Antique Booth Mistake #1 - Why You Aren't Making Money in Your Antique Mall

(previously recorded LIVE) In this series, I talk through 5 of the more common reasons you may not be making money in your antique booth or vendor business.
In this video I talk about how your location just may be the #1 thing that is holding your antique booth business down!
You can find the other videos in the series here:
Antique Booth Mistake #2: • Antique Booth Mistake ...
Antique Booth Mistake #3: • Antique Booth Mistake ...
Antique Booth Mistake #4: COMING SOON
Antique Booth Mistake #5: COMING SOON
Hopefully this helps!
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lostandfoundvi...
Are you feeling stuck in your business? Maybe not seeing the profits or income you want, or struggling to even start?
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I have spent 11 years successfully running my own small, home-based business and would love to help you with yours!
Whether you are . . .
Looking to get your furniture painting business up and running
Struggling to get the sales you want in your antique booth
Needing help with how to make social media actually work for your business
Trying to launch into online sales
Wanting to open that dream brick and mortar
I would be honored to help!
You would be surprised at what we could accomplish together in an hour one-on-one call. I will help you give focused attention to your business so you can walk away with an action plan or greater clarity on how to solve your problems and move forward.

[@jubileenine]

I am about to open my first vendor booth and I have watched every single you tube video I could find on the subject. Your content is, hands down, the most informative out there! Thanks 😊

[@LostFoundDecor]

So glad you found it helpful!

[@eryngarcia9040]

Thank you for your wealth of information! We have 3 antique malls & when choosing my location, I remembered how much of a burden I felt for asking the man running the mall to unlock a case for me. And the whole mall is in locked cases! SO! That one may be cheaper per square foot, but if *I* won't buy anything there for fear of upsetting the dragon at the desk, how will my customers? Great tip.

[@LostFoundDecor]

Exactly! That’s the perfect observation :)

[@patmorrison474]

Thank you so much for your information. It was invaluable to a person like myself who just opened up a antique display case 1 month ago. I can't wait for your next video. Again, thank you

[@Mizfashionablylate]

Yes i need to find a different place to sell at. in the mean time i'm going to incorporate more antiques into my space

[@LostFoundDecor]

Awesome! The right place can make all the difference :)

[@marleangreene6117]

Totally agree , i have a mobile boutique / resale shop at my home in red oak tx & i do pretty good

[@katdelrio5316]

Every antique mall in my area (good or bad) has long waiting lists of 60 people or more. I live in WI and really don't want to travel an hour or more in the winter to stock a booth. But have had to look further and further away from my town due to these waiting lists. It's very frustrating. On the flipside junking, antiques, etc seem to be very popular all over Wisconsin. But prices are really competitive here because of it. 🤷‍♀️

[@LostFoundDecor]

That sounds like a tough situation! I would hop on a waiting list anyway if you can, in my experience those are often “flexible” and if you can show you will be a great booth owner, you can move up quickly :)

[@katdelrio5316]

@@LostFoundDecor I am on their lists. And I've participated in any pop up opportunities they host. There's just so much competition. Trying to find creative ways to stand out.

[@LostFoundDecor]

@@katdelrio5316 How is your social media game? I've had good luck connecting with customers directly and building my brand through social media :)

[@katdelrio5316]

@@LostFoundDecor to be honest? Not awesome. Lol. I post on FB Marketplace and Instagram when I do a show. But I'm not into doing Facebook/Instagram lives. Don't have enough followers or know where to start. But I may have to go that route. We have a huge 4 stall car garage. So I turned 1 stall into a "booth" of sorts. I built 2 "walls" with gorgeous vintage doors, and put drop cloth on the other side to hide my work shop. People seemed to like it last weekend when I tried a pop up at home. 🤷‍♀️ Thank you for taking the time to respond. That's very kind of you. 😊

[@Vahso]

Great information! I’m also in the Dallas metro. I’m still a novice at this at this booth thing, but taking some great notes.🥰 It’s so true about what you said about location. I’m at the Mall, that I believe is closer to you. This location is better for me, because my target audience is there. Although, I started out trying to aim for the older crowd…my business has been thriving towards a younger audience. So, I had to completely change me business model. Which is perfect for me, because It’s exactly what I wanted to do….not what I thought I needed to do. Thank you again for the great information!

[@LostFoundDecor]

You’re so welcome!

[@sherrygann9122]

Thank you so much for inspiring me to try some things different!

[@kathienorthcott6196]

You are definitely a wealth of knowledge! Thanks for all the pertinent information!

[@debbiedeaton8721]

After many booths and many locations I will have to say, do not ever go into business with a friend! Every booth I had with a friend, my taste was upper classic type furniture, paintings, etc. My friend however did not want to sell nice items. She liked to sell “fix up” types of items and unfortunately did not help. I usually did well and sold many items which she seldom sold anything. I am telling you are totally right, it is about location and spending more on your booth rental. Do a market study on the type of clientele come in the majority of the surrounding businesses.

[@LostFoundDecor]

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and experience! We can all benefit more when we pass along what we’ve learned 😊

[@jessiehanson134]

Great information! Thank you!

[@toonman361]

I'd like to hear your take on marketing to men vs women. I am often frustrated that many antique stores cater to women. I'm thinking women may have difficulty in understanding what kinds of vintage or antiques men might be interested in.

[@LostFoundDecor]

That's a great question to discuss! I can totally see your point, as most of my customers are female. What I see it boiling down to really is nailing down your target customer--if it is men, then you need to make sure your space is appealing to what men in your area are shopping for. If it's women, then you need to appeal to their interests. I do think men and women tend to shop for different things in antique stores, so as a booth owner, you need to decide who you are targeting, or who is mainly coming to your mall, and build your booth around that audience. If there are as many men shopping in your mall as women, then booth owners are missing out on opportunities if their entire booth space is floral and shabby chic white!

[@karen.asecondchance]

All of your videos are so informative. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge. I am a newbie with my first booth for about six weeks. I wish I had found information about your boot camp earlier. Where can I sign up for the next course?

[@LostFoundDecor]

Bootcamp is actually open now! It’s closing the end of August and we will no longer be offering the course. But you can jump in now and maintain lifetime access to the videos and training :) lostandfounddecor.shop/products/booth-seller-bootcamp

[@PaintedPonyFurniture]

Thank you for all of the great information!

[@cherylatkinson9083]

Thank you for all this information

[@LostFoundDecor]

You are so welcome!

[@hwy138]

I see other people are saying covid slowed their sales . Not us ! We have been kickin ass the whole time. Where we live most people commute a long way for work and since they have been home either working from home or on unemployment sales are fabulous . Also they could not go anywhere or do anything else. No gong out to eat no movies. Our demographics has changed here too and we have seen a trend the last few years with our large Hispanic population. They love well made old furniture ! And will pay top dollar for it .

[@homebodyheaven6114]

Glad I just found you! I have my name on the list at The Painted Tree. I have very nice decorative vintage items and all in perfect condition. I have failed twice at a very junky mall near me and once in a glass case at the end of a row in a high end mall. Now I’m worried about The Painted Tree because it’s mostly new home decor that just looks vintage, plus new clothes etc. what to do?

[@LostFoundDecor]

Hi! I understand exactly what you are saying! I do think the Painted Trees are great locations overall-they are clean, well staged, and well advertised! They do tend to attract more “new” shoppers though. So I suggest finding a few wholesale sources you like and mixing some new in with your old. Make sure your old is staged in a decorative way-show the shoppers how they can use your awesome finds. You’ll do great!

[@nickituschmann46]

Great video

[@hwy138]

There is only one antique mall in our area. Population is more than 400,000 people. I pay 475.00 for a 10 x 20 , a 3 x 8 and a wall shelf. I never make very much but it has been better since covid because people were home from work . I have been renting from this owner for 19 years . I have had bigger booths smaller booths , I have been all over the store . not moving again. We have 75 dealers , 11,000 sq. feet and we are are a real antique store . And vintage as in vintage toys albums and mid century . The guy right in front of my booth is making 2,000 a month every month selling only 1980's and 90 's toy figurines . I hate it but it brings a lot of people to my booth .

[@LostFoundDecor]

that sounds like a great location!

[@cherylatkinson9083]

I just moved out of a space that was not a good location but now I'm in a good space but my booth is tiny.

[@LostFoundDecor]

My first "good" mall was in a very small space as well! Glad you found a good location to sell from. That's a huge difference make

[@630sunshine]

I’ve been doing well for past few years but things aren’t what they used to be due to covid. Any suggestions on how to increase sales during these times?

[@LostFoundDecor]

I feel you Mary. Have you considered doing Live sales on your Facebook or social media? That's one way we've been able to still connect and keeps sales up in the middle of Covid.

[@whywhy8693]

I’m getting ready to open my booth. I’m terrified and excited. What do suggest I do with the really rare breakables? I have this gorgeous hand painted hurricane lamp that is very fragile. I’m nervous to just have it out on a shelf. Should I get a locking display cabinet? Also, do you get your items appraised and insured? The owner of the mall recommended I get insurance for my items. I would like the added comfort but I’m nervous how much appraisals and insurance will cost.

[@LostFoundDecor]

Hi Jen! Congrats on your new booth space! I usually sold more of what I call “junk-tiques”, items that were mostly decorative and not of real collectible value. Anything though that is fragile and does have a high collectible value, like your lamp, I would put in a locked case. I do know that items can get easily damaged and unfortunately lots of theft is common in malls. So a locked case for you sounds like a good idea :)

[@vintijeffect6384]

Arkansan here ✋🏻

[@LostFoundDecor]

Hi there! Thanks for watching :)

[@630sunshine]

I was doing well for past few years. Then covid hit. Sales are down. Any suggestions on how to boost sales during these times?

[@LostFoundDecor]

That's hard Mary. I know tons of people have been affected by COVID! I just did another video & article the other day that talks about ways you can boost your sales. You can check it out here www.lostandfounddecor.com/4-ways-to-boost-antique-booth-sales/ Some of them are about display, but there are also some "virtual" things you can do as well to help people shop even with COVID limitations. Let me know what you think

[@630sunshine]

@@LostFoundDecor Hi Melanie, thanks for getting back to me. Watched the link you sent. Very helpful. I would like to talk to you more about the live videos. I was in your boot camp a couple of years ago. Would it benefit me to retake it? Also, how can we chat about live videos? Again,Thank you