Pros and Cons

Hi all. I'm hoping to start an Antique Mall. Needing information on what you think would make a Antique Mall successful or not. And what would make Dealers jobs easier

Thanks- Joseph

 

I read somewhere years ago the average sale in most places like that is $10. Rare is a successful mall that is high priced,unless of course the area you open it in is wealthy. Dont let your vendors cram their booths to the point you cant walk in it,thats a huge turn off. Dont let your vendors have those godawful soaps and candles that are everywhere now ! Art rarely if ever sells,dont know why but it seems that way. Theres so many factors its almost impossible to make any real suggestions. I would also suggest that if you base paying your rent on vendors fees you might have to rethink it.Sometimes they dont pay,or leave or even die. Plus high booth rent will scare off many potential vendors. Im curious,how big a place are you talking ? Is it in a good area or marginal ?

 

GREAT question!! And WELCOME to ANTIQUERS!! I'll wait to see some of the other responses, but johnnycb's got some great points too!!! What general area are you talking about?

 

location , location , location......
the ones in Plymouth Ma. do quite well....but the winter is slower..

 

You want to make a name for Yourself-Literally ! A business sign folks won't forget when they're back in Weehauken or Mud-Duck Wisconsin.
I remember a place in Petaluma,CA named 'Dead People's Stuff',a memorable but also welcoming title like that will surely help when it comes to making your new enterprise a shopping landmark and treasured memory.

 

Make sure you locate in a place with PARKING. Nobody is hauling a big chunk of glass or an antique couch five blocks on foot. Having another draw in the area helps too. I'd even think of locating in the middle of a pile of medical offices. They're closed weekends, but while they're open anyone and everyone would have to drive right by the shop.

 

Welcome Joseph-You're among family here,and this is great bunch to pose this question to.
Here's a few hopefully humbly given suggestions-
1. Have folks at the front counter who really enjoy people & are naturals at customer service.You don't want folks standing there while Erma's spending 15 minutes telling Mildred about her gall bladder surgery.
2.Encourage your dealers to bring in new items every week-keep inventory fresh !
3.Don't have dealers falling in love with every item they sell-it's got to be priced to move.If it doesn't move in say 30 days,cut the friggin' price to guarantee it does.
4.Try to have each dealer stock a case of $1 to $5 items,stuff that'll make customers go-'Well,I really don't need this-but for 2 bucks !?'
5.Have a few really fine & rare things in prominent places around the store-mind blowing 'eye candy'. Even a few 'Not For Sale Items' that are just there to spice up the joint,any more than just a few will simply infuriate clients.
6.I'll pick just about anywhere-but some folks don't want to go digging thru dust-bunnies & spider nests.Those were just the kind of joints i grew up in.
7.Location (re Komo)-More dealers in one area simply attracts more Antiquers.It means more competition-but more foot traffic for you ! It doesn't have to be a swanky adress-just a safe comfy one.Of course there are some great finds to be had in joints run by pawnbrokers & fences,but Ma & Pa Kettle aren't going to go crawling thru all the fentanyl freaks & tweakers.Plus,nobody needs to have their car windows smashed-too high a price for a Soaky Toy.
8.Do allow dealers to offer a 10-20% off discount in certain circumstances.This used to be common in shops 5-10 years ago,not as much anymore (?).
9.***Joke but true ! This last one's quite SILLY,Bad Business and isn't replicable. Honestly in the last 50 years-The ONE THING that will keep me coming back to a shop for years is paying $15 for a $1500 Item.I'm like a homing pigeon Zombie searching for his brains when it happens.20 years later & never found another deal-but i just can't stop-absurd but honest !
BEST OF LUCK JOSEPH !
PS-There's a million other good tips our members can share with you,they've walked the road Brother.

 

That is great advice, I'm going to open shop in Hoover Alabama. Instead of hosting vendors that sell antiques. It will all be musical instruments or music related things. It will be in the same style as a traditional antique mall just different inventory. It hasnt been done before, but I believe there is a market for it.

 

It will be Hoover Alabama which is typically good traffic

 

Memphis maybe..!

but even with Birmingham close by.....I'm not seeing a rich musical heritage that would draw folks to a musical mall in that area.

" It will all be musical instruments or music related things"

And imo, that there is pretty vague .....

 

You may find that limiting yourself to one type of item is limiting your success. For instance, I know a lot of antique dealers and I frequent shows and shops, but I'm not at all interested in musical antiques. If you want that to be a main theme, okay, but you really need variety. There's probably a good reason it's never been done before.

 

Ditto.
Music-related is pretty extreme limiting, you need to be known nationwide to make that a succes. Besides, how many vendors will you get who have such a specialisation, and want to sell in an antique mall too?

 

If is difficult to support an open shop of any sort with such a narrow specialization. You will be competing with well established used instrument vendors online. Music may be your passion, but you need to appeal to a wide audience if you hope to depend on actual foot traffic.

 

Thirded, fourthed, or whatever. Most "antique" malls now sell many things besides antiques. They'll have soap vendors, handmade kid clothes, kitchenalia, etc in addition to antiques and collectibles. A music-only place might make out in Nashville or Memphis, but mixed venues have better odds of attracting buyers.

Re: NFS items... those are a great way to annoy the holy hand grenades out of buyers. They see something great and... no joy. A few are fine as decor, but a lot of them is a bad idea. I'd rotate them too if you want them.