I decided to make myself book a flea market spot and go through the hassle, to remind myself how hard it is to get rid of stuff, and how much money is spent on a bit of this and a bit of that. How many items do I need to sell to make a 100 euros?
During the 10 day period I made 590 euros after the 49 euro fee plus 5% commission they take. I spent maybe around 15 euros extra for gas to go there so that would reduce the profit to 575 euros. I tried to combine the trips to the flea market with other errands and it wasn't that far.
The cheapest item was 1 euro and the most expensive was 45 euros (which was a brand new, still in package Fiskars axe I had got as a gift but already had the exact same one). I sold 85 items in total, so on average I made about 6,75 euros per item. I didn't take time so I don't how many hours I spent sorting and pricing and taking the things there. Anyway, I feel like it was definitely worth it.
That being said, I don't really feel like ever doing this again. Going forward, I will keep a donations bag like I used to, which will get donated once it is full. For a flea market to be worth it, you have to have quite a bit of stuff to sell, as the table itself costs money. I made nice hang tags for the clothes and some other stuff, on some things I just put the price sticker on. So all that pricing, getting the sticker sheets from the flea market, making the hang tags and attaching everything to the items took time. Oh, and wrapping the delicate items so they won't break. I also went to the flea market a few times to take more stuff as things sold and freed up space, and to put things back nicely. People just leave clothes in a rumply pile..
I was pondering about doing another 10 day round, but I would have had to wait five weeks with all the stuff in my house, in my way. Finally I said, no way! If I had lots of extra space out of sight, then perhaps. I figured that I wouldn't make as much money from the second round, and it just wasn't worth it to keep all this stuff at my home for five more weeks and do all the work pricing and packing and hauling it.. I loaded up everything in my car and I will take it to the donations place tomorrow. All in all, I probably decluttered 15 Ikea bags full of stuff, some of it being the fabrics I gave away previously.
What I have learned from the few times I have sold at flea markets, is to price low in the beginning. Price things at least 25% lower than you would ideally like to get from them. Price the items so that you yourself would see them as a good find! Not what is the top price you could imagine getting for them. You might get that if you sell online and have the time to wait for someone willing to pay that much, but at a fleamarket with very limited time, you are not very likely to sell items at top price.
If you price the things lower, you are going to sell more, thus making more money in one go. I made more money during the 4-day period I had everything -50%, than during the first 6 days at my initial price.
I have a few more items I want to sell, but I'm doing it online.
This definitely motivated me to get back on the decluttered life, and a reminder not to let stuff creep in!
***
I just came back from the donation center. DD wanted to do something, so I asked if she was up for a drive there and back. She could check the free book section while I unloaded the bags and boxes.
It really is a weight off my shoulders -and my car :D Tomorrow I will take out some recycling and trash, mail a package, be home for a pick-up of another thing I sold, and hopefully vacuum clean a bit! My carpets are full of cat hair, yo.
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