r/Flipping • u/blink-wave182 • 13h ago
Discussion Is an antique booth worth it?
Hi! I am considering a booth rental that is available at an antique store near me. $2 per sq foot. I can’t remember the size of the booth but we estimate it would be around $200 per month for the space we looked at.
My current online niche is curated plate walls with eclectic mismatched vintage china. I also make and sell water color prints in vintage frames. But I do a lot of thrifting and estate sales and I always see stuff that I know would do well in a booth, but I don’t have the space at home.
Is it big furniture that keeps a booth rental worth it? What sells?!
Thanks for any insight. Worried about it being a flop!
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u/Generic_Midwesterner Selling Silly Stuff 13h ago
Talk to the vendors that are there -- they're the best source of info, not Reddit.
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u/DoorSufficient2346 12h ago
It heavily depends on the location. I would recommend going there on and off for a few days and see what the foot traffic is like too. We have two antique malls near us and one is ghost town while the other always has people walking around. See what booths are already there to gauge competition for the stuff you want to sell, but if there's a lot of the same stuff that might be what sells there. From what I've seen you want a mixture cheap(but good quality) and expensive items. I would imagine the cheap stuff covers rent and then the occasional expensive purchase is the bonus.
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u/bernmont2016 13h ago
$2 per sq foot. I can’t remember the size of the booth but we estimate it would be around $200 per month
Sounds like it's probably a 10x10ft space, then.
Is it big furniture that keeps a booth rental worth it?
Big furniture in antique mall booths might occasionally sell, but a lot of vendors price their furniture high because they don't reeeally want to sell it, they're using it to display their smaller items and it would be a hassle to replace it. Some of the furniture will even be marked "not for sale".
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u/Guilty-Bookkeeper837 12h ago
Not where I am, no. The stuff in your pics ends up at flea markets.
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u/pepperpotsdecreme 12h ago
Same in my area - and most the flea market people are resellers looking for uber low priced merch for their flipping.
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u/Primary-Basket3416 13h ago
Location, what the public is buying and overhead. The cost of item, marking it up enough to cover your booth space, taxes, other incendentals, yet still under a competitors price. Never use your own monies. If booth cannot pay for itself, time to get out. And dont expect a pay check for your labor.
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u/pepperpotsdecreme 11h ago
In my area, the largest antique mall requires all items in all booths to be vintage, so your plates and frames would would qualify, but your paintings would not as you are making them currently.
Rent: if rent is about $200 @ $2/sf, the space is approx. 10' x 10' - about the size of a very small bedroom.
Popularity: Every area is different. Antiquing used to be hugely popular here - now, not at all. Dishware sells maybe 10% - 15% of the time - no one wants it, including decorative pieces. Again, this is my area; comments in other posts have said dishware and dolls do well, but not here.
People locally with antique booths don't do it for the money - they can't bc it doesn't pay anything; as another comment said, your labor will be free - and that includes sourcing, stocking, styling, researching, pricing, sales, customer service, marketing and advertising, paperwork including applications, permits, licenses, insurance, taxes and any city, county and state requirements.
So, yes - if you have a lot of free time and don't need money to pay rent - go for it! 🙂
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u/frivolities 11h ago
So at $200/mo plus the cost of your items themselves plus the time it takes for you to refresh your booth - that’s the dollar amount per month you need to figure out.
I paid $400/mo for my antique booth space. I did it for 2 months before I got sick and had to have surgery. So in those two months, I had $800 in rent. I had approx $400 in sales. My cost of those products was approx $200. So I ended up technically losing $600 in those two months even tho I was getting sales. That’s not even factoring the time I was in there, which was 3-4 evenings a week. It’s not a money maker unless you are the store owner.
If you live in a highly dense area and the prices are reasonable, maybe. But I’d consider selling online, spending $0 on antique store rent, and profiting on your items.
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u/launachgewahren 11h ago
I had a booth in Portland Oregon and, even with the highest sales among 100+ vendors, it was not worth it in the end.
$2/sq ft might be doable though, especially if you’re swapping time you’re spending selling online with selling at a booth. Ours was $4.50, plus 15% commission. It was originally much less, but the mall got new owners that suddenly doubled our rent and suddenly it was not worth it.
Anyways, it’s a lot of work, especially if you only sell small low-profit items. For me, selling at least one piece of larger furniture a month was the best! It’s good to put a piece in your booth, and advertise it on Marketplace too. Always have the next piece ready to take its place. China was difficult to sell in my area. Art sold well. BOOKS sold shockingly well.
If I were you, I would try to find vendors at that mall to talk to. Maybe go in on a weekday at opening and see if anyone’s there restocking.
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u/UsefulFisherman1958 10h ago
Your plate walls look like the strongest reason to try a booth, not big furniture. Before signing, ask if you can hang displays and what mounting system they allow. If the plates have to sit flat on a table, they take up a lot of space and lose the effect that makes them stand out.
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u/spencerelwin 12h ago
All about the location $200 for a 10x10 ft space seems extremely cheap. Need a lot of foot traffic
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u/liverswithfavabeans 11h ago
Can you ask any current vendors whether you can decorate a wall in their space? Maybe give them like $50 and test out your idea see if anything sells?
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u/andrewmassey00 10h ago
at 200 a month you'd need to clear way more than that in sales, so I'd ask the store owner what the average booth there sells per month before signing
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u/Skittler_On_The_Roof 6h ago
This isn't eBay. You need to know the demographics of who's walking into that mall, and why they're there. Unlike eBay, you can't just put something up knowing that the niche of buyers will find it. You need to know the buyers there and hit that niche.
Some antique malls attract high dollar buyers for architectural salvage. Some cater to bargain hunters wanting a constant flea market of cheap used stuff. Some are packed with old ladies looking for high end knicknacks, China, etc. Some have Millenials looking for their old toys.
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u/Express-Ad503 6h ago
Spend as much time in a shop before renting. Look for %off sale signs. Notice if the merchandise is being replenished or is it dusty. I did pretty good for a while but got tired of having to go to the shop all the time. We live about 30 mins from the closest town. Been doing eBay for several years. Definitely better profit on eBay. It’s hard to find quality merch because every person having a garage sale has a smart phone with the eBay app. “It’s listed on eBay for $xx…”. Ugh😑
Make sure and read the fine print on the lease before you sign. It’s hard to make a good profit if you are paying rent, a percentage, and a credit card fee. Some even charge a fee for supplies.
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u/sniperking1926 8h ago
It really depends on the location. I would definitely stop in and really take notice what people are buying.
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u/mrpotatonutz 5h ago
It is but you need good inventory, things like what you have in the pics are hard to sell imo. I have 2 spots and I do well on them but you need to tend to it often and source quality items because you are competing with every other booth there
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u/Roast_Beefy_O_Weefy 13h ago
Heavily depends on your location. What does or doesn't sell at an antique store varies a LOT. Local sellers will give you better advice than redditors on this one.