7 Antique Booth Mistakes and Why Shoppers Skip Your Booth

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Running an antique booth business is a lot of work, and you want to see a return on your time investment. If done right, a well-run antique or vintage booth business can generate a regular monthly paycheck–or done poorly, can become a real money pit!

Maybe you aren’t seeing the sales you want at your antique booth and aren’t sure how to fix it. 

I’m sharing today seven antique booth mistakes and common reasons why shoppers might skip your flea market booth. 

I also have ideas for how to fix your problem! If you have any of these issues, making some small adjustments could help boost your sales.

Let’s get your antique booth attractive again to customers so you can put more money in your pocket!

Frequent Antique Booth Mistakes

1. Your Booth Space is Closed Off

I’ve heard some vendors say that they think the best way to attract customers is to block off the opening of their booth space, so that shoppers have to step inside to fully see what’s available.

That makes sense in theory, but I actually see it as a big turnoff to customers. 

Only the most die-hard collectors or pickers will venture into a closed off booth. Your more casual shoppers tend to walk right by because it’s not an inviting space. 

So why would you alienate one group only to try and attract another?

HOW TO FIX IT >>>

Make sure the entry into your booth space is clear and open.

If you want to maximize your space and still have items at the entrance, they should be small enough that they don’t block the view. 

 

2. There Is Not Enough Open Floor Space to Easily Walk Around

Nobody wants to feel like they are about to trip over your inventory.  Any customer who has a mobility issue will skip a booth that doesn’t allow for spacious movement.

Vendors often set items on the floor to maximize their potential sales per square foot. Instead of boosting sales, though, this only drives away customers.

HOW TO FIX IT >>>

Edit the amount of inventory you have in your booth space to allow for a clear walking path, ideally large enough for a wheelchair to navigate.

This means you may have to take some stuff home! Keep it as inventory to fill in once more items sell. 

3. Random Inventory with No Clear Theme or Subject

If you sell everything in your booth, customers will remember you for nothing. 

I understand there can be a temptation to toss into a booth space whatever you think you can make a buck on. But this strategy only backfires, as customers lose interest because there’s no clear design theme to draw them in.

HOW TO FIX IT >>>

Determine a “brand” for your booth and stick with it. 

Are you going to sell home decor? Great! Maybe vintage toys? Perfect. Or maybe your booth will be defined by color–everything is neutral or you have all bright and bold items.

The point is just to give the items in your your booth some coherent identity. 

Even if you want to sell a wide variety of items, don’t randomly spread them out in your booth.  Keep all the jewelry together, all the sports equipment together, all the clothes together, etc.

RELATED POST: Ideas for What to Sell Every Month in your Antique Booth

4. Inventory that’s Poorly Organized

Very few shoppers are motivated enough to dig through a pile of stuff to find what they want. 

These frames might be a great find a good seller, but in a plastic bin like this they will likely continue to sit. It would be better to to take half, display them properly on a shelf, and use the rest to restock as they sell.

HOW TO FIX IT >>>

Limit your piles in your flea market booth. If you have a large amount of a certain type of item to display, make sure the digging customers have to do is minimal and easy.

Find creative options for how to organize your stacks of items so customers can still easily see what all is available.

RELATED POST: 5 Reasons You Aren’t Making Money in Your Booth or Vendor Business

5. Empty Shelves & Empty Walls

Sometimes too little inventory can be the problem. If you have shelves in your space, they should be adequately full with items.

 Booths with just a few big pieces and lots of empty wall space are quickly passed over by shoppers who can see in one glance everything offered.

HOW TO FIX IT >>>

Create curated displays of like items on your shelving.  Make sure to add items of varying heights and hang art or other decorative accessories to fill blank walls. 

If you’re a vendor who focuses mainly on furniture, adding some other decor items will broaden the appeal of your booth and help give customers a reason to stop and look closer.

6. Booths that are a Sensory Overload

Adding lights to your booth can be a great way to create ambiance, but it needs to be done in a way that doesn’t drive away more sensitive customers.

The strings lights added in this booth were set to a blinking pattern, which wound up being very distracting, along with the bright LED “Open” sign.  

Another example of this is booths that sell scented items (candles, sachet packets, diffusers, etc). Some shoppers are highly sensitive to both lighting and scents and may skip your booth entirely if they are overwhelmed by either.

HOW TO FIX >>>

Add extra lighting in the way of soft light with actual lamps or overhead lighting.  If using string lights, have them set at constant and not blinking.

If you sell any sort of scented products, check with the front desk staff periodically to see if any complaints have been made or if customers have been heard making comments about your booth. If so, consider removing your scented items. 

7. Marking your Best Items “Not for Sale”

There’s nothing that frustrates shoppers more than not being able to buy the best pieces you have in your space.  Especially for smaller items that maybe are just part of displays and vignettes, everything should be marked for sale in your booth.

HOW TO FIX IT >>>

As a vendor myself, I completely understand how it’s hard to part with those amazing display pieces!

But perhaps consider this–instead of marking them “NFS,” why not try putting a crazy high price on them instead?

That way the item has a tag and price, so as to not be offputting to customers. Then, if you actually sell it, the big payout eases the pain of losing the piece.  It’s worth considering!

Ready to take Your Antique Booth from Hobby to Business?

Closing Thoughts on Common Antique Booth Mistakes

I see these same mistakes over and over again, throughout antique malls and flea markets everywhere. If you’re a new vendor, it can be tough to learn the ropes. Seeing these things in booths around you may make you think it’s just how it’s done. 

Or perhaps you were told by a seasoned vendor to “maximize your space” or “make it stand out with lights,” and while your intentions were right, the execution needs some help.

Sometimes, we need to see our booths through our customers’ eyes though. What we thought was attractive or enticing may not actually be to the shoppers who walk the mall.

Running a vendor booth is a lot of hard work! I want to see you enjoy great sales to make it worth your time! I believe making some small tweaks to your booth space can go a long way to getting a bigger check at the end of the month.