November was a decent month at the booth. Decent as in, we didn’t have to pay rent this time. Decent does not equal good. It basically just means better than October. As a reminder, we have two large booths, so our rent is more than most. We sold the bumper pool table, thank goodness. That got us over the top.
Total sales amount: $718.05
Cost of goods sold: $45.25 (Not including paint)
Booth rent: $575.00
Credit card fees: $25.98 (Our mall does not take a percentage)
Net: $71.82
Yuck. Yuck, yuck, yuck!!!! If you’re thinking about getting started with a booth, don’t let this discourage you. A booth has to be worked. Tended. Cared for. It has to have enough items in there that people want.
Our mall has the most traffic I’ve EVER seen in a mall. And they buy. Our mall advertises – a lot. It’s right off the interstate, and not too terribly far from Atlanta. If you’re on the interstate or any of the major roads around, you cannot miss the billboards. As they say in their newsletters, if you’re not selling, it’s not their fault. (Well, they don’t put it quite so bluntly. They do have more tact than that.) But basically, they get the people in. It’s up to us to have things they want to buy, at a price they want to buy at and presented in a way they want to browse.
I always take full responsibility for lack of sales and have a boat load of excuses why my sales aren’t what I’d like. We live over an hour away. It’s hard to get down there and spend the day rearranging, plus we’re getting ready to move – not far from the mall… yay! – and are really busy with everything that goes along with moving. So the booth has been sorely neglected. We’ll see what happens once we live nearer. By golly, it better improve, because I’ll have lost my excuses.
Sometimes I think I don’t want the trouble of a booth and just want to put it all online. That’s where the money is, after all. Other times, I think I’d rather just put it all in the booth, poke around with it once a week and spend the rest of my time doing things like shopping, sewing, puttering around the house…… Which sounds more appealing to you? Huh? Am I a glutton for punishment? Money – or the hope of – usually wins in the end and I keep pounding away at online selling.
But I’ve yacked enough. Here’s the booth sales report for November:
I used to collect cottage prints, but don’t have them out anymore. I might regret selling them off, but here’s one that sold in November.
Oval cottage print
$6.00
I thought about selling this online, but if I remember right, never could get a decent picture, so I put it in the booth.
Rusty Iron Hook
$7.00
These bowls came from my dad’s. I’m pretty sure his second wife bought them from Kirkland’s or somewhere like that sometime between 2000 and 2011.
Blue and White Bowls
$5.00 each
We put this bumper pool/card/dining table and chairs from my dad’s in the booth a couple of weeks too late for the college kids furnishing their apartments, therefore, it sat and sat and sat. I reduced and reduced again. Finally, someone recognized it for the bargain it was and bought it.
Bumper Pool Table
$299.00
I loved this little fan vase, but it took a long time to sell. Maybe it was too small and was overlooked? It’s a big mall with so much stuff your eyes get tired.
Mint Green Pottery Fan Vase
$8.00
When I bought this chalkboard line drawer – draw-er – the lady said she had been a teacher and it was ooolllld. Hmmm… Really? I’ve had an old one before. This one looked newer to me. Oh well. I bought it. And sold it in the booth.
Chalkboard Line Draw-er
$5.00
Lane Cedar Jewelry Chest
$10.00
White Rectangular Planter
$14.00
Remember the French horn pricing snafu from last month? There was one left and it sold in November.
French Horn For Decorating
$12.00
This mixing bowl had a small chip on the side. Basically, it was some missing green a little larger than a pinhead. I never got a picture of it not sitting in the other SARA bowl that sold last month, nor do I remember the brand of bowl it was. Pyrex?? Something else? And there was a smaller bowl that I bought with it. Where in the world is it now? Did I sell it already?? Ah, the mysteries of life.
Mystery Brand Green Mixing Bowl With A Chip On the Side
$7.00
Usually, if I’m not confident in the age of something or even 100% certain what it is, I’ll just put it in the booth and let the shoppers decide rather than sell it online and have someone return it because it wasn’t what I said it was. That was the case with this coverlet. I was pretty sure it was an antique linsey-woolsey – Linsey-woolsey is a weave of linen and wool – but was it really antique? Or could it have been from the 1930’s? Was it really linsey-woolsey? Or was it an imitation? It felt real. It’s called overshot, right? I was 95% sure about it, but that doubt had me. I decided to put it in the booth and priced it at $68.00. Someone did buy it and took the 10% discount.
Oh, and this could have been bought at one of our estate sales on half-price day for $10.00. I’m sure no one knew what it was.
Another thing about this, it was first hurriedly displayed in the booth on top of a small stack of quilts. When I went back in a week later, the stack was all kinds of messed up. I split those babies up. Put them all in different spots. This one sold first. I wish I had taken a better picture of it. Also, it had a quarter size hole in it next to the price tag.
Linsey-woolsey Overshot Coverlet
$61.20
I considered putting this glass box on Etsy, but there were several on there and they didn’t sell for much, so I figured it’d be less trouble to take it to the booth. It actually sold within a week or two.
Glass Trinket Box
$12.00
I found this at a tiny “yard sale” that was really a tiny estate sale. It was a rainy morning in July. I was the first person there. Yippee! It wasn’t loaded with great things, but I did well. There were things on the porch like this pedestal and some things on a table in the teensy living room and things on the counter and wall in the kitchen/eating area. I bought their only light source in the living room. Haven’t got it out for sale yet. I’m gonna just go ahead and tell you, this RRP (Robinson Ransbottom) pedestal cost a dollar. It’s a couple of feet tall. I took this picture but took it upside down and it’s the only one I can find. Never got a picture of it in the booth.
Ransbottom Pedestal
$57.00
Not pictured:
Microwave cart from my parents’ $25.00
Small, chippy column $25.00
6 cans of paint
December sales are already better than November’s total, but still, nothing to get excited about. Stay tuned in January to see how it pans out!
Sounds like you did pretty good with sales if you didn’t have to consider rent. Drat. There’s a lot to be said for having a booth, but we came to the conclusion that the only person making money in a booth was the mall owner…LOL.
So anyway, I’ve never heard of “Ransbottom.” I’ll have to look out for that.
You did good on the game table, and love the little cottage print oval.
Thanks for sharing your experience selling your stuff. I am just starting out and I am hungry for what to sell in my booth and how much to charge and where to find items to sell.
Hi Ginger and thanks! It’s addicting and challenging at times. And we can never get enough of learning what other people are selling. Or I can’t, anyway. I wish fantastic sales for you! Don’t get discouraged in the down months. There will be ups and downs. Always remember to look at the big picture.