FASHION: How to run a market stall on a budget

So recently
my friend and I decided to run our own vintage stall at a local market called
Granny Would be Proud in Glasgow’s Hillhead Bookclub venue. We both have
collected a huge amount of clothing over the years so thought we would set up a
stall to clear some space as well as make some extra money. The stall was a
success so I thought I would write a little blog with some hints and tips on
what I learned from the experience.

1. Find a
prime location

So first things first where will you set up?
This is a crucial aspect of setting up a stall as it is important for the location of your
stall to be accessible to potential customers as well as to you as a seller. We
looked at a number of different companies which organised market events however
many were expensive or were only open to businesses. We found Granny Would Be Proud
market and decided this would be the best option as the event is held in
Glasgow’s West end and has grown in popularity over the years. In addition, the
organisers of the event charged £25 for 6ft space including a table which was
ideal for our stall as this is very cheap especially as we were both
contributing to the fee.

2. Organise
and plan

This may
seem obvious but on the day of the market  being as prepared as possible is key as it is essential to set up quickly in order to be
ready for customers arriving. Writing a list of everything you may need as a
customer yourself is one way to make sure you have all the small essentials
such as price tags, plastic bags, rails and a mirror for example. 

3. Market
and Promote

It is
important for any brand to market itself and even though we were only running a
stall we thought it was important to promote ourselves so that people knew what
sort of items we planned to sell and where to find us. As we were on a budget we decided to set up a Facebook event page inviting all
of our friends and family, as well as, making sure the event was made public. On the
week running up to the market stall we posted photos of some of our items and
this helped in encouraging people to come along as they could see what type of
pieces we had for sale.

4. Consider Payment Methods and Display

In this day and age majority of people tend to carry around less cash and pay with card. Taking this into consideration we decided to use iZettle which is app that lets sellers use a small card reader through your phone to make card payments. The app was really simple to use and was definitely worth the charge as many customers paid with card as they had no cash on them. Following this, we made signs that informed customers that they could pay with card and also used signage to display the prices of our items. We also used a mannequin to showcase some of the clothes and displayed the shoes and bags in interesting ways to further attract customers.

5. Evaluate and Reflect

Lastly, it is important to make a note of everything that was sold at the market stall. This is because it will give an idea of what type of items sell in future and how much customers are willing to spend. The first market will never be perfect so evaluating and learning from mistakes made are crucial in order to run a successful market stall in the future.

Hope this was somewhat helpful!

Carole

xoxo