i don't really know the difference between a flea market in the states compared to the one here in germany. but considering that this is my first time actually selling something in a flea market, it was an interesting experience. i had a few items to sell and mainly it was nicole's stuff that we were trying to sell. in preparations for moving out of this apartment, there were tons of things we needed to get rid of. nicole's already sold a bicycle (70 EUR), a sofa bed (also 70 EUR), some winter tires and wheels (FREE), and a pretty ugly white closet/sideboard thing (FREE). i would have actually PAID someone to come get those tires and closet so it was good that someone took them. of course, we still need to sell our kitchen (on ebay).
some things i noticed about the flea market:
1. they have portable toilets available just like you'd find anywhere else, but you actually pay 30 cents to use them. there's a guy outside who takes your money and after you're done, he goes in there and actually sprays and wipes the toilet AND floor. he doesn't empty out the toilet or anything, but it's pretty cool nonetheless. he also sold some snacks on the side =).
2. there are some professional merchants at a flea market. you can tell based on their setup and their products and how they go about it. they have things to hang their clothes, prices on their products, and also a lockbox for their money. and they also have a table cloth on top of their table. on the other hand, you can tell we were first timers based on the fact that we only had a folding table, a ziploc bag for our money, and we used grocery shopping carts to display some of our clothes on hangers. not sure if there's such a thing as a ghetto flea market stand, but after today, i'd say we just defined it.
3. it cost us 12.50 EUR to have a 2.5 meter table, but they found out our table was actually 3 meters so they charged another 6 EUR. you could pay more to have your car there with you, which considering the weather, i would have done it. but i didn't know about it. we were in a "METRO" store parking lot, which is a lot like SAM's wholesale club in the states. they're closed on sundays, much like all other stores in germany, so this is when they have flea markets. funny thing is that we live about 2 minutes from this place and not once did i even know this was happening on sundays here.
4. we were there starting at 6:30am to get the "prime" location spot and there were already tons of other merchants setting up. we got a pretty good location in the front. the market actually opens at 9am, but there were already many people wanting some of our stuff. i had a rice cooker for sale. of course i wanted top money for it so i started out with 20 EUR. most of them just gave me the WTF look. some probably even said it in german, who knows. but the market didn't open for another 2 hours and i figured these were the 'professional' negotiators. i wasn't afraid of them though! i stood firm. i said 20 EUR, they said 10 EUR, then i said get out of here!
then they would ask what the "final price" was and i would say 20 EUR. they would leave in disgust but the more they wanted to lower the price, the more valuable that rice cooker became. some lady even said, "well the store right here sells it for a lower price, you're crazy!" so i said, "that store opens on monday so why don't you just buy it there." it probably would have made more of an impact had i said it in german, but it made me feel good nonetheless.
5. i had an H&M suit that i wanted to sell for 15 EUR. lots of people were interested. but they wanted it for 10 EUR. in some ways i think it's all the negotiation and the game. i wasn't playing that game though and was adamant at my prices. maybe i don't understand this flea market thing, but an H&M suit for 15 EUR was already a steal. it has pants AND a jacket and the dry cleaner tag was still on there!! and i only wore it once for a shooting (and the only problem i have with it is that it's purple when photographed, but looks black when not).
but some items were going for 3 EUR and people would negotiate 2.50. it's like, really? 50 cents? this lady wanted to haggle for a box of puzzles and she didn't want it for 3 EUR. she said maybe it's not complete. i told her we bought it brand new for 20 EUR so even if it wasn't complete, she's still getting a bargain. that probably wasn't a good idea because she left after i said that. anyway, she came back a few hours later and this time, nicole talked to her. nicole made her feel "important" and was giving her the "wow, you do this 1000 piece puzzle by yourself?" the old lady was all smiley and stuff. she actually bought the puzzle, but somehow she still weasled her way into getting it for 2.50 instead of 3 EUR. and then she had the audacity to ask us for a bag to carry it in!
we were there between 6:30am and 1pm. i could have used a little bit more sunshine and warmth. standing there for that long will freeze your butt off. the guy next to us actually had some really cool things. he used to be a photographer so he had all these old OLD cameras. i wanted some of them, but i figured i shouldn't cause i'm at a flea market as a SELLER. no need to add new junk when you're trying to get rid of some already. but after a while, i finally caved in on this awesome camera lighter =) between this camera lighter and a few pastries and cups of tea and what i actually sold, i think i netted about fifty cents total. nicole, however, was a pro for sure. she even sold the gloves she was wearing for 15 EUR. we were both a little skeptical but the funny thing is that everytime we left our gloves on the table by accident, people actually wanted them! overall, she netted about 100 EUR (appx $130) for selling some of her clothes. and she even sold the rice cooker for 13 EUR after she threw in a few boxes of puzzles.
now if we can just move the kitchen...
