This post is part 3 of a 6 part series explaining steps to take when starting a flea market business, selling merchandise sourced from the liquidation industry. If you’ve missed the first two posts, be sure to read post one and post two first.
We have the flea market picked out, as well as all of the necessary permits to keep our new business legal. We are off to a great start, but today we need to talk about equipment for our flea market business. There are some items that are critical to a smooth operation.
Tables – This is probably the most critical item a flea market vendor will utilize; I recommend purchasing six foot folding tables, which can be found at Walmart for about $40-$50 each. You will need three tables for the average ten by ten flea market booth. Budget spend $150.00.
Canopy – It’s important to keep the elements off of your inventory. A canopy will not only protect your stock, but will also provide shelter from blistering heat, and the possible chance of rain. You can buy a nice commercial vendors canopy for about $300.00, but to get started a nice instant canopy can be purchased for about $75-$130.00. Impact on budget $130.00, leaving $957.00 for inventory (for those of you following along).
Merchandise displays – One may or may not need special displays for merchandise items, it really depends on what is being resold. Obviously, if clothing was being sold, racks would probably produce more sales versus stacking clothing on a table. Other displays might be needed: peg board and hooks, sunglasses display, glass-top display cases, jewelry displays, etc.. Think about what it is you will be selling and what might be needed to help produce more sales through eye-catching display. This is a hard category to put a price on, but for purpose of this series, I’m allowing $150.00 for a budget spend. This leaves $807.00 for inventory.
I would also advise putting together a flea market survival kit with the following items as an example: Bungee cords, duct tape, utility knife, extension cord, paper, pens, flashlight, and misc small tools from home. I could put a kit like this together for approximately $30.00. Our budget is now down to $777.00, which is a very lucky number!
It’s now time to find inventory for our flea market venture, stay tuned for the 4th post in this six part series as we spend the last of our budget looking for inventory within the liquidation industry.
