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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;lvetterli, post: 10287357, member: 130&quot;]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 &quot;dealer of the day&quot;, 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&#039;ve told them you&#039;re coming in on a certain day.</p><p>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 &quot;regulars&quot; and is established within the community and well known to buyers of certain things.</p><p>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&#039;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&#039;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.</p><p>Mall #3 This was my first venture into non-ebay sales and will probably the first place I&#039;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&#039;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&#039;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&#039;m going to shut it down there but having a hard time letting go of it.</p><p><br /></p><p>All that being said, none of the 3 require that I work at the stores.</p><p><br /></p><p>I would go browsing at the mall you&#039;re considering and see if you can identify some vendors there, get their opinions.</p><p><br /></p><p>Good luck wherever you land! If you have other questions or concerns that I might be able to help with, let me know.</p><p><br /></p><p>Linda</p><p><br /></p><p>Edited to change Northwest to Northeast Iowa.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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