Thinking of setting up as a market trader. Any tips?

Tammy2

I'm only intending to do one day a week, at this stage anyway.

I've done a few carboot sales and it's a bit hit and miss. Plus people tend want things for pennies.

However, there is local'ish market, all undercover, trestle tables provided. I'm off for a look-see at the weekend.

Any tips appreciated. Oh, and also any basic book keeping tips too - inc. book recommendations.

Excited :j

asajj

Never done myself

Perhaps ask here
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=40

Tammy2

asajj wrote: »

Never done myself

Perhaps ask here
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=40

Doh! Should have posted it there. Can a mod move it, or do I need to repost?

Tammy2

Thread copied to here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/67442702#Comment_67442702

Oddjob

My advice would be - don't - been there, done that. Markets are dying. I remember when you could make a good living, good markets were hard to get on, you had to go and queue very early in the mornings in the hope that a regular didn't turn up so you could have their stall. Nowadays markets are easy to walk on to. Supermarkets, Poundshops etc. are taking all their trade. Do yourself a favour, save your money.

Tammy2

Oh

I shan't be putting my life savings into it or anything. So if it doesn't work then losses will be minimal and I'll have wasted my time. I'm willing to give it a go though.

Oddjob

Don't forget, apart from having to register for tax, you will also need to change any vehicle insurance you are using to business use. If you carry anything in your vehicle that is for sale in a vehicle insured for private use, you invalidate your insurance. You need to do that for car boots as well.

Kayalana99

Oddjob wrote: »

My advice would be - don't - been there, done that. Markets are dying. I remember when you could make a good living, good markets were hard to get on, you had to go and queue very early in the mornings in the hope that a regular didn't turn up so you could have their stall. Nowadays markets are easy to walk on to. Supermarkets, Poundshops etc. are taking all their trade. Do yourself a favour, save your money.

Tbh, I'm all for full steam ahead when people mention having a little start up business, but the thing with markets is you do kind of depend on the repeat business...you need a strong single niche i.e handbags, because if you're a little bit of this and little bit of that people will walk past you without even battering an eye lid because (lets face it) people feel awkward going up to a random stall and just browsing stuff they don't even know if they WILL want.

If you really want to succeed in this you need to think long term not just 'I'll try it out and see how it goes' because most likey for the first 4 weeks you won't sell a lot and you'll be finding your feet but with the right niche and the right customer service/time next time someone wants that new handbag for example they will think about you.

Markets are dying, less people are going that is just how it is.

[Deleted User]

Firstly, well done to Tammy for being prepared to give it a go:T

You didn't say what you plan to sell but if it is 'car boot type' items you might be OK. If it's 'easy in easy out' with no contract as you say then you've nothing much to lose giving it a try. I was wondering whether to do the same thing myself on our nearest street market as they have stalls especially reserved for casuals on one day a week. And, lo and behold, someone beat me to it with the same sort of stall:eek:

OH came home one day in early December tell me that he'd seen such a stall on that market and there looked to be lots of potential buyers browsing. I went to investigate myself the next week and he looked fairly busy. He was selling random stuff like on a car boot sale and his prices were very reasonable. He's still there 6 weeks on:T No idea how much he sells/makes from this stall though, haven't plucked up the courage to have a real chat with him yet. Obviously, I'm not going to ask him anything specific about profits but would be very interested to know if he intends to carry on with it in case I might jump in if he decides to up-sticks.

I once helped a friend out on an indoor market stall on Saturdays. He had an 'empire' of 3 stalls on different markets on different days so could cover most of them himself except for the one I did. It was ages ago, we sold NEW cds, cassettes and videos. I was pretty busy all day, lots of browsers rather than 'customers' though, but we were selling more 'niche' stuff, not current chart hits, He specialised in Irish music which was 'big' then (Daniel O'Donnell and others in their heyday:rotfl:) but the drawback was that the fans (who were the regular buyers ) had already bought most of what was issued, just bought new ones as they came out and then waited for the next release. Not really interested in more random titles/artists. Browsers bought more random stuff but in general it wasn't really enough to keep the stall viable (this was a 3-day a week market and he had to commit to every day rental) so he closed down and sold online instead (the internet and auction sites etc being in their infancy then).

I don't know what advice to give really:o but thought my experience might be useful.

Keep us posted. Good Luck:beer:

Tammy2

Thanks carbootcrazy

Not really typical carboot things. I'm hoping to have a good selection of secondhand riding wear, mostly for children. It's dreadfully expensive new - and they will keep growing! it's certainly something I'd have gone for. I'm also going to look at buying in some new horse and dog stock - leads, lead ropes, headcollars, whips, joddie clips and everyday riding gloves. The kind of inexpensive things people buy quite frequently (because they get lost, lol). Hopefully on Sunday I'll find nothing too similar. (Or I guess that could mean it just won't sell. ). It is a semi rural area though - lots of horse and dog owners, so fingers crossed.