What's the BEST Jumble Sale you've been to and what made it so good?

WartimeScrapingofMarmite

Don't charge too much would be my advice - I'm a bit of a jumble sale addict and have to say that the ones where the organisers try to charge alot of money don't seem to sell much. I went to one recently where they were asking £2 per item of clothing - people were just walking away empty handed.

Organising the clothing sounds like a good idea, but don't get too frustrated when everything just ends up mixed up together - when people are rummaging they won't put things back where they found them! I actually like the stalls that are piled high and everything falls off the table - I've found some of my best bargains on the floor under the table where no-one else bothers to look!

Also, most people are happy to pay a small entrance fee - 50p seems to be the norm around my area - so that could be another small way to boost profits.

Good luck

otterspasm

Thanks Wartimescrapingofmarmite, I agree with you about not charging too much I'd walk away empty handed from a jumble sale if they were charging £2 per item. I was thinking about 25p per item for most things, with a rail of fancy items for £1 per item, ie nice coats or posh frocks. 50p entry sounds reasonable, I'm a right old skinflint and I'd pay 50p entry without moaning lol.

luxor4t

you could increase the entry fee and inculde a free cup of tea/coffee or squash. We used to give each paying customer a raffle ticket to exchange. Kids were usually 10p - but that was a long time ago!

Avoid 5ps as they are really fiddly if you're trying to do things quickly.

Is there a place that buys fabric to recycle nearby? one in my town buys by weight not condition, so you can still make money on the stuff left over.

Contains_Mild_Peril

In my area, customers would be horrified at the thought of charging children for entry if they're accompanied by adults! The norm round here is a small admission charge (usually 20-30p for jumble sales, though our local car boot sales are 50p). I've never come across a jumble sale charging admission for accompanied children, and I've been to a few in different areas. One way to do it is "entry by donation", then you don't have to faff about with change and most customers will put whatever they think is fair in the bucket: a few may even put in a bit extra. If I saw a "jumble sale" advertised with a high admission charge (e.g. £1 or more) and refreshments included I'd be less likely to go. It's also the norm at the ones I've been to inlude a biscuit, slice of cake or whatever in the price of drinks (50p is typical).
The best jumble sales I've been to have been in church halls - cheap entry, cheap and plentiful stock including some really nice stuff, adequately manned, and a lot of them do the "fill a bag for £1" thing at the end.
The worst I've been to was in London - very disappointing because I watched Antiques Roadshow and kept seeing valuables people had found at London jumble sales so I was excited at the chance to go to one! I arrived early at the building, and feared it might have been cancelled because there were no signs on display. There was no queue, so I tentatively walked in the front door and looked for an inside door with a jumble sale sign, but there was none. Someone asked "can I help you?", I asked about the jumble sale and was told I would have to wait outside till it started. I went back outside, expecting to be informed when they were open, but nothing. After I saw some people going round the side of the building, I eventually found out that entrance to the jumble sale was via an unmarked side door but the woman I'd spoken to hadn't thought to tell me that. I then found very little stock, almost all horrifically overpriced, e.g. £2 per item for ordinary clothes. I bought an LP for 50p (the most expensive I've ever seen LPs at a jumble sale) but nothing else.

theoretica

I don't like admission charges at all, I resent being charged money to spend money.

Lots of space and bags are good. You could tell buyers bringing bags is appreciated.

I would sort out the boring 25p stuff to one area and put the better stuff somewhere else more spread out. I am also a great believer in falling prices - starting about at charity shop prices, then falling every half hour or whatever until it is fill a bag for £1. If you start low there is a mad rush (which I don't like being in) and all the best stuff vanishes before I get to it. It also encourages people to hang around longer and buy more tea and cake to see if that nice coat is still there when the price has dropped.

luxor4t

Contains_Mild_Peril wrote: »

In my area, customers would be horrified at the thought of charging children for entry if they're accompanied by adults! ...............

The 10p child charge covered a glass of squash and a biscuit. Sorry, I didn't make that clear.