Pricing suggestions, need advice

stuckeytabitha

I have a booth at a very large "garage sale" type venue. Similar to a swap meet/flea market, but it's mainly used items from hundreds of booths and is advertised as "Portland's Largest Garage Sale". I am selling several different things, some new, some used. I bought several cases of General Merchandise Shelf Pulls. The items are "end cap" items or the impulse buys that are placed at the check out stands at grocery stores and Wal-Mart type places. Items include things like small toys, balloons, kitchen gadgets & utensils, grill accessories, travel bottles, etc. prices range from $1 to $7 retail. I'm going to put colored stickers on them and have a sign that says what color is what price and then put the items in bins by price. I'm wanting to be consistent so I was thinking about pricing something like this:

Retail $1-$2....... I charge $.50

Retail $2-$3........ I charge $.75

Retail $3-$4......... I charge $1

Higher than $4 I was thinking I could set out of the bins on a table and price at a percentage off (60% off retail?)

I realize it depends on market and other factors, but in general, does this sound like a good strategy? I want to make sure my prices reflect Garage Sale prices, even though it's new merchandise. I'm mainly using these items to draw people in when they see the signs advertising such low prices so they will hopefully buy other items too.

Any feedback??? Thanks!!

irene_salehoo

Hi stuckeytabitha,

That sounds fantastic to me. :) Only that I cannot really assess if the pricing you have planned is competitive, only you can tell based on the brand and the quality versus how much they are going for retail at the nearest store. As long as they provide a good bargain to the customers, and your profit is in place, I think your garage sale will be a hit. :)

fm1234

That sounds great Tabitha. It's a stragey I've used myself, when I was in giftware and collectibles -- I sold all animal-themed stuff at the time, and my booth was flanked with cheap impulse buy items priced at or around a dollar (most of which I didn't even buy at a wholesaler -- just bought them in bags from Oriental Trading.) It's a strategy that worked both in terms of foot traffic capturing, and even making money off of the items.

If I may make one suggestion, any item that you sell for less than $1 should also have a discounted price for x quantity for either $1 or $5 -- you might be suprised how many people will simply not make a purchase in a flea market, because they don't feel like digging for change, or waiting for change. Same with items priced over $1 but less than $5 -- make a quantity deal at $5 or $10.

Frank

fudjj

Also to add to Franks point about volume, two for one offers have worked for years, of course very popular on late night television still today, perhaps more popular than ever today.

It's the same principal as bundling, people love a bargain, whether they really need what they are buying or not, the thought of a bargain is very effective at loosing purse strings :)

People always know people and like to share a good deal with friends and family, so you always have a chance of multiple sales on an item where you offer an enticement such as a volume discount.

stuckeytabitha

Thank you all for the input. I'm very excited to see how it plays out. Pricing is the hardest part for me. I'm too indecisive and question myself too much, so input and reassurance is super helpful! I want to be sure I price high enough to allow for those who want to do some negotiating, but not be so high that people loose interest. I've got some pre-owned clothes as well that I'm trying to price fairly but am nervouse I'm pricing too high and people won't bother trying to negotiate. Would it be bad to have a sign saying "some prices are negotiable"? There will be some that are not, but most will have wiggle room. I read that with clothes that are nice and a good brand, I should be about half of what Goodwill would charge. I will take your advice if offer deals for more purchases. I always do that on eBay with shipping discounts. I have some baby and kid socks also that I can price $1 for 1 (3 pack), $3 for 4 (3 packs) or something like that. Maybe with the used clothes I could offer $.10 off the total for each additional piece purchased?? E.g...5 shirts at $1 each will get $.40 ($.10 for each one after the first) off and only pay $4.60. But I'm thinking people will offer less than priced for the clothes and if I bargain and lower the price, I wouldn't want to also give a discount, so maybe it's better to not offer the savings, but just be willing to negotiate on price??

fm1234

Tabitha,

I want to be sure I price high enough to allow for those who want to do some negotiating

Price it so that all negotiation leads to quantity buys, even if you're practically giving the stuff away. In a flea market, there's a pyschological trigger of sorts going on when one person sees another person loading up an armload of whatevers at a booth. It generates peeks, and of course peeks are what you need in a flea market.

Would it be bad to have a sign saying "some prices are negotiable"?

You'd get better results out of a sign which reads "Punch me in the head! I'm into that!" Seriously. You will enjoy getting repeatedly punched in the head by random passersby more than you will enjoy what happens if you put up a big sign which says, in essence, that you do not know what any of your stuff is worth, but that you welcome suggestions.

I have some baby and kid socks also that I can price $1 for 1 (3 pack), $3 for 4 (3 packs) or something like that.

Wherever possible, try to round it to "the next bill up" eg. $1 for one three-pack, $5 for seven; or $5 for five plus a FREE (whatever, something on which you've got the margin to count it as a profit.)

Maybe with the used clothes I could offer $.10 off the total for each additional piece purchased?? E.g...5 shirts at $1 each will get $.40 ($.10 for each one after the first) off and only pay $4.60.

Flea market traffic isn't like web shopper traffic, where people have three different shops open in browser windows and are figuring out which credit card has the better miles awards on it. It's people with some cash in their pocket, looking for one thing and inclined for impulse buys. Just round it up -- don't be afraid of quantities. "Who needs ten shirts?" Well, this woman, and her sister, and her other sister, and her friend Fran, collectively need ten shirts. This kind of mentality is far more common in a f.m. environment than the obsessive penny counter. Buy a bunch, save a bunch.

Come to think of it "Buy a Bunch - Save a Bunch!" might make a better banner than "Punch Me! I'm Into That!" )

But I'm thinking people will offer less than priced for the clothes and if I bargain and lower the price, I wouldn't want to also give a discount, so maybe it's better to not offer the savings, but just be willing to negotiate on price??

People are going to want to negotiate with you, and trust me when I say that you never want to tell them "no." If you don't like what they're offering, offer them a quantity discount, grouped items, similar but cheaper item, etc. I know that this might sound weird, but make them tell you "no." Offer them one or two options if you don't like their offer, including simply countering with a slightly higher price. But always leave them to be the ones who say no, can't do that, sorry.

I'm all excited about this meet -- can't wait to hear how it turns out for you.

Frank

stuckeytabitha

Thanks Frank for all of the great input as well as the sense if humor about it all!

I'm curious, what "animal themed" things did you sell? You mentioned that in your earlier post.

I would love to find a venue I could use more regularly such as a flea market, but the only big flea market I've found is not at all what I am used to. I wouldnt be able to have a booth without a translator, seriously. I didn't see any transactions happening in English. And the items were not what I am used to in a flea market. For now I have these big events scheduled every 3-4 months but continue to search for something to use regularly. There ate some an hour r two away, but I don't have the means to transport large amounts regularly. I will be borrowing a vehicle for my event next month. We shall see....,

fm1234

I'm curious, what "animal themed" things did you sell? You mentioned that in your earlier post.

It started out with figurines, realistic ones from Conversation Concepts and artsy/cutesy ones from this Peruvian crafts company I found at a trade show in Atlanta. I spread it out from there to all kinds of stuff, from sub-$1 impulse buys to $100-$300 limited pieces from United Design, Living Stone and other big names in that field (sadly, both of those companies are out of business, but they did make some wonderful products.) From there I added tee shirts, posters, books, I kept taking over neighbour booths that had emptied and moving to better spots until I had a gigantic aisle-end booth, and eventually moved out of that into a retail storefront.

Sort of a hobby that went vastly out of hand; it was never hugely profitable in terms of actual net income, but the inventory turned over well, and I was kind of obsessed with changing the displays. Having animals grouped in "themes" each week led to a huge number of people stopping by just to see what I had done with the animals that week, telling friends about it etc.

I'm still kind of obsessed with that stuff -- I managed to pass it on to my kids, so we have bins of Schleich, Safari Ltd. etc. animals we're always breaking out and playing with )

Frank

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