What Will You See at the Flea?

This is Fremont County, Wyoming and we’re a surprising bunch, so you will likely see the expected here, including horse saddles and tack, antiques, furniture, vintage clothing, jewelry, taxidermy, tools, household goods, as well as the unexpected. What’s the unexpected? To answer that question you’ll just have to come in and take a look around!

Information for Vendors

For vendors, the reason to participate in a Flea Market hosted by Cowboy State Marketing the answer is easy – marketing to a broad audience to draw more people in to see what you have to sell. Whether antiques, estate items, hand-made creations, second hand goods, refurbished items, or you’re simply trying to downsize some of your belongings by cleaning out the garage, attic or basement, you’re invited to become a vendor. Are you one of the many people who took the dumpster fire of 2020 as a reason to pivot and strike out on your own as an entrepreneur with products to sell, but not ready for a storefront, or you’re still working from the dining room table or spare bedroom? We’d love to talk!

Flea Markets are known for attracting a wide variety of vendors and patrons, and you just never know what you have that just might convince someone to seek you out at the Flea Market. For each market, we ask vendors to name three to five items they will be selling so this information can be included in marketing efforts. Have a picture of the items? Even better!

Concessions

Each market will have on-site food and beverage concessions available for purchase and offerings will vary from market to market. Interested in becoming a concessionnaire?

Flea Market Setup Tips for Vendors

Even if you have never sold at a flea market before, it can be a fun and profitable adventure with a little planning. Below are some tips you may find helpful.

Signage

What may be obvious to you may not be to someone else. Invite people into your booth space to browse and let them know what they’re looking at while grabbing their attention. Having great products only helps you make sales if your customers know what those products are and how much they cost. Flea market customers often love to negotiate prices, so if you’re open to offers or haggling let it be known. Making your process and products clear to customers can make those who aren’t flea market veterans feel more comfortable buying from you. Grab attention with signage so items aren’t missed – if you have a box of tools on the floor for rummaging, don’t hesitate to place a sign above it with an arrow pointing down that reads “TOOLS” or “MAN STUFF” to draw attention. Have an interesting story about an item? Be prepared to tell the story but also print a neat sign to get someone interested in hearing the story behind the piece; you will find a lot of history buffs at flea markets! Be sure to make it obvious where to pay for items found in your booth, if local delivery is available for larger items and what type of payment you can accept.

Place Popular Products Front and Center

The location of your actual products is also important. If you have a product that is particularly popular or eye-catching, you want to make sure to highlight it as much as possible. You can do this by placing those items toward the front of your booth, or potentially even on a special platform or in a unique display case.

Utilize Cases to Display and Organize Items

For smaller items or those that are potentially breakable or valuable, display cases can be incredibly useful. Display cases come in all different shapes and sizes, so you can shop around to find ones that fit with your specific products.

Keep Fragile Items Toward the Back

You should also use care when placing any items that may be fragile. Those items probably shouldn’t go right on the front edge of your table, unless you’d be okay with people reaching over them and potentially knocking them off the table. So consider keeping those items closer to the back of your flea market booth so people have to really go out of their way to even get to them.

Consider Using Racks for Clothing

Racks can also be useful for displaying flea market items, especially if you sell clothing or accessories. They allow your customers to easily browse through your offerings without messing up your neatly arranged table.

Keep Your Table Clean and Covered

If you have a bunch of nice products but they are on a dirty old table, it could deter some customers. Instead, make sure that your table is clean and uncluttered. You might also consider using a table cover to make sure it looks nice and clean.

Make Sure Products Are Clean

Your products themselves should also be clean. If you sell clothing or any fabric items, make sure to remove any stains and wash your items. And make sure any other products are free of dust and dirt when you put them out on your table or in your display cases.

Have a Designated Line Area

Another part of making your customers comfortable while they shop is making sure they have a place to stand while completing their purchases. If you have people just blocking your entire flea market booth while they wait in line, you could be missing out on sales. Instead, designate an area where people can stand while they pay and/or wait in line.

Pack Items in the Order You’ll Need Them

When packing for your flea market booth, think about the things that you are most likely to need first and pack those so that they’re easily accessible. For example, you’ll probably want your table covers and display cases out before the actual products that go on them.

Use Protective Packing Equipment

It’s also important when you’re packing your products and display items that you keep items safe, especially those that are fragile or potentially breakable. Use bubble wrap and other protective materials to ensure that you can transport all of your items safely.

Make Sure You Have Enough Help

Part of a successful flea market booth means having enough people there to help your customers complete their purchases. Especially if you’re at a flea market that has fairly high traffic, you may have to hire a few people to check out customers, pack items and answer customers’ questions.

Consider How Your Customers Will Transport Their Purchases

You’ll also need to make sure that you have some bags or boxes available for customers who purchase multiple items or large items so that they can easily carry their purchases.

Keep Your Essentials In a Designated Space

And regardless of what you sell, you’ll need to bring some essentials with you like change, a cash box, pens and price stickers. It’s also helpful to have hand wipes and hand sanitizer as well as a small trash can or trash bag at your booth to keep your area free of used wipes, wrappers, empty sticker sheets, etc…