I can't believe my 2nd month having a space at the Hocking Hills Antique Barn is already over! I just got my check for $98.35 in the mail - which means I fell just $16.65 short of making rent. Better than April, but still not great - especially considering I ran a week and a half long 25% off sale for Memorial Day! I figured I would sell quite a bit during that, but only sold 3 items. :(So, now I am trying to figure out what my plan of attack for June is... if I can't get it together here in the couple of months I'm going to have to give up the idea, which I really don't want to do!
First, let's look at what has sold and see if there is any pattern:
Sold in April
New In Box Horseshoes Set - $16.20
Tender Heart Care Bear Glass - $4.00
Cheer Bear Care Bear Glass - $4.00
Vintage General Electric Iron - $18.00
16 Piece Blue Flower Dish Set - $10.00
Pyrex Butterfly Gold Butter Dish - $6.00
White McCoy Pottery Planter - $7.00
Sold in May
Floral Serving Platter - $8.00
Blue & Gold Swan Figurine & Soap Dish Set - $12.00
Round Green McCoy Pottery Planter - $9.00
Set of 2 Floral Ceramic Vases - $25.00
Yellow McCoy Pottery Planter - $5.00
Wood Picnic Basket - $12.00
Vintage American Family Scale - $10.00
Green Hull Pottery Planter - $6.00
Vintage Cookie Gun - $6.00
Hull Pottery Green Drip Planter - $6.75
Blue Esmond Serving Bowl - $6.00
Well, the McCoy and Hull planters seem to be fairly popular, but to be fair I did load up my outside space with a TON of planters... Plus I priced them under $10.00, which seems to be the favorite price range of the things that have sold. In fact only 5 things I sold were over $10.00 - even during the 25% off sale the three things that sold were already under $10.00 (or less)!
I have already decided I need to go down there this week and cut some prices, and I guess looking at these results that is probably the right move. The Barn isn't a fancy antique mall, where you expect prices to be on the high end, and I guess the numbers here are proving that in general people aren't looking to spend a whole lot when they are shopping there.
Pricing things lower isn't really that big of a deal when you look at the grand scheme of things - it is less work for me to sell something at the Barn rather than online, for sure - no photos, no packaging, no marketing... Plus my commission fee is only 7%, which is less than what I pay on an eBay sale for sure. And when you figure that a good chunk of what I have for sale down there is stuff that sat online for a long time without selling, getting anything more than what I paid for it at this point is a good thing!
Other than lowering prices, the only other thing I can do is start shopping specifically with the Barn in mind - which is kind of tough at this point, since I haven't been there long enough to really get a good idea of what kind of things are selling. It all seems pretty random at this point, but maybe after another month or so I will be able to get a better handle on it...
So there's the scoop, I'll let you know how June goes - keep your fingers crossed for me!
9 comments:
Have you scoped out what others are selling and made sure to offer items that there are NOT?
Thats what I did. My antique mall wasn't selling anything funky ...as in the type of items I would buy if I shopped there...so I was able to unload a lot in under 2 months because I brought in that funkiness factor.
(By funky I mean kitschy bowling themed, tiki, cocktail shakers, mugs, wall art, vases, dishes)
Maybe there is a niche that you could tap into?
That's a good idea! I'll have a look around next time I am down there and try to figure out what's "missing"!
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Mitzi - don't forget to add each items share of the mall-space rent - so it really costs you more than 7% to sell each item. Booth rent divided by 7 items -- probably costs more than selling on eBay.
I hope it picks up for you - and thanks for being open about what you actually sold, item-wise and money-wise. I think it will help a lot of other dealers to know that someone as experienced and knowledgable as you are is still struggling to make a mall space work.
I went through the same thing with my booth at the Heart of Ohio Mall. I had the space 3 years, and pulled out last September, after my sales had dropped to a third of what they had been.
Good luck to us all! --Marianne Dow msdowantiques.com
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That's a great point Marianne, if I was in the Barn to make real money it would definitely be something to factor in.
What I am kind of looking at it as is a place to unload things that haven't sold online, or to put stuff I bought that isn't worth listing online (or is too big and hard to ship! lol)... I really just want to make rent, and if I make any more than that it's like bonus money, you know what I mean?
I didn't know you had a space at Heart Of Ohio, that's a huge mall isn't it? I've checked it out online but haven't actually made the trip to check it out in person. Sales down to 1/3 is huge - the whole mall must be hurting now, huh?
I hope sales pick up lady! Sounds like you are working hard to make it happen.
Hello Mitzi
I'm from Waterloo, Ontario.
I have 2 booths and I find mixing furniture and smalls together work well. Try to add small stools and tables. Your prices are very reasonable.
I sell mostly natural wood furniture that can be put into a home right away and corningware and pyrex dishes.
All the best, I hope it works out
Jennifer - perfectpairantiques
Hello,
I found you by clicking "Etsy" in my "interests" links on Blogger and decided to "follow" you. I would like to invite you to my new blog, "Dish."
I would love it if you would tell us something you "ate" today, and something you "made" today, at this post here:
http://dish-dish-dish.blogspot.com/2009/06/hello-and-welcome-to-my-new-blog-dish.html
See you,
Kara
Hope everything works out for you in the end. Good luck with your shop!
Nicolette
http://www.furnitureanddesignideas.com/
You did have fabulous prices! I hope it picks up for you, Do you also have your calling cards for ebay store there? I imagine folks have no idea what all you can offer them.
Smiles, Cyndi
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