How to Sell Products from your Weekend Market Stall

Making money from a Weekend market stall involves selling as much as you can to as many customers as possible. Here are ten ways to attract customers and get these all-important weekend or Sunday market sales.

1. Know your Products

If you are selling anything that could possibly be an antique, such as old porcelain, furniture, clocks or collectibles such as medals and thimbles, educate yourself in the products you are selling. Get an expert valuation or check price guides such as the well-known Miller's Price Guides to ensure that you won't sell a $1,000 item off for $10!

2. Quality Counts

Go for quality in what you are selling. When you are searching for stuff to sell on your stall, make sure that it is of good quality and that functional items work. Don't sell anything you don't think you would buy, but at the same time, don't put anything on the stall you don't really want to sell. Check 1, above, first before setting a price. If you are selling electrical goods, make sure that they work and conform to any electrical regulations.

3. Be an Early Riser

Get to the market as early as you can: except when permanent stall holders have their own regular pitches or spots, it is frequently a matter of first come first served. Make sure you show off your goods to their best advantage, and set them up so they look good. Take a table if none come with the spot, and use a good covering for it. A dark blue velvet table covering, for example, is great for laying out gold and silver jewelry. Don't make people bend down to the ground to examine your items - some will not, and some are just unable to!

4. Clean Everything.

Make sure everything you are selling is clean. However, never polish up antiques since not only can they lose value by doing that but people are wary of shiny 'antiques'. Get expert advice. Furniture should be cleaned and polished and any glass polished up. Even if you are selling CDs or older vinyl records also give them a clean.

5. Display the Price

Make sure that everything is priced using easily removed stickers, or tied labels. Most people prefer not to ask the price of an item, so labels are very useful in that respect, but don't use sticky lables that won't come off without a solvent or scraping with a knife. Not only can it damage furniture, but it is also an unnecessary nuisance.

6. Make Sure the Price is Right

Keep your prices reasonable for the item. Make sure you know the average store price for what you are selling and undercut that. Also be prepared for haggling. You should set a price a fair bit higher than you want to sell at, and then allow yourself to be haggled down to your preferred price. You get paid what you were hoping for and the customer is also happy with their purchase. Don't accept the first price offered, but offer something less than the label but more than you want, then get beaten down to what you want.

7. Be Patient and Polite

Never press visitors to your stalls to purchase. If you leave them alone they will eventually decide themselves whether to buy or not - they might even come back later, but not if they feel pressure. Many visit a weekend market just to look around, but if the stallholder is particularly pleasant they might decide to buy something. Selling is also about patience and being pleasant. Don't put them under pressure and never appear arrogant. Also never take advantage of ignorance, and try to get more money from somebody by persuading them that they are buying a genuine antique when it is not. That will backfire on you.

8. Bundle a Bargain

Towards weekend market closing time, separate the unsold items on your stall you want to offer next time from those you want to sell today. You could offer several special offers at half-price, or bundle them and offer similar items together at a special price.

9. Spruiking and Signs

There is nothing wrong with advertising your goods, and spruiking often pays dividends. You can successfully use corflute and other such signage, and if they attract lots of visitors to your stall them make sure you have enough change. Most will just give you a note from their wallet or purse than seek out the correct change. Additionally, if you are a good quality antique stallholder, spruiking and fluorescent signage can have very negative results so do it only where appropriate.

10. Get on a Weekend Market Directory

Finally, if you are a stallholder seeking a local market where you can offer your products, then use an online market directory to find your nearest weekend market. Make sure that you check with the organizer or market manager prior to turning up because the market details are not always the same as those advertised and it is best to make sure what you will pay for your stall and what facilities are available for you.