Trying something different

[Dennisfm56]

This isn't your typical consignment shop. For the same cost as a typical craft fair in this neck of the woods I have a small presence in NH's largest shopping mall as well as the Facebook page of the store. I actually don't start until February 1st, but have already made back 1st months rent and a bit more. If you are in the area still a few spots available.  https://manchestercraftmarket.com/

[kmmcrafts]

I did the same thing about 6-8 years ago at a local craft mall type store.. They had different price levels and I choose a pretty big spot.. I made first months rent... It was a 6 month contract.. I got in before the holidays and lasted through to March.. First month was the only month I made rent and made a little extra above that.. BUT that was the only month I made extra and only one other month did I get even close to rent.. I had a lot cheaper price points back then.. Maybe the shoppers didn't think my stuff had any value.. I often wonder if I was to try again now that I have some experience with selling... I think the bigger issue was not enough foot traffic. Some things came up missing.. and a couple things got broken.. the store takes no responsibility for these things.. so it was a chance... I think first months sales was from the other vendors coming to restock their things... My wife would spend money shopping around when we went to check on our stuff.. We were to clean / dust etc our spot so we went every week or two and tidy up the area.. Maybe if I would have " changed " out some of my offerings.. I could have done more sales but honestly doubt I could have done much better.. 

Good luck with your sales and hopefully nobody walks off with stuff..

P.S. My brother lives in Bristol NH.. Not sure where that is in relation to him.. He runs his own woodworking business and does some flea markets in the area.. His main business is Guitar Cabs.. and a side gig at some clubs playing bass guitar in a band.. He has a website, etsy, and eBay..  TRM Guitar Cabs is his website    

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

This was the same type of consignment stores I was in. I was in 3 of the largest malls in NJ and 2 stores in each mall. Most malls have 2 levels so they split and took a store on each level. I did very well when it was run by the original owners because they were passionate about what they offered. Went down hill when they sold off the business and I had to pull out tof there because of theft and broken items.  You do need to tidy the spot and keep inventory. My owners would call when there were low or when an order would come in. They took the sale along with the tax and at the end of the month I got a check. Worked very well for me. Just around Christmas time I was a mad man supplying the stores and doing 6 shows. Was alot younger then too. It can work so good luck. 

[Dennisfm56]

3 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

I did the same thing about 6-8 years ago at a local craft mall type store.. They had different price levels and I choose a pretty big spot.. I made first months rent... It was a 6 month contract.. I got in before the holidays and lasted through to March.. First month was the only month I made rent and made a little extra above that.. BUT that was the only month I made extra and only one other month did I get even close to rent.. I had a lot cheaper price points back then.. Maybe the shoppers didn't think my stuff had any value.. I often wonder if I was to try again now that I have some experience with selling... I think the bigger issue was not enough foot traffic. Some things came up missing.. and a couple things got broken.. the store takes no responsibility for these things.. so it was a chance... I think first months sales was from the other vendors coming to restock their things... My wife would spend money shopping around when we went to check on our stuff.. We were to clean / dust etc our spot so we went every week or two and tidy up the area.. Maybe if I would have " changed " out some of my offerings.. I could have done more sales but honestly doubt I could have done much better.. 

Good luck with your sales and hopefully nobody walks off with stuff..

P.S. My brother lives in Bristol NH.. Not sure where that is in relation to him.. He runs his own woodworking business and does some flea markets in the area.. His main business is Guitar Cabs.. and a side gig at some clubs playing bass guitar in a band.. He has a website, etsy, and eBay..  TRM Guitar Cabs is his website    

Your brother is a fair amount north and as far as foot traffic, it's in a good spot. It's a month to month contract so, easy enough to get out.  As far as theft, eh, I'm a hobbyist and if I make rent and pay for more materials, I'll be a happy camper.

 

[Dennisfm56]

3 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

This was the same type of consignment stores I was in. I was in 3 of the largest malls in NJ and 2 stores in each mall. Most malls have 2 levels so they split and took a store on each level. I did very well when it was run by the original owners because they were passionate about what they offered. Went down hill when they sold off the business and I had to pull out tof there because of theft and broken items.  You do need to tidy the spot and keep inventory. My owners would call when there were low or when an order would come in. They took the sale along with the tax and at the end of the month I got a check. Worked very well for me. Just around Christmas time I was a mad man supplying the stores and doing 6 shows. Was alot younger then too. It can work so good luck. 

Part of the contract is that you need to come in once a week and I'm retired, so no problem there. As long as Jessica remains the owner, I feel good about the place. Month to month contract, so for what I'm paying, feel pretty confident.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

42 minutes ago, Dennisfm56 said:

Part of the contract is that you need to come in once a week and I'm retired, so no problem there. As long as Jessica remains the owner, I feel good about the place. Month to month contract, so for what I'm paying, feel pretty confident.

That was the way I was set up too. month to month and we were able to choose the size of the spot. It is a nice way to pick up some cash and not have to be there. I actually enjoyed my time in the stores. problem too was and is today malls are not what they use to be, even around the holidays. Now its a kids hangout. I did also a consignment store in town and that did not do well so pulled out of there quick and they closed rather quick too. Those use to pop up in towns all the time when crafts were really big. Unless you did crafts back in the 70 and 80's  people here have no idea what it was like and that includes selling on line. No clue whatsoever. I read the stories here and laugh. The internet was not big, crafts of all kinds were the rage, craft shows were not as many and the ones around were waiting lines to get admitted. Have no idea!!! No Amazons, no Hobby Lobbys, no walmarts, no clue. The good old days. Pattern makers were far and few. Yes the $ value was less or more depending how you view the dollar these days.  but you did sell more for sure.  

Good luck with the project and have a diversity of items, it will help sales for sure. 

[Puzzleguy]

We did the same thing but quite a few years ago , the store started out good -

and then out of the blue they closed a few months latter with out warning -

We knew one of the workers their who gave us the heads up and we pulled out most of it.

out before they closed , but many of the venders didnt do as well ( thou we did loose some of our stock ) - from what i heard

the owners of the mall were not receiving the rent so they took the inventory

We were lucky and wrote this off as an education -

We are very leary of commision sales unless we know the people well !