I stopped by the Green Shag Market this morning before work to check the state of my booth since I knew the Sater leather sofa was sold and was supposed to be picked up this week and the spider leg table was also gone. I wanted to see what kinda situation I was going to have to deal with this weekend.
In an effort to support full disclosure I must add here that I was ready to place the Sater Sofa in the
booth (#5) in such a way that it would be relatively easy to pull back out. Dan, one of the owner /
operators of The Green Shag Market antique mall, helped me bring in the sofa last week and had
suggested a more complicated / sophisticated arrangement and I conceded that it would look better.
Unfortunately the arrangement placed the sofa in the back of the the space, behind lots of other stuff,
all of which would have to be moved again in order to remove the sofa.
The booth as it stands (this and the photo above)!
This was not my ideal setup but I try to keep in mind that I am not a god and that others can have good
ideas too and that I should sometimes even implement such ideas and maybe learn a little something along
the way. Humility can be a virtue, and guess what - that sofa sold Quick! I think even Dan would admit
that the arrangement he was going for didn't work out perfectly since I just had too much stuff in the
booth at the time, but it's hard to argue with the results!
See the the leather Sater sofa stuffed way back in there! It's gone.
I'm just glad that I didn't have to be there to excavate the sofa for the buyer. It was a lot of work getting
it in there and I'm sure Dan and Karen expended lots of time and energy moving everything out of the
way, pulling the sofa and then taking the time to artfully re-arrange the entire booth! That's dedication
to your craft and speaks to their quality as business associates. I've never sold from any of the other
antique malls around town but I do have to wonder if I could hope for the same consideration from
their staff.
When I first decided to take the plunge and take a booth at an antique mall I was very apprehensive.
I can't say that I was certain the venture would be a success and I was afraid that I would just end up
paying rent on a small storage space. The first month was a little shaky and my fears were not allayed
right away, but now I feel like I can just about relax and claim a modest amount of success.
Some not so small amount of that success I feel can be attributed to the friendly...almost family,
environment that pervades The Green Shag Market antique mall. Of course I recommend anybody
who loves vintage stop by and do a little shopping but also, anybody who's thinking about sticking
their toe into selling vintage, drop by and have a talk with the staff. Go ahead and fill out an application
for a space, it won't obligate you to anything but it will afford you the opportunity to get your feet wet
when a space opens up.
My old space - 44 - new digs for a new vendor!
And yes, there is a waiting list. I had to wait about 4 months to get in. And really, I think this is good
advice for anybody in any city or area. Go find an antique mall that you like, that you feel like you can
hang out with the staff in and get your app. in! My plan was for 3 months and if it didn't look like I
was going to sell very well after that, pack it in. Thankfully that hasn't been the story I'm sharing with
you today!
I agree with you about the GSM. The whole crew routinely go above and beyond for both shoppers and sellers.
ReplyDeleteYou plug and show pictures of the other booths, they just want to thank you.
ReplyDeleteI have been catching up on my reading after the holidays and ran across this blog. I myself have been interested in a booth but have been astounded at the prices in the Dallas area. Plus they want you to work a couple days and they take a percentage of your sales. Seems a bit steep to me. What would say is the average cost at a decent mall based on your experience????
ReplyDeleteDiane
Honey Stop The Car @ Etsy.com