OT selling at flea markets

[Jcfowler6]

I’ve sold things at flea markets before. I find it more effective than selling things thru a yard sale for example. I’ve never done set up specifically for cards and/or baseball memorabilia.

There are a couple of well attended flea markets in my area. I’d like to make a few bucks and use the funds to buy a couple cards I would like and to fix my muffler on the old beater.

I was wondering what experiences have you guys had selling either good or bad. What are pitfalls I should be aware of and if you have any tips for having a good experience.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Jon

Card pic just for fun.




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[steve B]

Bring someone who is tough but doesn't look like a card seller.

I used to sell at a flea market about every other year.
One year I went with my family who had stuff to sell as well.
Not much action at first, I decided to take a walk and see what I can find.
Told Mom, who is actually pretty tough that basically "these five cards I won't budge on, the rest if an offer seems reasonable just sell it. " It was mostly easily replaced stuff.
checked out a couple aisles, and when I came back mom said " go check out more aisles" why? "See that guy over there looking at necklaces a doilies? " Yeah? "He's hovering until you go away so he can take advantage of the old lady"
Ok, went and checked out the rest of the smallish flea market.

She sold maybe $200 of barely passable stuff, ALL of it for full price!
Card marked $10 hey, will you take $3 for this? "Oh I couldn't, those are my sons cards and he'd be mad if I sold them for less"
Geeeezz mom, that actually worked?! Yep.

Also, bring a huge box of junk wax stuff if you have it. No sales most of the day, then my favorite of the whole day. Kid came, looked and asked how much the cards in the big box were. Usually a nickel each.. Ok, how many can I get for this? Shows something like 37 cents in nickels and pennies.
Hey, I'll make you a deal, but it's got to be ok with mom or dad. (Kid was around 6) Mom shows up right after and he said he wanted cards. Told her I had a special deal for him, but it would be up to her as the cleaning up at home might get a bit complicated. Sure, what's the deal.
Ok kid, for this much (takes 15cents) you can have as many cards as you can hold in both hands. Do you have a favorite team or player? I'll help you look.
Kid did a nice job, managed a couple hundred cards.
I gave him a bag for them and a couple old star cards that were g-vg but great players as a bonus.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Make sure you have protection from the sun. One bright afternoon in direct sun can cause noticeable fading.

[chalupacollects]

Unfortunately you will need to be diligent about theft...

[icurnmedic]

Been a while but I recall the top loaders getting very "gritty" , if that is a word.

[Theodderthebetter]

I sell at flea markets about 5 times a year. I no longer sell at shows due to the inventory I have and the price of tables. I try to sell a little below market so that there is meat on the bone for the next guy. No one is the end collector anymore. Everyone is looking to make money. I also like to carry a lot of $10-$20 items. No brainer items that they dont have to think about how much they are spending. If you take all high end things you may sit there all day and not sell anything. I try to move around to different markets so my stuff is fresh at every market. If you bring the same stuff to the same market it wont sell after it has been picked over. I like to make a little a lot of times rather than make a lot once. I end up with guys looking for me. I hope this helps. I will really depend on your inventory.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by icurnmedic

Been a while but I recall the top loaders getting very "gritty" , if that is a word.

[Tony Gordon]

I've been setting up at flea markets since the 1970's. Back then, flea markets were like card shows because there were so many vendors selling cards. Not so much these days. Now there are more guys looking for man-cave items than for cards. I do well with posters and framed photos. Junk wax and sets do well. Flea markets are the only place where I can get rid of that stuff. I learned the hard way not to bring out anything in top loaders or binders with plastic pages. Those things will melt.

My flea market set up and my card show set up are totally different. I don't bring out anything of value to a flea market because flea market customers just won't pay. When someone asks me for vintage cards at a flea market I hand them a flyer for a card show where I'm a dealer. I've actually gotten some dedicated card show customers this way.

[Jcfowler6]

Great tips guys. I really appreciate it.

The man cave stuff looked pennants flew out. The odd ball items went very well. No junk wax sold although I gave packs to kids that drew dads into the table and they bought other stuff.


And I sold 30 of my wife’s masks which she loved.

I sold a good amount of $10-20 cards. A binder of commons from the ‘70s went fast.

Back at it tomorrow at a different location.

Regards

Jon


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[bmattioli]

You are lucky you have Flea Markets to attend. Here in CT they are very limited, like one that I know of.

They can be hit or miss as a buyer and seller. Be prepared to haggle but if you do you can get a following if you sell multiple times.. I love them and search every weekend before all this happened. I miss them..

Good luck!

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by bmattioli

You are lucky you have Flea Markets to attend. Here in CT they are very limited, like one that I know of.

They can be hit or miss as a buyer and seller. Be prepared to haggle but if you do you can get a following if you sell multiple times.. I love them and search every weekend before all this happened. I miss them..

Good luck!

You can get to Brimfield in less than an hour from Hartford. I would guess not happening in July, but September may still go. You would just need to find a good field somewhere near the middle of the action, fairly close to J&J, the first one on the left as you enter from the east on Rt 20.

Obviously affected by the current chaos, but check this out:

https://vacationidea.com/connecticut...a-markets.html

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Michael B

You can get to Brimfield in less than an hour from Hartford. I would guess not happening in July, but September may still go. You would just need to find a good field somewhere near the middle of the action, fairly close to J&J, the first one on the left as you enter from the east on Rt 20.

Obviously affected by the current chaos, but check this out:

https://vacationidea.com/connecticut...a-markets.html

Elephants trunk is good.

Woodbury used to be really good, when it was in an ex gravel bank behind an A+W. I went there when I was a kid, and that's where I'd go when I was in CT to visit family. The A+W sold out to a driving range, with a contracted deal to always allow the flea market. Then it became a drive in that changed hands a few times, went out of business, got bought by a developer who booted the flea market and built a pretty strip mall type place.
They moved to the restaurant lawn/extra parking, but it's really small. Maybe 20 dealers on a good day, and not all of them have old stuff of any sort. It probably isn't worth the drive from Hartford.

[Jcfowler6]

If I were to do regular shows and flea markets what is the best way to acquire inventory? Obviously things would have to have room on them. I was able to grab a few bargains at the end of the flea market this weekend. But What is more reliable?

Thanks for any insight.

Jon


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[wdwfan]

I've set up at a couple of different flea markets selling mainly cards and other memorabilia and random stuff (video games, comic books, Pokemon cards, etc.).

The first I was in a glass case up by the cash regsiter, and I had players stacks of the popular players of the time. Had stacks of Rangers, Astros, Cowboys, Mavericks and then guys like Trout, Griffey, Jeter, Ripken, etc. All cards were label with sticker prices to make it easy for the person manning the cash register. If someone had questions, then they had my cell and could call. I only went up there to restock, rearrange, etc. And do rearrange every so often. Nothing like a stale booth at a flea market.

The second one I just got out of. It was in a back room at a flea market, and was not manned. I had hot wheels, lower end of of course, again some player/team stacks of the local favorites and popular players and then random boxes/sets from the 1980s/1990s. Those seemed to sell the best.

I'd ask $20 per set (usually like 1988 Topps, 1989 Fleer, 1990 Score, etc.) and sold several of them. I had boxes of the same type of product for $25, and they seemed to sell well. I didn't mind not having someone watching over it every minute of the day until I got hit with theft.

I had a couple of Doncic graded BGS 9 rookie inserts, a Nolan Ryan autographed GUd JSY card and other stuff. Someone walked off with the Doncic and the Ryans. The owner wound up paying me out of her pocket, but I was really devastated. I also felt like I was to blame for it becuase I didn't think someone would steal cards in a small town flea market.

[wdwfan]

Look for lots/collections on here, Facebook, eBay, Blowout, etc. I know people offer to pay around 20-25% less than eBay on stuff like this. Their intention is to sell a little over eBay. I would price my stuff about 15-20% over eBay. I feel that is fair to pay to be able to inspect before buying, walk out with it in hand, etc. Some people still wanted to pay under eBay, but I wouldn't deal with those. It's not much of a profit, but it's a start.

Originally Posted by Jcfowler6

If I were to do regular shows and flea markets what is the best way to acquire inventory? Obviously things would have to have room on them. I was able to grab a few bargains at the end of the flea market this weekend. But What is more reliable?

Thanks for any insight.

Jon


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[steve B]

A friend of mine picked up 30,000+ cards for free from one of the town facebook sites. They were listed as on the porch for free.

For low end inventory that sort of thing seems like a good angle, but the really cheap stuff goes very quickly.

Of course, it was all junkwax stuff, plus a couple 3200 count boxes or Star Trek card game cards. I had a look at it, found a stack of maybe 200 cards with the sort of weird things I collect. I made an offer for the batch, but he said he knew how much I packratted stuff and wouldn't be an enabler.
He did get $10 more from someone, so it all worked out.


Other than that, put up a sign saying you're also buying cards.
Scan Ebay for lots that have better breakup value.
Swap local team cards with other people, like 100 Redsox cards for 100 Reds cards.
Even hobby auctions can have resellable lots. Things like 100 T206s, most only g-vg.

The trick is knowing what will sell, and what you can pay for it.

[Leon]

Make money on the buy. Great thoughts on selling!

Originally Posted by steve B

A friend of mine picked up 30,000+ cards for free from one of the town facebook sites. They were listed as on the porch for free.

For low end inventory that sort of thing seems like a good angle, but the really cheap stuff goes very quickly.

Of course, it was all junkwax stuff, plus a couple 3200 count boxes or Star Trek card game cards. I had a look at it, found a stack of maybe 200 cards with the sort of weird things I collect. I made an offer for the batch, but he said he knew how much I packratted stuff and wouldn't be an enabler.
He did get $10 more from someone, so it all worked out.


Other than that, put up a sign saying you're also buying cards.
Scan Ebay for lots that have better breakup value.
Swap local team cards with other people, like 100 Redsox cards for 100 Reds cards.
Even hobby auctions can have resellable lots. Things like 100 T206s, most only g-vg.

The trick is knowing what will sell, and what you can pay for it.