsheet or notebook) of your items that you’ve placed in your booth, along with the date you added them, and the cost of them. By tax time, you’ll be glad to have detailed records of your purchases and sales.

5. Maintain your space. The most successful vendors are the ones who take the time to carefully craft their displays. They understand color and style composition, as well as what and how much to put in their booth. They know how much space to leave for customers to be able to walk in, look, and touch without knocking things over. Successful booth vendors plan for regular rearranging and restocking, whether it’s a few times a week, or a few times a month. We’ve all seen booths where the dust and cobwebs are thick enough to write a message. Keep your booth fresh and updated; moving things around frequently can help them be seen and sell.

Plan to evolve and change your booth over time….and have fun with it. Who knows, it might blossom into a full-fledged shop of your own some day!

Photos courtesy of Pinterest.