My Booth: Good-Bye

The store where I have my booth is turning five in November.  I was one of the original vendors when the store opened.  I remember the first month my check was well over $600 and I was very excited about that.  I fluffed it and took in new merchandise each week.  Since I deal mostly in smalls, I had a permanent set up of nice old shelves that I filled with all sorts of vintage goodies.  So, the set up was always the same, but the junk in it was always different.  I like old kitchen things and toys and cute adorable crap to sit on windowsills. And Christmas was my big time at the booth - lots and lots of vintage.  I sold a ton of blowmolds in there in the first several years.  

About a year ago, (or maybe more who knows time flies and all that stuff) they built a new highway around the tiny town where I have my booth.  I held on to my convictions that it wouldn't hurt business downtown.  But it has.  There is a main street with nothing but flea markets and antique stores.  Most people come to town to shop at Daisies and Olives then they work their way down the street going in and out of each shop, crossing at the light and then work their way back up the other side of the street.  My store is the very last store on that side of the street.  So, if people are spending money along the way, they are getting poor before they come to my store.  And, then, insult to injury - if you come in the store and take the aisles up and down - my booth is the next to the last booth on the ENTIRE STREET.  Needless to say, sales have gone down month by month.  Here's a blog post with pictures of the street.  It's a fun town with lots of good junk.

Now, I will admit that I haven't always paid enough attention to it especially now that I am a Junk Ranch Vendor.  I am always shopping with the JR in mind, pricing for the JR, making things for the JR and so on and so forth.  After the JR, I take the remaining merchandise to the booth to fill it up. Then, I set my sights on the next JR again.  

My booth rent is $52 a month and the JR is $100 twice a year.  I can sell twenty times at the JR compared to one month at the booth.  And, the money is ALL MINE.  No commission.  So, of course that is where my thoughts are always turned.  Find stuff for the Junk Ranch. Price stuff for the Junk Ranch.  Make things for the Junk Ranch.  But, then the Junk Ranch is over and I still have a ton of inventory, so it needs to go somewhere.  I tried putting all my handmade things in my booth, but they just do not sell. Lara has been nice enough to let me try some of my things in her booth at Daisies and Olives, and they seem to be selling there.  So, the goal is to get a booth over there now.  Oddly enough, I had a booth there years ago.  I remember The Bean was in his infant seat sitting on the floor when I worked the booth - so that was an eternity ago.  The store has grown in both size and popularity since then and it is one of the premiere flea markets in the area.  I think my things are a good fit and with the holidays coming - I really want to be established in there so I can make heaps of cash.  Ha.  

So, tomorrow I will close my little booth.  I'm sad that I am leaving,  Sad that it's just not the right place for me anymore.  But, you gotta do, what you gotta do.  So, I gotta do it!  

Good bye Booth #33.   

I'll miss you!