Recently I mentioned that I am always on the lookout for prime locations for new shop space. Today I want to discuss what to look for when you, as an aspiring Antique Vendor, are scoping out space in an Antique Mall.

Of all the business models I’ve experimented with, I tend to like the Antique Mall (sometimes called a Group Shop) best. But how does one choose? Here’s what I look for when searching for a new home for my Vendor space.

Antique Shop Owner

I look for a like-minded person who conveys an aura of hospitality. After all, this isn’t just junk. I offer unique artifacts used to create a warm and inviting atmosphere in someone’s home. I look for friendliness, creativity, and enthusiasm. Does the shopkeeper love what she does? Does she appreciate and see the charm of these rusty items, or does she just see a pile of junk for sale? Is the owner hard working?

The owner should be the face of the business, not an absentee landlord. Is she dependable, is she open when she says she’s going to be open? Are the shop hours sufficient to capture impulse shoppers and regulars alike? Is she savvy, fair and trustworthy in business dealings with vendors and customers?

Antique Mall Location

If an antique shop is a destination unto itself, it can reside in the woods, far up a back road. But most shops benefit from high visibility to get their customer traffic. Does the shop you occupy have high visibility and a pleasant outside aesthetic? Does the building have curb appeal? How about adequate parking for vendors to load and unload product, and plenty of space for customers, so they aren’t intimidated by the lack of parking spaces, and keep on driving to another shop a few miles up the road.

Proximity to Home

Ideally your shop space is close enough to home that you can service your space one or two times a week. By that I mean, replenish stock that has left a gaping hole in your displays, or remove an item that has simply taken up space for the past month, with little or no interest from buyers. Sometime it may be to simply “Fluff it up”, because you were driving by.

You may choose to have more than one antique shop. Presently I have one space 20 minutes from home, and I have another one a half-hour in the opposite direction. This is very manageable, though it would be ideal if they were in the same direction, because I could hit them both in the same day.

There have been times when the ideal store for me has been over an hour drive from home. When business is booming, this is OK, but if business is marginal, a two-hour round trip, gasoline, tolls and more can quickly make the situation intolerable.

Vendor Churn

Visit the shop several times. Observe how many empty spaces there are. How many booths are offering steep discounts, or moving sales? If that number is high, that is not good. Is there a waiting list to get space? If so, that may be a good sign. It means people aren’t eager to leave. Are a disproportionate number of the booths occupied by the owner? If so, it might mean that they can’t satisfy enough vendors to keep them in the shop.

Customer Traffic

We already addressed automotive traffic in the previous section, but what about customer traffic? Is the parking lot always empty when you drive by? When you stop in the store to look around, are you the only customer in the store for 20-30 minutes? If so, beware. The more eyeballs that see your stuff, the better chance you have of selling. If no one’s there, no one’s buying. If you see customers, observe whether they buy, or simply kick the tires and walk out empty-handed.

Days and Hours Open for Business

How many days a week a this antique mall is open for business can vary. Is the shop open on weekends? What time does it open? If it only opens at noon, that might be problematic. Does the shopkeeper view this as a real business (moving inventory and profitability), or is it a hobby (labor of love and a social outlet). I would suggest you don’t want to bet your bottom line with a hobbyist.

In recent years I’ve observed some shop owners strive to create a sense of scarcity, being open only one weekend a month. Yes, two days only. These are marketed as “events”. Such a business model does tend to stimulate a great deal of traffic and shopping activity in a short period of time. However, if you wish to participate in such a venture, there is a great deal of work involved in getting all your product to the shop for two days, and then removing it all to bring back to your own storage for the next 28 days.

Web & Social Media Presence

The olden days of advertising in a monthly regional antique/collectible dealer newspaper are history. Yes, some still exist, but they are expensive, and they are seldom timely. Does your antique mall still send expensive post cards to your mailbox to stick on your fridge to remind you of the big event on Black Friday? Does your shop owner have an e-mail list? Even better – does the shop owner allow you to collect e-mail subscribers within your own booth?

Good shops have a professional Facebook page and manage it daily to keep readers interested in the new arrival of products, and to constantly remind shoppers that cool stuff is “hit or miss”, so you gotta keep on top of things for fear of missing out (FOMO). In addition to Facebook, better shops have their own website, and their own domain.  And the best shops use Facebook and their webpage in concert with professional e-mail reminders of special events and to create a tribe of savvy shoppers, who get the news first on new arrivals.

Price Points & Customer Demographics

Some markets cater to a higher-end clientele that have no issue with paying premium pricing. Other markets prefer moderate/fair pricing. Others, are just plain cheap, avoid these at all costs. If a shop is perceived as simply an indoor flea market or yard sale – run! These shoppers place no value on what you have, all they want to do is deal. I could include links to sites or Facebook pages that would illustrate each of these scenarios, but I don’t want the negativity.

Often times this is less a matter of geography and more of a mindset conveyed by the shopkeeper. Which leads to my next point.

Beware of the “Sale Mentality”

Some shop owners think having a “Sale” is the way to drive business. They are eager to promote “Sales” to get buyers into the door, to buy your stuff at a discount. But the shop owner is still getting full price on the rent from all the vendors. Some even expect vendors to be on site to help “man the store”. If you pay rent, then have to discount your products, bake cookies and work at the counter, then I have a cheaper business model for you. Put your stuff on the curb with a “Free Stuff” sign on it. It will be much less work, for the same profit.

Similar Design Aesthetics

If you step into a shop and the booths all look just a little too similar, odds are that the owner is occupying most of the space. If the booths vary in the types of collections and presentations, then this visual diversity suggests many creative vendors are present.

Either way, you want to be in a space with similar quality merchandise. You want variety, yet similar. You want to see merchandise that is clean, gently worn to show its age and character, yet serviceable or displayable.

Summary

There you have it. 10 tips about what I look for when I’m scouting out new antique shop space. These are not hard and fast rules, but they are guidelines that will give you a starting point when you begin exploring antique mall alternatives in your area.

If you have any additional ideas to share, please add them to the comments section below.

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So what do you plan to do with yourself? How will you occupy yourself? Are you planing to travel? Are you moving to Florida?

Over the past month I have heard all these questions, and more. A month ago I told my colleagues I was leaving the Farm. My husband and I planned our retirements for the end of June.

Today is a big day. It is my first day of retirement. No more 9-5 job.

I received a nice send-off from my friends at the Farm yesterday. I enjoyed many people there, but it is time for something new.

Perhaps it is better stated, it is time for a new approach to something else.

A New Day Means Re-inventing Suzanne’s Cottage

Over the past five years I have split my time between my farm job and my “Junk Business”. During that time I have had varying degrees of success, but nothing lasts forever. I’ve tried consignment, group shops, Co-ops, yard sales and flea markets.

Shops come and go. Owners come and go. Business climates come and go. I have never been able to stay in one location for more than a year, and then it’s time to look around. I’m constantly scouting new locations. I am constantly forced to re-think things and “re-invent” myself.

The upside of this is that I have made many friends and I have established a remarkable network of dealers, vendors, and shop owners. The downside is that one cannot grow complacent, and change is always in play.

Solo or Not

People often tell me I should open my own shop. That holds no appeal to me whatsoever. I enjoy the freedom to scour the countryside, looking at shops, meeting people, searching for treasures to repurpose for home or for sale.

This business is a creative and social outlet for me. I have no desire to be captive in a store on a beautiful summer day (that is why I no longer work at the farm). I also do not want to be a slave to office hours for 4 to 7 days a week. I don’t want to worry about rent, electric bills, payroll, schedules, heating and air conditioning, snow plowing and shoveling, advertising, etc. You get the idea.

Of all the business models I’ve experimented with, I tend to like the Group Shop best. But how does one choose? What do I look for in a new shop? Well that is what I write about in the next post, because this was just too lengthy for one article.

So next week I will hit on the following points:

1. Owner
2. Location
3. Vendor Churn
4. Customer Traffic
5. Days Open for Business
6. Web and Social Media Presence
7. Price Points & Customer Demographics
8. Similar Design Aesthetics

I’m excited about the next installment. It’s 95% complete, and once the minor tweaking is done, it will be published.

Until then, please feel free to comment and share.

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Suzanne’s Cottage is chock full of cool and interesting stuff. My style will never be called “Minimalist”. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Layers of color and texture, combined with seasonal changes, can make for a lot of “stuff”.

I know. I have bins of spring, summer, fall and winter items, that come out throughout the year. And of course I am constantly adding more to the mix. A newly found treasure becomes the anchor for a new vignette in the living room, and the old anchor is relegated to the basement.

At some point, you have more stuff than you know what to do with. Perhaps your style has evolved and a piece no longer appeals to you. But the piece is still a cool relic of days gone by, and you do not want to see it trashed.

So what can you do with this  good old stuff that is no longer relevant to you?  Well here are some tips.

Give it Away

This one sounds easy, and it is.

1. I’ll bet you have a lady friend who might love this item. Call her, or drop her a message to see if she wants it.
2. Put it on the street. Just  place it by the curb, with a large sign that screams “FREE!” at passersby.
3. Look for a swap table. Our local Transfer Station (old timers still call it the dump) has a swap shed, where people drop off serviceable items for anyone to claim. I give and I get.
4. Third, donate to charity. I have a church bin a half mile from my house. Or donate to the Salvation Army.

Sell it

1. Have a yard sale.
2. Rent space at a Flea Market
3. Put the item in a shop on Consignment.
4. Rent shop space in a Group Shop.

If you’re like me, you are sentimental about cool old treasures, even if you have no need for them. You want these things to find a good home, where they will be appreciated and given a new lease on life.

How much Time do You have?

Curb Side giveaway is quick and easy. When Charles and I moved years ago, we had tons of stuff, we had lived there for 30+ years. We sorted our stuff and placed it by the side of the road. We grabbed a cup of coffee and stood in the front window and watched the fun.

Within 15 minutes a few kids with a couple pickup trucks took away every item we had set out, from an old couch, to tables, to large stereo speakers. We made some kid’s day by furnishing his apartment in a single stop.

Personal giveaways can be quick, but it is essential to set a time frame to pick up. You will be amazed how many people will say they want something, then you will have to bug them for weeks to pick it up. The whole point is to get it OUT of your house. “Mary, if you want the love seat, you have to get it out of here, no later than Saturday, or it’s going to the dump.” (yeah, it’s tough love. If you’re not comfortable with this, blame it on your husband, that’s what I do.).

Charity is also easy, but you have to be able to haul much of it away. Drop off at bins is quick and easy. For large items, you may be able to schedule pick-up with Salvation Army, or St. Vincent de Paul Society, etc.

All three of these “giveaway” options are simple, because they are free. In an upcoming blog post, I’ll write about the nuances of selling stuff. It gets a bit complicated. It’s not overwhelming, but you need to be prepared to work.

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