Thursday, February 23, 2012

Polling the public: advice for a newbie seller? Anyone?

Some questions for any more experienced sellers of vintage goodies, and/or any potential or actual buyers of same:

-How do you feel about antique malls, in general?  How do you expect them to compare, price-wise, to Etsy?  Ebay?  Thrift stores?  Any other venues?

-What's your advice on a booth that is stuffed full vs. one that is less cluttered/more "designed"?

-Do you think it's worthwhile to have an item/items in the shop that are not likely to sell, but might attract attention?  For example, when I set up my booth on Feb 11, I included these:

 
Red and white jackets with "Barb" and "Dave" embroidered on them.
I did not expect a couple by those names to walk into the store, spot the jackets, and feel the need to buy them, particularly, but I displayed them prominently, allowing them to take up wall space in an 8x8 booth on the theory that it was Valentine's week and they made a sort of sweetly kitschy, funny eye-catcher that might draw people in to my booth.  I removed them on Tuesday of this week, since Valentine's Day is past and I don't expect them to sell any time soon.  I thought I might bring them back out around Halloween for a similar reason, and on the theory that a couple might consider them easy/funny matchy costumes.  Similarly, I have a couple of obnoxiously fun double-knit polyester items with shamrocks on them that I intend to put up within the next week or two, to attract attention for St Paddy's Day.  Do you think this is a worthwhile endeavor?  I mean, I'm hoping at some point these items will find buyers as well, but I don't exactly expect it, so am I wasting precious booth space?  And if so, what do I do about the other half-ton of kitschy clothing items I purchased because they amuse me?

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated, and will earn you points on Santa's Nice list, I'm sure!

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