Preparing for a flea market / car boot sale

Over the last few months, ihave come to appreciate and love flea markets. Selling online is great, but selling face to face to a client is something totally different.

You get to interact with customers, explain more about the product. You get to learn more about their preferences, as well as put a face to your brand.

I have learned a few things on how to prepare for a successful market day, be it a flea market or a car boot sale. Here goes….

Get to the location early enough

If you are new to car boot sales or flea market, the earlier you are there, the better. They may say you should be there by 10am, be there by 9am. This helps you book a great place where customers can find you easily, as well as give you time to check what you have missed or forgotten at home.

Have a poster with your details

MPESA paybill number should be visible to all as details to contact you. If you don’t have that, give them a card that has your contacts and your social media. This will ensure you don’t waste alot of time trying to spell out your contacts or payment details.

Carry lose change

A lot of customers will pay via Mpesa, but some will come with cash. Ensure that you get enough lose change of 100, 200 and 400. This will help with smooth transactions

Secure your money

Have a bag that you can keep your money, that stays with you all the time. Not everyone will be a customer or have good intentions.

Bring a seat/ table

Confirm with the event organizers if you need to bring a table with you. As for the car boot sales, you will be required to bring a seat for yourself and whoever else you will have.

Most of the flea markets offer you a table and a chair.

Bring a variety of items

This applies mostly at flea markets. A lot of customers would be browsing through, so if you have one product and they are not interested, you can interest them in another product. This does not mean that you have a confused table of 10 products, but choose at least 4 related products to sell.