dragging couches full of rat pee to the dump in the heat of summer

bumping a matress standing up on the side of the room and getting hit in the head by whatever was on top of it

did a little more googling and yes it is a scam if you get a weird text form a 5 digit # dont answer it

feel free to add you own storys 

#1 went to an auction last january and bought a 5x10 packed to the roof with small stuff , the locker was jammed to the point the owners had a card table wedged across the doorway so stuff wouldnt spill out. I wasnt thinking i was going to get rich off of it but it came cheap and the room triggered that little voice inside that says "i want it" .
i bought a second room 5x10 which was a pile of crap(you could tell from the door opening it was a loser at best) figuring i was already going to be at the facility so why not take a shot)
we got done with the auction , went to the office and i found out the room i wanted was paid for while we were in the building , leaviing me stuck with the add on room

#2 anytime you go to an auction and see someone pull up in a semi , never a good sign

#3 several years ago i saw  a beautiful 10X10 gorgeous room , you could tell that a woman owned it there was a headboard out front everything was as neat as a pin and there were 40-50 storage tubs , i cannot emphasize just how good this room looked , in todays world it would have gone over 1k .I won the room for $500 .When I went through the room it turned out it was 2 women owned it and every stupid tub was full of holiday decorations  to make matters worse it was may and not a holiday in sight . Who would have thought 2 women could pack a locker and not have a stitch of clothes in it
learned 2 lessons that day
1 that gay people have nice stuff doesnt always apply
2 sometimes it better to chuck everything and lose the money than sit trying to break even on a unit eventually

#4 i was going to auctions for about 4 years when the realization hit me that even if they are cutting the locks off in front of you , it would cost the facility owner a whopping 3 or 4 dollars to cut the lock toss the room and put a new lock on it to cut again in front of you.
honest people are honest people and dishonest people are dishonest people

#5 if a facility is constantly rescheduleing , do some homework . One place i went to would place the auction ad in the paper and reschedule every month , when the auctions came up he was selling the rooms from a month previous. He was waiting untill the auction date to see if the customer paid , if they didnt he would toss the rooms take what he wanted and auction those rooms the next month

feel free to add your storys here

not sure if this is the same as baggage wars or not , if not theres a 3rd show http://www.deadline.com/2011/11/spike-tv-greenlights-luggage-wars-pilot/

I think i know one of the people thats going to be on baggage battles , it will be interesting to pick his brain next time i see him

another quicky
.25 and 50 cent sales arent great try and sell the stuff 4 for a dollar or 2 for a dollar, if they dont have a full buck to spend they are not your target customer and if you give folks the cheapest way out they will take it everytime

besides folding money weighs less and you will be able to keep your pants up better without all that change in it 

hi been lurking here a little while and thought i would share some ideas ive picked up over the years

im new here but have been going to flea markets for 20+ years

there are basically 3 kinds of flea markets ive been to
1  colectable/ antiques/crafts markets, these can be good for the right person  but ive always been of the mindset that the good stuff can always sell through other channels so i dont go to them

2 new item markets the place where mostly or all imported crap and tshirts and the like again for what im trying to do its no good so i dont go to them

3 the swapmeet type market , this is where ive been going for the past 10-12 years and it has been suiting my needs and this is primarily what i will be referring to

i must say this place has always baffled me and probably always will , im going to give several ideas and your results may vary tremendously retail markets will always vary as much as the people who come to them

the people who shop at my market are about  75% immigrant from all over the world lots of hatians jamaicans hispanic asians and russian and thats who i gear my stuff for when im packing

you results will vary depnding on your market and you customers

what sells for me

clothing mens jeans pants and shoes sneakers and boots baseball hats too
jeans and pants $2 a pair  hats $1 each shoes boots and such anywhere from $5-$25
 
womens clothing has been very very very hit or miss with me i try not to bring it anymore with the exception of decent name brand womens sneakers  and hats  sneakers $5-10 hats 1-3$
pocketbooks have sold for me in the past but i do better with them somewhere else so i dont bring them anymore

kids clothes
again shoes sneakers and boots sell well the rest of the stuff very hit or miss , if i found a kids consignement shop i wouldnt bother bringing them here

records very very very hit and miss but very good sellers if you get the right bunch for the crowd your selling to $1-2 per (note i dont search mine so i am probably selling things i shouldnt at this price )if i get something out of the ordinary i will sell it by itself (collections of 45s or 78s come to mind )

toys move pretty well i put a box out in front of my tables and price according to the piece (PUT IT OUT FRONT !!!!!!!!!!!!!) hide it inside your both and you wont sell 1/4 of what you will out front


I do test all my electronics before i go and if they have a problem with them they can bring them back
video games , in these types of markets there are always collectors and dealers walking around that can be good and bad , but ive been putting stuff out and selling it every week (note i do search this stuff pretty good and any hidden treasures i get go on ebay)

boomboxes i get rid of the cheap ones 10-15 dollars and they go
dvd players  the cheap ones $10 nicer name brand ones $20 anything superhigh end doesnt come here

speakers hit and miss i hate them because always wind up beating the crap out of them in the van on the way there or dropping them unloading them
nothing real good comes with me
receivers cassette decks turntables mini component systems etc all sell well make sure you dont give away anything to valuable

tools always sell well

sporting goods usually sell well in season, soccer + basketballs go year round (buy a inflator pin and make sure they are full it does make a difference)
rollerblades good year round i only bring the cheap ones and am getting $5-10 a pair

cds $1 each and they go $2 each and they sit (your results will vary)
DONT BRING THE SAME CRAP EVERY WEEK OR THEY WILL QUIT LOOKING AT IT

dvds $3 $2 late in the day


costume jewelry goes well

watches sell fairly well $3 and up i put batteries in mine and make sure they all work

small furniture nightstands small table etc good I only bring it if i have room in the van for it , even the small stuff takes up a fair amount of room and doesnt  generate a lot of cash but it does move (also consider what your customers are driving and will they be able to carry it out and bring it home)

towels = instant cash if you price them to move them

sheets curtains and drapes yes move well

cheap bikes move well mens boys and ladies (girls bikes not so much )
i only take the cheap ones the better ones are sold elsewhere

wiring all sorts of wires sell , sort them out and rubber band them so they dont get tangled (power packs sell too)

dishes plates cups all move you wont get much for them  (you can if they are complete sets though)

video tapes if i have room on my tables ill bring them but they arent a priority anymore at a dollar each ill sell 3 a day , however at 50 cents a piece i can still get rid of $10-20 worth a day and im just going to wind up throwing them out otherwise. I would not however bring the same ones twice i get rid of them after the flea market

household chemicals you know the crapload of cans under your kitchen sink
cant say you will have the same results butt i get rid of 80-90% of what i bring within an hour after  i put them out

i primarily use the flea market to get rid of stuff that would be just to big a nuisance to get rid of otherwise and price my stuff to move volume , theres a lot of competition where i am but i still manage to sell 1/2 my load everytime i go out , im not getting rich at the flea (i do kind of like going there too)

other things to consider
put your stuff on tables the majority of folks dont want to bend over

get the same spot everytime , the regulars will begin to come to you if they know where you are

table like type merchandise put all your tools on one table , all your dishes and stuff on one table etc

buy or make a display case , people will walk over just to see whats in it

if you have multiples of one larger ticket item (selling for over $10 for the sake of argument) only put one or 2 out and give them a prominent spot in the front of your booth you want as many people as possible to see them but if you put out 12 its actualy a deterrent to sales or an invitation to get your balls broken on price

people are busy , yacking on the phone talking with their friends yelling at their kids ,figure out what are your best sellers and make sure you keep them out front (unless they are real small things , keep those close to you so they dont get walked off with)

people dont like looking at the same stuff over and over again
if storage isnt a problem for you carry stuff for 2 or 3 weeks and store it for a month and try it again OR
try a different market
 Or  see if you can find another person a the market to swap junk with (I cant tell you how many times ive given crap ive been carrying for several weeks to the guy next to me and watched him sell it quickly, and many times ive taken his garbage and sold it )
it might not be new but its new to you

if storage is a problem then just get rid of it , if youve carried it x # of times and havent sold it and reduced the price and still havent sold it bail on it, throw it out donate it give it away , you can and will be able to sell everything at the flea market eventually but if you dont keep moving stuff and keep buying new stuff you will be OVERWHELMED with crap in no time flat .

test everything you can and if its broken sell it as broken , it doesnt take long to get a reputation as a bad guy to deal with and all the regular buyers chat with one another at one time or another

do some quicky fix work , as i mentioned with the sporting goods i now pump up all my balls before bringing them and in the year ive been doing it it does make a difference , bike tires same deal make sure they are pumped up, anything thats complete and ready to go is going to get a higher dollar than things that need even a miniscule bit of work

I bring or buy batteries when im there aaa aa c and d anything i have battery opperated gets demonstrated after the customer pays and before they leave 

generator im gonna spring for one sometime this year for the same reason i bring batteries , so i can demonstrate what ive got . This will affect any sales of electrical items with quicker sales and higher prices . This is a decent sized expense and i suggest you do this enough to know if you want to continue before you go drop the cash on one

tent  canopy or umbrella is a  very good idea for anyone
, ive worked without one for several years and am going to get one this spring im a wreck on mondays after being out in the sun all weekend .
if you do make sure they are anchored good to the van or the table or weighted , wind can send these flying (further than you would thing )

pricing before you consider dropping the price , think about raising it , you can scare people off with prices that are too cheap, case in point 10-15 years ago i got 12 brand new in the box timing lights (retail about 35$ back then) i tried selling them for $10 and nothing sold for several trips to the market . I was telling a friend about this and he suggested i take them out of the package roll them around in some dirt and sell them for $20. I thought he was nuts . Eventually i did try it his way and sold all 12 in one weekend ........go figure 

hope someone gets some use out of this

double check the calibri spelling if its colibri it might be worth something