Day 2: Visit and Compare Local Flea Markets

The second step to becoming a flea market vendor is to visit some of the local flea markets in your area. Pick a few flea markets from your list and make a plan to do some field research.

Make a note of the address and be sure to get directions ahead of time if needed. You might want to call first to confirm times and dates before going. Be sure to take a notebook with you to jot down some ideas and other useful information. Take note of:

- Some of the products available,
- How the booths are set up,
- Amount of traffic flow (customers),
- Number of vendors,
- Booths that attract a lot of attention,
- Overall appearance and atmosphere of market (clean or cluttered, friendly or competitive vendors) etc.

Talk with some of the vendors to get an idea of traffic flow and which products seem to sell well for them. Sometimes you can get some good insight by making conversation with the vendors.

If you think that you may be interested in setting up a booth, talk with the manager about booth prices and size. Also ask about what licenses or permits you may be required to have and where to get them.

Most flea markets require a vendor’s license but there may be other licenses or permits that you may need depending on which state, city, and county you live in and what type of products you sell.

A sales tax id number is usually a requirement too. A sales tax id number is also required in order to deal with real wholesalers. So you may want to go ahead and get that set up now. If you live in the US, here is a listing by state of where to obtain one. (Link opens in new window).

That wraps up this lesson. Next lesson we will choose a flea market with the help of a cool new software.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

SBI!