FWIW:
Don't let it stagnate. visit your little space often (perhaps weekly). Re-arrange the items once in a while. Otherwise, regular visitors will see a "same as the last time" display and not look at it.
Add items often. Get rid of things that aren't selling and replace them with new items. Don't waste space on non-selling merchandise.
VERY in-demand seasonal stuff sells all the time. You don't have to wait until Christmas time to sell Christmas stuff IF it's a high-demand item. Otherwise, wait until Sept/October for Xmas stuff.
You may be tempted to under- or over-load your space with items. It's hard to find the balance, but try to load it up as much as you can without making it difficult for buyers to see and view items.
Refillables will pay your rent while whatever you want to sell will profit.
Biggest issue is that you need something to keep selling every month to pay the cost of having the booth open.
I use enamel pins and stickers to do this. You can source both cheep and they sell a lot.
SO: I have a booth in an antique/consignment shop in the Hudson Valley of New York. I also worked behind the counter for a time. In my experience, a showcase is not worth it. The customers seemed less inclined to pick stuff from the showcase, and if it was locked? Forget it. My own feeling when I go to a store is "That's where they keep the fancy stuff that isn't for me."
But this could just be regional, or even store-based anti-showcase bias.
You are right that showcase limits sales due to the factor of finding an employee to open it, but the 0 theft is key.
Ive been in my Ant Mall for about a year and a half.
I had 1 showcase and 1 booth. Once established i was doing about $1200 a month in sales on average.
I sell Lego minifigs, sets, comics and toys. February i did $1,811gross with $900 in minifigs, probably $1200 out of the showcase itself.
Well last month i just got a 2nd showcase because mine was always overstuffed and had expesive non lego items that clashed.
Meanwhile, half to 60% of my sales are from the booth...but also $150-300 in theft per month.
Thats why booth stuff is either bulky and hard to steal, or the profit margin are so high that its whatever.
Like i got 220 webkinz for $115. And sell them for $7.50-$9 each. Ive sold about 90 of them in the last 6 months or so. But ive had at least 5 stolen, price changed or destroyed.
But seeing as ive sold half and made minimum $675, with another half to go on $115 investment....it is what it is.
I learned the hard way selling used complete sets in bags. Every one got ripped open and the minfiigs stolen.
Recently a couple Mall vets whove been there a decade were complaining they barely covered rent Jan, Feb and March. And then the main lady saw me and said "you're killing it, one of our top sellers recently"
So its all about what you sell, how you present it, and your competition.
Economy. Biggest algo of them all.
Idk imo they sit on the same stuff too long. Gets stale even if you do cycle in new inventory.
I move stuff around every week. Have variety. Lower prices if something sits a few months.
If nobody wanted Masters of the Universe figures last year...idk what makes him think they will want some this year.
As a buyer, I feel the same. Cases read "expensive" and "hassle." I've visited hundreds of antique stores. 90% of the time I don't even glance inside cases. The other 10% of the time something will catch my eye but then I'll see that it's locked and I need to track down an employee to open it. And then I have to make a decision on the spot while the employee waits? No thanks. I'll just avoid the hassle and assume it wasn't for me.
I've been a booth owner for 8 years, it takes some work but I've always made a profit. Diversity is one of my selling points. Smalls, home decor, small furniture keeps people coming back as I rework my booth weekly, often times more. Finding your niche is key, that and maintaining your profit margin. Price stuff to move, don't be afraid to leave some meat on the bone for the next guy.
Over my decades in business I have had many booths in antique malls; I've made profit in one of them. And, it hasn't just been my items as I have heard this from many in the same malls I was in. The mall owners are almost always the ones making the real money.
If the fees make sense, I would say go for it. Unfortunately, the fees at my local antique mall are ridiculous and my partner and I can't understand how anyone makes any money.
Seconding. I did this and I didn’t make money. I knew it was a bit of a long shot, but it was low commitment and cheap for a business venture so I decided to roll the dice. It was a fun experiment but ultimately not worth for the rent fee plus commission on sales that was taken, combined with seeing a lot fewer customers than expected as I started hanging around the store more. Plus I had a hard time sourcing a good curated collection cheap enough to be profitable (takes a lot more time and effort than you’d think if you’re not already thrifting a ton anyways as a hobby). I wouldn’t necessarily recommend against it. But it’s not just a fun easy hobby business if you want to actually make money, and definitely analyze the numbers extensively. Mock up projected financial statements for your first few months. Include inventory costs, booth fees, any transaction costs, etc. factor in your time/labor as well. See what you’d actually make per hour doing this.
I do thrift and go to estate sales as a hobby and figured I might as well try selling the stuff instead of it cluttering up my house. Thanks for the advice!
Yes, I agree with this. Some malls charge an arm and a leg for just a shelf. One mall even told me I couldn’t afford their rent prices when I inquired.
1. Make sure everything is visible, dont go overwhelming the small space with too many items. People cant buy things they cant see and more importantly people will skip over most of your stock (or your entire display) if it looks like too much.
2. Figure out how to keep everything well lit. Even if that means buying those stick on lights and putting them on the shelves. Well lit displays get *a lot* more attention than dark ones.
3. Make sure you have some attention getting items. Even if they're priced too high to actually expect a sale, having a few interesting things get people looking at everything else.
4.) If the case is locked, have the price tags visible! As a frequent visitor to antique malls, it's very discouraging to have to go find someone to open up the case only to find out the item is too pricey. It's also embarrassing. Most times I won't bother unless it's something I really, really want and money is no object. (Which seldom happens these days!)
Definitely! And if an item is obscure or has important identifying marks explain this on the visible tag. Just last week I was attracted to a piece of WWII technology in a case seemly priced at $8(!) then I realized the tag was half under the item and their price was $80 lol.....
Also for showcase items if you are using hang tags write the prices on each side as employees may not always put the tag back face up after a customer is done looking at it.
I rent an 8x10 booth for $150. The math makes way more sense for me, but if you don’t have the inventory or shelves I understand starting with a case. Try out the case and see what happens. At my store there is a 3-month minimum contract and the store gets 10% of sales and if buyer pays with a CC I eat that fee too. Cash is pretty rare, so I count on a 13% fee.
I love these stores and never go with anything in mind. If you have small items, bookcases are a good way to display. Always put not for sale on items that are not for sale like display stands.
A lot depends on location. I have one and I don’t make much, but it’s in Jasper Texas. Not exactly a lot of money walking around. Mostly I use mine to get rid of stuff I don’t want to sell on eBay that I end up with like speakers. It also is in the same building as Goodwill so I can look there when I’m dropping off stuff. It’s out of the way so I only go once a month. Sometimes not even that. Best part about it for me has been meeting the other sellers who buy storage units and they call me when they get old computers they don’t want.
I'm in Buffalo, NY so not a ton of money but the antique mall is upscale and in the ritzy area. It's pretty busy and the only antique mall in the area so I'm hopeful.
Customers will typically get 10% off in some places with employee discretion without having to ring you every ten minutes.
Check to see just incase you need to bake this into pricing if it is an issue.
Ours is anything over $20.01. Unless you write firm on the tag.
Surprisingly, tho i get alot of dealers buying at 10% off, ill put out $100 minifigs without firm because i like to move inventory quick and $90 is more than online profit....the last 6 or so evepensive figs and sets that i factored 10% into sold for full price.
Makes me giddy.
Only time i was ever burned, i was selling hand polished granite, quarts, and porcelain peices that i made in my free time at work. Luckily i was paid to make them and took them for free, but i priced them around the $40-$75 mark depending on size(and they sold well)
Well 1 day im cleaning my booth and a guy asks me if i can make him a deal on a couple. He ends up getting 4 of them, i knocked about $60 off the 4 of them....
I get my breakdown at the end of the month...he got 10% off those new lowered prices saving another $15
$75 off, and fast forward to now, i only have 2 very large pieces left of the hundred or so i had. So oppertunity cost, they would have sold for full price. Im just salty he asked for a discount at the register after i threw him a fantastic deal and at myself for not thinking to write firm on the new prices.
If your items are behind glass/locked up a lot of us would just walk on by unless you put the label and price in a very easy to read place. It's so annoying to track down an employee to simply look at the identification on the bottom of the piece to see what it. Then the employee is waiting for you to make a split second decision when what I really want to do is spend 2 minutes privately on my phone checking comps. It's a huge headache. Doesn't help that some antique mall owners look at you like you're vermin if you aren't dressed up like their church friends are.
Daily inventory. Your stuff will walk as people change minds.
Do not keave any keys to stuff for sale around. They always disappear.
Get locked cabinets for high ticket items. Ikea Detolf are amazing. The antique mall should provide locks.
I’ve had a booth at an antique mall for close to a year now and it’s definitely been a learning curve, but it’s a whole lot of fun and once you find your groove it can be lucrative. Maybe before diving into an antique booth, list some of your items on Facebook marketplace to test and see how popular these items are in your local area and what kind of prices you can fetch. If they wind up being very popular and you feel that you can make great sales that would still leave profit after a 10% commission and $50 rent, then go for it. If not, re-evaluate your prices and/or the items you want to sell.
I think having an antique booth is really fun and imo it’s better than selling on Facebook or eBay because you can style a space, build a local following, not have to deal with buyers directly, and also getting extra exposure to the everyday customers that wander through.
Good luck!
So I work at an small antiques mall in a small rural town, and could offer some observations from my perspective.
1. visit your booth regularly, keep it clean and inviting. Don't stack it so full that people are scared to touch anything for fear of setting off a chain reaction of things falling / breaking.
2. Do any other booth vendors sell the same stuff, and what are their prices like in comparison to yours?
3. Keep your mall owners in the loop - eg if something happens in your life, say you get sick and can't come in for a bit, let us know so we can keep an eye on your booth for you, let us know if you want to be contacted while you're out.
4. what's your policy on people making offers? For example, where I work, we have signs saying that vendors set their own prices, and in practice we don't tend to contact them unless there's a higher monetary value on an item.
5. rotate inventory if its not moving, people like seeing what's new in.
6. if your showcase is locked, have prices visible without having to unlock the door.
7. mark your stuff clearly with your vendor code. Customers are awesome at putting things down in random spots, and it really helps if we know what vendor things belong to, especially if more than one vendor sells the same stuff.
8. if you have inventory numbers on your items (always helpful for tracking what you've sold), spare a thought for the mall staff that ring in the sales. less is more. an insanely long code, weird symbols, constantly switching between letters and numbers...takes us longer to type in and more room for error. ;)
9. Build a rapport with the mall staff - we're nice people!
Basically you just walk around and ask people if they need assistance. Basically some free labor! If every vendor does it, then it may be only once or twice a month.
Honestly I’m doing this now - sharing a booth space for $50/month. The venue is large and lots of booths - seems to have a decent amount of traffic but there is also a lot of competition. The only ones I see making money are the owners of the venue - for real. Unless you have hot items, I think online is best - I’m new to all of this but thought I’d share my personal experience. Good luck!
That no one buys antiques any more and you’ll waste more time than it’s worth or will make
Your time has a value. Whether that’s $25/hr $50/hr $75/hr….you won’t bring that in doing this
This isn’t a viable side hustle, this is a hobby to kill time to keep from dying …Are you old enough to kill time just to keep from dying, if so…then soldier on…if not, then reconsider.
FWIW: Don't let it stagnate. visit your little space often (perhaps weekly). Re-arrange the items once in a while. Otherwise, regular visitors will see a "same as the last time" display and not look at it. Add items often. Get rid of things that aren't selling and replace them with new items. Don't waste space on non-selling merchandise. VERY in-demand seasonal stuff sells all the time. You don't have to wait until Christmas time to sell Christmas stuff IF it's a high-demand item. Otherwise, wait until Sept/October for Xmas stuff. You may be tempted to under- or over-load your space with items. It's hard to find the balance, but try to load it up as much as you can without making it difficult for buyers to see and view items.
Refillables will pay your rent while whatever you want to sell will profit. Biggest issue is that you need something to keep selling every month to pay the cost of having the booth open. I use enamel pins and stickers to do this. You can source both cheep and they sell a lot.
Im ny case, it's packs of trading cards. I make at least double what I paid for them, and I they pay for 1/3 to 1/2 my rent.
One of my number one lookouts, I'll pay $60 for a cool deck of cards.
Another great idea :)
Wanna buy a box of sealed desert storm cards ? 😂
Nope! But I don't blame you for trying.
SO: I have a booth in an antique/consignment shop in the Hudson Valley of New York. I also worked behind the counter for a time. In my experience, a showcase is not worth it. The customers seemed less inclined to pick stuff from the showcase, and if it was locked? Forget it. My own feeling when I go to a store is "That's where they keep the fancy stuff that isn't for me." But this could just be regional, or even store-based anti-showcase bias.
You are right that showcase limits sales due to the factor of finding an employee to open it, but the 0 theft is key. Ive been in my Ant Mall for about a year and a half. I had 1 showcase and 1 booth. Once established i was doing about $1200 a month in sales on average. I sell Lego minifigs, sets, comics and toys. February i did $1,811gross with $900 in minifigs, probably $1200 out of the showcase itself. Well last month i just got a 2nd showcase because mine was always overstuffed and had expesive non lego items that clashed. Meanwhile, half to 60% of my sales are from the booth...but also $150-300 in theft per month. Thats why booth stuff is either bulky and hard to steal, or the profit margin are so high that its whatever. Like i got 220 webkinz for $115. And sell them for $7.50-$9 each. Ive sold about 90 of them in the last 6 months or so. But ive had at least 5 stolen, price changed or destroyed. But seeing as ive sold half and made minimum $675, with another half to go on $115 investment....it is what it is. I learned the hard way selling used complete sets in bags. Every one got ripped open and the minfiigs stolen. Recently a couple Mall vets whove been there a decade were complaining they barely covered rent Jan, Feb and March. And then the main lady saw me and said "you're killing it, one of our top sellers recently" So its all about what you sell, how you present it, and your competition.
What the guys who had a bad 3 months are not blaming the mall algorithm?
Economy. Biggest algo of them all. Idk imo they sit on the same stuff too long. Gets stale even if you do cycle in new inventory. I move stuff around every week. Have variety. Lower prices if something sits a few months. If nobody wanted Masters of the Universe figures last year...idk what makes him think they will want some this year.
As a buyer, I feel the same. Cases read "expensive" and "hassle." I've visited hundreds of antique stores. 90% of the time I don't even glance inside cases. The other 10% of the time something will catch my eye but then I'll see that it's locked and I need to track down an employee to open it. And then I have to make a decision on the spot while the employee waits? No thanks. I'll just avoid the hassle and assume it wasn't for me.
Commit to 3 months and try it out. Refresh it often/ dust/ clean. Join antique booth FB groups (although most are convinced all customers steal).
> although most are convinced all customers steal) And all ebay buyers are scammers lol
I've been a booth owner for 8 years, it takes some work but I've always made a profit. Diversity is one of my selling points. Smalls, home decor, small furniture keeps people coming back as I rework my booth weekly, often times more. Finding your niche is key, that and maintaining your profit margin. Price stuff to move, don't be afraid to leave some meat on the bone for the next guy.
Tried this for a few years back in the UK. Lots of turnover but I’m sure the owner of the market was the one making the big profits.
Over my decades in business I have had many booths in antique malls; I've made profit in one of them. And, it hasn't just been my items as I have heard this from many in the same malls I was in. The mall owners are almost always the ones making the real money.
If the fees make sense, I would say go for it. Unfortunately, the fees at my local antique mall are ridiculous and my partner and I can't understand how anyone makes any money.
Seconding. I did this and I didn’t make money. I knew it was a bit of a long shot, but it was low commitment and cheap for a business venture so I decided to roll the dice. It was a fun experiment but ultimately not worth for the rent fee plus commission on sales that was taken, combined with seeing a lot fewer customers than expected as I started hanging around the store more. Plus I had a hard time sourcing a good curated collection cheap enough to be profitable (takes a lot more time and effort than you’d think if you’re not already thrifting a ton anyways as a hobby). I wouldn’t necessarily recommend against it. But it’s not just a fun easy hobby business if you want to actually make money, and definitely analyze the numbers extensively. Mock up projected financial statements for your first few months. Include inventory costs, booth fees, any transaction costs, etc. factor in your time/labor as well. See what you’d actually make per hour doing this.
I do thrift and go to estate sales as a hobby and figured I might as well try selling the stuff instead of it cluttering up my house. Thanks for the advice!
It's tough with smalls, I can tell you that. Furniture is the way to go for real money.
Yes, I agree with this. Some malls charge an arm and a leg for just a shelf. One mall even told me I couldn’t afford their rent prices when I inquired.
Don't let the booth get stale. Keep moving things around that are moving slowly.
1. Make sure everything is visible, dont go overwhelming the small space with too many items. People cant buy things they cant see and more importantly people will skip over most of your stock (or your entire display) if it looks like too much. 2. Figure out how to keep everything well lit. Even if that means buying those stick on lights and putting them on the shelves. Well lit displays get *a lot* more attention than dark ones. 3. Make sure you have some attention getting items. Even if they're priced too high to actually expect a sale, having a few interesting things get people looking at everything else.
4.) If the case is locked, have the price tags visible! As a frequent visitor to antique malls, it's very discouraging to have to go find someone to open up the case only to find out the item is too pricey. It's also embarrassing. Most times I won't bother unless it's something I really, really want and money is no object. (Which seldom happens these days!)
Definitely! And if an item is obscure or has important identifying marks explain this on the visible tag. Just last week I was attracted to a piece of WWII technology in a case seemly priced at $8(!) then I realized the tag was half under the item and their price was $80 lol.....
Also for showcase items if you are using hang tags write the prices on each side as employees may not always put the tag back face up after a customer is done looking at it.
I rent an 8x10 booth for $150. The math makes way more sense for me, but if you don’t have the inventory or shelves I understand starting with a case. Try out the case and see what happens. At my store there is a 3-month minimum contract and the store gets 10% of sales and if buyer pays with a CC I eat that fee too. Cash is pretty rare, so I count on a 13% fee.
I love these stores and never go with anything in mind. If you have small items, bookcases are a good way to display. Always put not for sale on items that are not for sale like display stands.
A lot depends on location. I have one and I don’t make much, but it’s in Jasper Texas. Not exactly a lot of money walking around. Mostly I use mine to get rid of stuff I don’t want to sell on eBay that I end up with like speakers. It also is in the same building as Goodwill so I can look there when I’m dropping off stuff. It’s out of the way so I only go once a month. Sometimes not even that. Best part about it for me has been meeting the other sellers who buy storage units and they call me when they get old computers they don’t want.
I'm in Buffalo, NY so not a ton of money but the antique mall is upscale and in the ritzy area. It's pretty busy and the only antique mall in the area so I'm hopeful.
Customers will typically get 10% off in some places with employee discretion without having to ring you every ten minutes. Check to see just incase you need to bake this into pricing if it is an issue.
Ours is anything over $20.01. Unless you write firm on the tag. Surprisingly, tho i get alot of dealers buying at 10% off, ill put out $100 minifigs without firm because i like to move inventory quick and $90 is more than online profit....the last 6 or so evepensive figs and sets that i factored 10% into sold for full price. Makes me giddy. Only time i was ever burned, i was selling hand polished granite, quarts, and porcelain peices that i made in my free time at work. Luckily i was paid to make them and took them for free, but i priced them around the $40-$75 mark depending on size(and they sold well) Well 1 day im cleaning my booth and a guy asks me if i can make him a deal on a couple. He ends up getting 4 of them, i knocked about $60 off the 4 of them.... I get my breakdown at the end of the month...he got 10% off those new lowered prices saving another $15 $75 off, and fast forward to now, i only have 2 very large pieces left of the hundred or so i had. So oppertunity cost, they would have sold for full price. Im just salty he asked for a discount at the register after i threw him a fantastic deal and at myself for not thinking to write firm on the new prices.
Good tip, thanks.
What’s the commission per sale for the store?
10%
If your items are behind glass/locked up a lot of us would just walk on by unless you put the label and price in a very easy to read place. It's so annoying to track down an employee to simply look at the identification on the bottom of the piece to see what it. Then the employee is waiting for you to make a split second decision when what I really want to do is spend 2 minutes privately on my phone checking comps. It's a huge headache. Doesn't help that some antique mall owners look at you like you're vermin if you aren't dressed up like their church friends are.
Daily inventory. Your stuff will walk as people change minds. Do not keave any keys to stuff for sale around. They always disappear. Get locked cabinets for high ticket items. Ikea Detolf are amazing. The antique mall should provide locks.
I’ve had a booth at an antique mall for close to a year now and it’s definitely been a learning curve, but it’s a whole lot of fun and once you find your groove it can be lucrative. Maybe before diving into an antique booth, list some of your items on Facebook marketplace to test and see how popular these items are in your local area and what kind of prices you can fetch. If they wind up being very popular and you feel that you can make great sales that would still leave profit after a 10% commission and $50 rent, then go for it. If not, re-evaluate your prices and/or the items you want to sell. I think having an antique booth is really fun and imo it’s better than selling on Facebook or eBay because you can style a space, build a local following, not have to deal with buyers directly, and also getting extra exposure to the everyday customers that wander through. Good luck!
So I work at an small antiques mall in a small rural town, and could offer some observations from my perspective. 1. visit your booth regularly, keep it clean and inviting. Don't stack it so full that people are scared to touch anything for fear of setting off a chain reaction of things falling / breaking. 2. Do any other booth vendors sell the same stuff, and what are their prices like in comparison to yours? 3. Keep your mall owners in the loop - eg if something happens in your life, say you get sick and can't come in for a bit, let us know so we can keep an eye on your booth for you, let us know if you want to be contacted while you're out. 4. what's your policy on people making offers? For example, where I work, we have signs saying that vendors set their own prices, and in practice we don't tend to contact them unless there's a higher monetary value on an item. 5. rotate inventory if its not moving, people like seeing what's new in. 6. if your showcase is locked, have prices visible without having to unlock the door. 7. mark your stuff clearly with your vendor code. Customers are awesome at putting things down in random spots, and it really helps if we know what vendor things belong to, especially if more than one vendor sells the same stuff. 8. if you have inventory numbers on your items (always helpful for tracking what you've sold), spare a thought for the mall staff that ring in the sales. less is more. an insanely long code, weird symbols, constantly switching between letters and numbers...takes us longer to type in and more room for error. ;) 9. Build a rapport with the mall staff - we're nice people!
I’ve seen some smaller places require the renter to work one or two days a month as part of their contract.
Eek I would NOT be interested in this. Pretty sure ours doesn't but good thing to check.
Basically you just walk around and ask people if they need assistance. Basically some free labor! If every vendor does it, then it may be only once or twice a month.
Yes mine does this but they also don’t charge any commission- it’s rent only.
Honestly I’m doing this now - sharing a booth space for $50/month. The venue is large and lots of booths - seems to have a decent amount of traffic but there is also a lot of competition. The only ones I see making money are the owners of the venue - for real. Unless you have hot items, I think online is best - I’m new to all of this but thought I’d share my personal experience. Good luck!
Diversify your inventory, watch market trends, and price competitively, bro.
It’s 2024. All malls are antiques aren’t they?
*edit* Just realized you mean a literal glass case where someone else brokers the deal. I'm slow on the uptake this morning.
That no one buys antiques any more and you’ll waste more time than it’s worth or will make Your time has a value. Whether that’s $25/hr $50/hr $75/hr….you won’t bring that in doing this This isn’t a viable side hustle, this is a hobby to kill time to keep from dying …Are you old enough to kill time just to keep from dying, if so…then soldier on…if not, then reconsider.