Table Top Sale

floatylight

Hi, I hope I'm in the right place.

I'm thinking of setting up a regular children's table top sale in my local area. There is the odd one that happens but its not very well advertised.

I've googled like mad but can't seem to find a definitive answer regarding rules and regulations.

Do I need event insurance or will the local hall's public liability insurance be enough?

Can I sell tea, coffee, cakes etc?

How is the best way to take payment for the tables? I've seen paypal used by a few table top sales. Any pros and cons of this?

If there's anything else I need to know I'd be grateful for any suggestions/advice.

Many thanks

Savvy_Sue

floatylight wrote: »

I've googled like mad but can't seem to find a definitive answer regarding rules and regulations.

That's because there are far fewer rules and regulations for table top sales than there are for car boot sales.

floatylight wrote: »

Do I need event insurance or will the local hall's public liability insurance be enough?

Probably depends on the hall, so ask them.

floatylight wrote: »

Can I sell tea, coffee, cakes etc?

Yes. Although the hall may charge extra for use of the kitchen, and have requirements eg expect you to have done a food hygiene certificate which isn't expensive or difficult. And there may be extra requirements if you're selling home made cake, but if you're not doing this on a commercial basis it's unlikely to be a problem.

floatylight wrote: »

How is the best way to take payment for the tables? I've seen paypal used by a few table top sales. Any pros and cons of this?

Sorry, no idea about this, but offering a small discount for prepayment seems sensible to me. People do still write cheques, of course. I'm sure paypal would be a better option than credit cards in the early days ...

floatylight wrote: »

If there's anything else I need to know I'd be grateful for any suggestions/advice.

Two things spring to mind ...

floatylight wrote: »

I'm thinking of setting up a regular children's table top sale in my local area. There is the odd one that happens but its not very well advertised.

Advertising a new event of this kind is key. It will take time to get known / noticed as a regular 'thing', if that's your intention. And I'm not the best person to advise on how you do this ...

BUT more importantly, what are you trying to do here? Are you hoping to make money for yourself, or raise money for charity, or just provide a break-even public service for parents who want to sell their children? Or more probably their children's 'stuff' ...

If it's making money for yourself, there's a whole lot more stuff you need to think about. If it's raising money for charity, there's a little more to think about. And if it's selling children, you're on your own ... :rotfl:

lincroft1710

I can't work out whether OP wants to provide a venue for people selling children, or for children to sell their unwanted toys etc.

Charityworker

Hi. I run craft fayres for a living which is similar.

You will need your own public liability insurance of up to 10 million for this. I know an event organiser who lost their house because someone broke their ankle at a craft Fayre and then couldn't work. I only pay £5.99 a month for that level of cover so it's not much. Keep in mind though a children's event will need very high insurance.

You can sell cakes and drinks but you will need a level 2 food hygiene certificate which takes about 2 hours to do and you can do it online for about £30. You will also need first aid training and it's advisable to do a course in event stewarding but not essential.

With regards taking payments I offer cheque, postal order or PayPal. But if you are running regular events and the stall holders come back they often pay you in person when they see you. Ask for payments in advance or you'll get a lot of no shows!

You will need to advertise it in a lot of ways. I put up 50 posters around my town every month for my events as well as delivering fliers. I also put it in the local press, have it on local radio and have it all over Facebook. Facebook though is the best way of advertising. I'd say 99% of my stall holders found me through Facebook and 90% of the browsers on the day found me through Facebook.

Another thing your going to need is broad shoulders. I've run 25 craft fayres this year and not once had a moan free one. I also get at least one nasty message from a stall holder after every Fayre. The competition is fierce. There are loads of these events going on so stall holders can pick and choose which they want to go to. If you don't get it 100% right from day one you will fail. There's no loyalty. I've met some really nice people since I've been doing this but I've also met some of the rudest most spiteful people I've ever met in my life. Be prepared for that. You'll be blamed for everything that goes wrong. Even if the person is selling sub standard stuff you will be blamed.

You will also need big banners, flags, signs, balloons, a boards up on the day to attract passing trade. If you don't do that people won't come and you'll be blamed. Be careful with a boards though as some councils don't allow them.