So as I mentioned a few weeks back I was tiring of my retail job, and I needed to take this vintage and antique business up a notch. My house was quickly overfilling with unique items that I loved, but didn't have room for. I decided to look into the antique mall situation around me. I wasn't sure quite what I wanted to do- consign, sell to a dealer, keep everything online- or set up a little corner in an antiques mall. As of right now I decided to do some things online (etsy & ebay), and set up shop in an antiques mall for other items.
After googling my different options I found a quaint little town somewhat near me that is known to be an antiquing hot spot. I took a little day trip to the town and looked at the multitude of galleries on the Main strip. Since I'm just getting started I didn't want to go with a super fancy almost snobby type of store. Most that I went in to were extremely cluttered and the staff were mediocre to snooty. But then I went into an eclectic and laid back little shop that held my interest for over an hour. I bought a lot of vintage clothing and costume jewelry, and the elderly gentleman that was at the cashier looked like a modern Mark Twain. I felt super comfortable asking him questions. And he was quirky and funny and very nice. I took one of their business cards, as I did from a few other shops. I contacted the owners of a few of the shops in the town, and the only one that had an immediate opening was the shop I liked best!
This was the point I had to decide if setting up shop was for me. I did a lot of on-line research and I talked to a few fellow dealers at the shop. It didn't sound like a cake walk, but it sounded like a good learning experience. So I jumped on in. Most shops charge a monthly stall rent, along with a commission on top of everything that you sell. The shop I went with charged the monthly rent, plus 10% commission, and they charge 3% for any sales made by credit card. But they handle all the sales tax mumbo jumbo. You want to make sure that you take this all into consideration when you are pricing your items. Plus keep in mind most places will give a cash discount to customers.
After putting a deposit down, I rented a cargo van and enlisted the help of my brother to help me move my stuff into the shop. It went pretty smoothly. I would like to get some better shelving, and a locking cabinet for higher end items. But I'm sure that will all come with time. Up top is a photo of my spot right after we set it up. I will try my best to keep posting what I learn from my shop and any helpful tips for other new dealers out there!
