Selling Products at Local Flea Markets and Fairs

You can make good money selling items at local flea markets and fairs-- IF you do your research and find out (a) what items sell the best at these events and (b) what flea markets and fairs draw the largest crowds. Honestly, even before you do that, you should make sure you have the desire to make money selling at flea markets and fairs. Often, you’ll spend much of your time outside, exposed to the elements (even if you’re in a covered booth, it can be hard to get away from the heat, cold, wind, rain, etc.). You’ll spend a lot of time on your feet and a lot of time talking face-to-face with people. If that doesn’t fit your personality, then flea markets and fairs are not a good fit for you. If it is, however, you should go to the type of events you plan to sell at and see what booths are the most popular. 

At a recent Art Fair in my area, I noticed that a booth with whimsical artwork of cats and dogs was doing phenomenally well. So well, in fact, it was hard to fit into the booth to look at the artwork. I was so impressed with the crowd, I asked myself why this booth would be doing so well, when there were many, many other booths all selling artwork of various sorts. It seemed obvious to me after a little thought. Many people have at least a cat or dog. So whimsical artwork like this would be more popular than artwork featuring flowers or buildings. Many people in the booth were saying that “This painting looks like Fluffy.” Or “This one definitely looks like Buster” and the art was selling like hotcakes. 

Even better, there were various sizes and prices of art. So someone with a smaller budget could get a postcard-sized picture and someone with a larger budget could get a wall-sized piece. You should do the same type of investigation before selling something at a flea market or fair. Go and see what people are buying. What booths are packed? How is the booth set up? How do they accept payment? Checks only or do they accept credit cards? How is their pricing? Do they have competition? How do they attract attention from people walking by? These are all things to take into consideration before trying to sell anything at local flea markets or fairs. 

Once you’ve done your homework, it’s time to test your ideas regarding what will sell. I suggest starting small, without investing too much in inventory or equipment. You don’t want to spend $5,000 to $10,000 for a fully outfitted booth, complete with canopy and credit card machine, only to discover you’re only making $100 a weekend. Start small on a tiny budget and see what happens. If you find yourself selling out over and over again, invest your profits in a better booth and a merchant account to let you take credit cards. Do your research, start small, test a few things, and you could start to see nice profits from your part-time business.