Expenses

Sometimes at a show we will have someone offer us a ridiculously low amount for an item and when we turn it down inform us that we probably get our merchandise out of the garbage anyway. They seem to think we set up at these shows for free. I don't know why they feel they can be that rude to us, maybe they're like that to everyone. Anyway, what I wanted to talk about was the expense involved in selling at shows. First there's the rent itself. At small flea markets rent can be as low as $20.00 a space. For the larger shows though rent can be in the hundreds of dollars. The shows we routinely sell at range from $145.00 a space up to $260.00 a space. If the show is far from home we then have to pay for a motel room, another $65.00 to $95.00 per night. Nowadays the gas for the van is also a factor, another $20.00 - $40.00. Some vendors rent tables, electricity, table covers, etc. from the show promoters (we don't) and this adds even more expense. Then, remember that the items we have for sale were not free to us. We paid for them and when we sell something we have to subtract that cost from our profit. All in all, each shows starts with the vendors in the red, sometimes hundreds of dollars. We have to sell enough to defray all these expenses before we begin to make a profit. Please keep that it mind when you're dickering over the price on an object. It's not fun to us, we have bills to pay. My picture is of a, "Disney Dollar". These are sold at the Disney parks and can be used as money at these places. Disney collectibles are always popular.

Popularity

The Merchant Prince and I were talking the other day about why some types of collectibles stay popular for years and years and others quickly come and go. A good example is glass paperweights. These things have been around for hundreds of years, made in many, many countries and with many different designs. About ten years ago these were really the 'in' collectible. We were buying them from six or eight different studios and still couldn't keep up with the demand. Nine years ago another 'in' collectible became prominent and paperweights fell off in popularity. What we found strange at the time was that we had customers who came from three generations of the same family and they all collected them. Grandma had collected for forty years, daughter for twenty and grsnddaughter was just beginning a collection. When the popularity fell these three stopped buying. What stopped the forty year and the twenty year collectors? Strange. The paperweight I picture is from Caithness Glass in Perth, Scotland. Caithness was a premiere paperweight studio and I believe they're now out of business. Too bad, they created beauty.

Nancy Drew

The Merchant Prince and I have come to the conclusion that we're getting older and need to get rid of some of our possessions. This, of course has nothing to do with the fact that we haven't been able to fit a car inside our garage for the last fifteen years. I won't tell you our ages but our three offspring are all in their early 30's. Anyway, I've been digging through boxes in the basement (also full of who-knows-what) and came across my old collection of Nancy Drew books. My girls were never interested in them and they've been packed away for years and years. I decided to sell them on eBay and hopefully some other young girls will enjoy them. They're about halfway gone now and it has been a bit of a wrench. Reading was a large part of my childhood, it still is now, and I feel like I'm selling off some of my memories. Ah, well, you should always look forward, not behind.

Mother's Day Show

I'm not really sure what to write about today. We had the Grayslake Antique Flea Market in Grayslake, Illinois this past week-end. Weather was terrific and people came out to browse. Like I said a few days ago though people come out no matter what the weather is. There was more browsing that actual buying going on, however. Because Sunday was Mother's Day there were lots of Moms with grown children. When you do the same shows month after month you begin to recognize a lot of the people strolling down the aisles. On holidays you always see new faces, which is nice. The picture is of part of our booth at the show. We extend all the way back to the totem pole. (Which we thought we had sold at one point - darn!)

Breakage

Almost every show, either at set-up or pack-up, you will hear the crash of breaking glass. Then there will be a collective moan from dealers in the vicinity. Lsst week-end was our turn. The Merchant Prince and I were pulling something out of the side of the van when a small box toppled out with the recognizable crashing sound. It was full of china knick-knacks and everything inside had broken. Even though it was all wrapped in bubble wrap. About a $50.00 loss. Not a good way to begin a show. My picture shows a portion of the grounds at The Kane County Flea Market, St. Charles, ll. The aisles of vendors run out from the clocktower like the spokes on a wheel. Picturesque but it's kind of hard to keep your bearings.

May, Kane County Flea Market

Whew! Kane County Flea Market is over for another month. Lots and lots of people showed up but, per usual at a lot of shows lately, most didn't spend any money. The only vendors who did really well were the food vendors. The weather cooperated for the most part. All day Saturday looked like rain but it didn't happen. Sunday afternoon we began to hear thunder and then it started to really pour. The lights even went off in the building for a minute. Major storm. Since we're inside it actually helped our sales. Everyone was rushing inside to get out of the rain. The poor outside vendors waited for a break in the rain and packed up and left. All in all we did pretty well. We have been carting around this 64 lb. cast-iron mermaid that I knocked off a table onto concrete a few months ago. It broke into three pieces and needed to be welded. Any welders we asked wanted $100.00 and up to repair it. We sold it today to a man who is a welder! We sold it for what we paid for it but that's fine. We have our money back and we can use it for something else. My picture is of a badge that was a promotion by Silver Cup Bread back in 1942. They were sponsors of, "The Lone Ranger" series and sold several different collectible items back then. These are still popular but not as much as twenty years ago. The people who remember the books, radio program and t.v. show are getting old and no longer collecting.

Question On My Blog

Question: People have told me that they have tried to sign on as, "followers" on this blog and it just doesn't take. A friend of mine tries almost every time she clicks on here. Does anyone know what the problem is? It's aggravating! Kane County Flea Market is this week-end. I don't know what the weather is but we're in a building with both heat and air conditioning so it's not a big concern for us. Customers show up regardless of the weather. The only thing that seems to affect attendance is when a popular sports team (Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, etc.) is playing. Then the shows clear out a couple of hours before game time. My picture is of a little tin with, "BAMBU" embossed on the front. The man I bought it from called it a match safe and said it was to protect a book of matches. I put it on eBay and someone told me that it's actually to hold the papers used to roll your own cigarettes. Apparently Bambu makes these. Whichever, it hasn't sold yet.