Featured New Antique Mall Opening In Town

As the title states there is a new antique mall opening not too far from my home. I have long considered becoming a mall vendor but am not going to go headfirst into the deep end until this antique mall becomes more of a known quantity.

It is on the fringes of a mid-size midwestern city, and the surrounding area isn't all that affluent. It is on a major road with good traffic volumes but is set far back in an old big box store that has been subdivided and has had a number of less than successful tenants in the last few years. They have about 25,000 square feet available and plan to have several hundred vendors.

What are your thoughts on what makes antique/vendor malls successful? There is one fairly successful large antique mall on the other side of the city about 40 minutes away and a few smaller ones that have decent foot traffic.

 

Joe-IMHO,I'd wait for the stock market to settle down & the chickens to get well before investing in an antique mall.
I remember the deregulation of the mortgage market & subprime crash of 2007-08,Ebay and much of the discretionary purchase sector pancaked.
PS-Yes,the Uber- Rich will always buy the 'best of the best', but do you have a garage full of Antique Roadshow masterpieces ?

 

FWIW I would wait until some folks here who have booths in a mall put in their 2 cents.
I would not go into a mall now. Most people buy online and with what is going on in the USA, people are scared about spending money. And for you as owner, you will more than likely have to pay many dollars just to be there. Rent, insurance, and everything else that goes into owning a brick and mortar store.
I have worked retail and it is a hard biz to be in. Long hours and kvetchy customers.

We no longer have any antique stores near me. They all went out when ebay came to pass. Good luck

 

FYI - I'd just be renting a few small spaces inside the mall. Not actually owning anything on my own. 6-month commitment.

There is booth rent which seems a bit high and they want a 10% commission on everything that sells. The owners appear to be a young couple which concerns me with their savviness/expertise in the business. None of the dealers I know have met them which is a red flag in my mind.

 

I think you need to figure out how much it will cost you for the 6 month commitment if nothing sells.
Just to know if you are going to be able to handle the loss should their be one.

 

I had a booth for 8 years. I rarely made a profit.
I just helped the multi -millionaire owner get a little richer.
But of course, maybe my stuff was all crap!
If you feel good about it, then do it.

 

I am leaning towards consigning some items at an auction rather than the antique mall route.

 

I asked an antique mall owner about how sales were last year during peak traffic time, and he said they were way down. Their shop is in the heart of our tourist area and it's a very approachable place with good prices situated amongst historical buildings and other draws like a vintage clothing seller. He said he assumed it was related to most middle class folk's struggles with "inflation" (corp price gouging).

I've done the math and was pretty sure going the antique mall route wouldn't be better for me than what I already do, and he told me now was a bad time for sure anyway. If the owner who makes the rent tells you that ...well I'm going to listen!

I don't live anywhere near where you do, but I suspect the middle class squeeze has gotten much worse since then....

 

Their timing is not good.

Debora

 

This place, called America's Antique Mall, started with one store in Florida and opened two more in the upper Midwest in the past couple of years:
https://www.americasantiquemall.com/

Both of the new ones are in the Chicago area. I live near the one in Indiana, which opened two years ago. The one near me was opened in an area of mostly failed big stores with a good amount of vehicle traffic nearby -- and there is an interstate highway within less than a mile. The building was completely renovated before they moved in. There are not many other stores close to it to draw people. Lots of parking and a couple of fast-food restaurants not far away.

I think they are doing fairly well, partly (maybe mostly) because they have made the place a destination, not just a store. They host lots of events that they advertise through email and other marketing. There is a small cafe in the building and they also host a book club there.

As for the store, it is quite large. It's fun to walk through, although I have rarely found anything to buy. That is partly because I mostly look for old photos and not many vendors there are selling them. I've heard that renting a space is fairly pricey, but maybe they all are now.

 

Yeah, that's a good marketing strategy. Make the venue a destination, especially in an area without a lot of other amusements. But I do think consumers are really going to tighten their spending on non-essentials this year.

Debora

 

... especially when they don't know how much longer they're be getting a Social Security check.

Debora

 

Big Ditto-Might be a good time to invest in some 'for profit' mental health facilities.

 

I am in 3 different malls, Southwest Wisconsin, Northwest Illinois and Northweast Iowa, 2 are in small cities, 1 in a small town. I have seen a definite slowdown in 2 places and the third, which is always the best, was very slow at the beginning of the month but has picked up. There are several things I feel are very important when considering selling in a mall. Top considerations are management, location and history. Is mgmt proactive for their vendors? At my #1 place these are things that stand out: there are always at least 2 employees working, 1 to cover the register, phone, front desk, the other to be on the floor, available to unlock locked cases, guide shoppers to items of interest (anyone here have Fenton glass? Cabbage Patch dolls? ) and to ferry merchandise to a cubby to be held until shoppers are ready to check out. The manager makes a Facebook post daily, sometimes "dealer of the day", a theme (she posted pics of every blow mold in the store early December, another time all snowmen, recently bunnies, chicks and Easter) or just something new, unusual or funky. They will ship purchases made by phone. The vendors get calls with offers and questions. Since the store is very close to the National Farm Toy Museum and they hold a toy show twice a year, the mall also has Toy Show special long hours, extra staff and special displays. There are 2 Open House weekends as well. All sales are recorded to a computer system, vendors receive emails Monday morning and Friday evening showing their sales. Checks are ready on the first of the month and are mailed by the second or third unless you've told them you're coming in on a certain day.
My rent there is the highest but I also have 2 sizeable floor-space booths and 2 large locked glass cases but commission there is quite low. This mall has been open a long time (the manager has been there 23 years), has many "regulars" and is established within the community and well known to buyers of certain things.
Mall #2 has 3 floors and about 125 vendors, has been open 15 years. It is in a very old school building. There is 1 person working weekdays, I believe 2 on weekends. The owner is in and out, helpful when he's there. They have a computer system that shows sales which are uploaded and online accessible several times daily. Accuracy is an issue sometimes. I do not have anything locked (therefore nothing very high end) as I am concerned a shopper might simply be handed a key if the register is busy. I have been there since late in the opening year and have seen staff come and go. They are not paid well and have little support so anyone good doesn't stay long. Some Facebook exposure, always the same pics and same vendors. I do well enough there to stay but have my concerns. Rent is very reasonable, 10% commission and some other relatively small fees.
Mall #3 This was my first venture into non-ebay sales and will probably the first place I'll leave. Reasonable rent, no commission. Manager/owners who have become good friends. Computer sales system does not record item description, only sales price and vendor number so you have no idea what you've sold (and what you need to bring to restock) until you walk in the door. And the shoppers are cheap! The place used to be a kind of junk/bargain store and I think the clientele still thinks that's what it should be. Regardless of what I stock there, I really never make enough to do much more than cover my gas and expenses. I have downsized and keep saying I'm going to shut it down there but having a hard time letting go of it.

All that being said, none of the 3 require that I work at the stores.

I would go browsing at the mall you're considering and see if you can identify some vendors there, get their opinions.

Good luck wherever you land! If you have other questions or concerns that I might be able to help with, let me know.

Linda

Edited to change Northwest to Northeast Iowa.

 

The only proper antique mall I could get to only stayed open a few years. Another that could be nice, is medically out of range and sells a mix of antique and modern. It's a destination place and does well. One I watch on Youtube is in Ohio (The Heart of Ohio) and they're a legitimate Destination. People travel from out of state to go there and they have lots of amenities on site and some special promotions.

If going into a new one, I'd watch how it survives the first year before going in. It's a scary world out there and disposable income is being swallowed up. Around here tag sales and estate sellers were holding onto the "good stuff" even last year, and I can't imagine this year will improve things. If they're not selling, they probably won't be buying either.

 

I have a friend who had several booths for years in a very well established antique mall in a "hipster" area. While I never had a booth myself, he would sell things for me on occasion . Even he threw in the towel after the booths rent went up and up. He didnt blame the mall owner,the old wretch that owns the building has raised her rent so much its barely sustainable for her. I say old wretch because he wouldnt fix the plumbing but then paid someone $250,000 to lay granite pavers in the back alley of the store. An alley that no one sees,I might add. He could have paved it with something far cheaper im sure. I told my friend the problem was is he knew too much ! So his prices reflected that. Wich was fine for a long time but not so much now. Yes,it may be a rare Newcombe pottery vase,but not many folks are going to splash out $3000 on it. Besides that he told me a good 50% of his sales was to other dealers,and they arent buying as much now either. He always swore the average sale in stores like that are $10 . Wich sounds right to me because you all know how tight I am with a dollar ! I agree with others who said give it a bit of time and see if they do well.

 

I'm a cheapskate too out of necessity, and $10 is about my limit too for things I honestly don't need. I've seen some really high-end pieces in local thrifts with wealthy donors and richie rich buyers. Even those are being marked down.

One way to be sure a place has a good chance of succeeding...they own the building. Rent kills antique stores dead. If they're renting, RUN. It may hang on for a while, but eventually the expenses overtake income and..bye. There are more - like using Insta, Marketplace, Tiktok etc.

 

I have been to that mall! But not the museum. Only went there once, with a friend, back when I lived in Iowa. It was a good place to shop.

 

Woohoo! If it's been since 2019, you shopped my booth! That's cool!

Linda

 

Linda I don't know what place #1 is charging but it honestly sounds like they try their best to make it worth it and bring value to their offerings. They sound really nice. And honestly every mall should be doing social media promo at least once a day if not more! After all, they get a commission.

Here we have the very high end legitimate antique places, the middle-income antique and vintage, one antique and vintage that is highly selective of their sellers (you have to have a list of experience to get in!), the vintage but mostly craft time malls, and the junk hoarders who share space with the (not alcoholic lol) bootleggers at the flea. Something for everyone, but none of those traditional highway warehouse antique malls are near me.