Preparing for the Big Day
As expected, pretty much everything is about preparing for my first flea market day right now. The big day is Saturday July 1. There’s a lot riding on how well I do there. If it’s profitable and sustainable, I’m going to buy a six-month pass. The six-month pass doesn’t give you a discount, but you’re assigned a booth for the duration. That’s going to be more important in the run-up to the holidays.
Administrivia
De Anza Flea Market uses Marketspread to administer their market. My status shows as paid but they still haven’t assigned me a booth. I’d really like to know my booth number, so I can tell potential customers where to find me. Hopefully I’ll be placed under solar panels. There are three areas that are covered by solar panels. They’re outlined in blue on the market map.
I’m debating if I should put both my Etsy and my Squarespace shops in vacation mode for the day of the market or if I can get away with just increasing my turn-around times. The thing is that I’m bringing all my inventory to the flea market. I’m concerned that I’ll sell out of products at the market and that customers will buy the sold-out things online. That would mean being on the hook for potentially creating lots of products within a day or two of coming home from the market.
While that would be a lovely problem to have, Etsy really frown on shipping delays. Basically they want you to have the items you sell in stock when you list them. Still pondering that one.
Products
While I’m obviously going to bring all the things currently available through Etsy or Squarespace, I’ve also made some products specifically for the flea market, such as the thank-you cards, bookmarks and whale cards in the photos above. This is one of the tips I picked up from watching lots of YouTube videos about in-person craft shows: to create products specifically for an in-person event that you don’t sell online until after the event.
Product display
I’ve got things to help me display my products. My plan is to test it out a couple of days before, so that I arrive on market day with a plan. The thing holding me up is that I don’t have the table yet.
The table I currently have is only 4 feet. So I’ve been trying to source a 6’ or 8’ table on Facebook Marketplace, but I haven’t had much luck with it so far. If I haven’t gotten a solid lead on a cheaper table by tomorrow night, I’ll pick one up at Home Depot on Saturday.
Supplies
I’ve gotten two types of bags and my new business logo stamp I’m going to use on the bags should arrive today, so I can stamp away.
I’ve ordered business cards from Vistaprint, but they won’t arrive until June 27. That’s cutting it a bit fine. I still need something to put them in, as well. Maybe I can just dress up the box they come in. That would be ideal, because it’s cheap and quick.
I’ve designed stickers, a price list and the newsletter sign-up. But I’m still working on the payments display. All these things still need to be printed and I need to put them in something so they don’t get creased during transport. I have frames and clipboards already. Mustn’t forget a couple of pens for the newsletter sign-up.
Transport
One thing I still need to figure out: How to pack all products and paraphernalia to get it to the flea market. I have rolling totes I can use but I need to figure out how many I need and see how/if they fit into my car. I’m aiming for a dress rehearsal early next week.
Most people who do in-person events have foldable wagons to transport things from their car to the booth. They cost $100 and up. 💸 I’m hoping I can park my car in my space, so I won’t have any problems. That means I need to arrive pretty early. The gates open at 5.30 and last entry is at 7.30 with 8 am as the official start of vending. It would probably be a good thing to be there at 6.30. If I’m done setting up early, I can always take a nap in my car.
There are so many things I need to bring. In addition to what I’ve already mentioned, I’m going to need a cooler with food and beverages, chairs, a bag for money, change, baby wipes, sunscreen. Something to keep my hands busy between customers would be great too. I’ll make a list, so I don’t forget stuff.
