Sunday, October 29, 2017

Flea Marketers Gonna Market

Hick has a new project. He has entered the flea market business for himself! However...as one of his cohorts told another one of his cohorts on Hick's first day being open for business, "I've never known Hick to sell anything, but he sure likes to buy stuff!"

Here's the deal. There's a storage shed business that opened up within this past year. It's on the edge of town, has a big gravel parking lot, fencing around the storage units, a little office building, and has storage units arranged in a big U shape. Hick was waiting for a spot to open up beside his buddy. He waited all month. When the owner called and told him a unit was available, Hick jumped at the chance, even thought it's across the U from his buddy.

Hick's storage unit is a double one. It goes from the inside of the U to the outside. He has two doors. He says that will be beneficial in hot weather, because he can get a breeze. Right now he's keeping the back door closed. "The wind really blows up there on the hill!" The high Saturday was 45 degrees.

The cost to rent the storage unit is $85 a month. Saturday, Hick took in $50. He was quite excited about that, since he only has a little bit of stuff put out, and there was a small crowd of buyers. It IS the end of the month, and the weather was not great, and it's the last Saturday before Halloween. He said one of his buddies told him that he usually makes $150 a weekend.

Here are the wares Hick had on display. It took me a long time to figure out that the picture beside that cross-stitch thingy was actually a mirror, showing Hick taking the picture!


This is stuff from my mom's house. Crafty things. Hick is doing this as a good deed, since the money is not really his, but split between me and my sister the ex-mayor's wife. Shh...she doesn't know Hick is open for business yet. He's keeping a ledger of what he sells, taking a 20% fee like resale shops do, and dividing the rest 50/50 between me and Sis. I don't begrudge him that 20% at all. He's doing all the work. I'm not even charging him rent on those white plastic tables that I bought for my classroom.


You can see Hick's back door (heh, heh, I said Hick's back door!) in the rear (heh, heh, I said rear!) in the background. I think there used to be a partition where that pole (heh, heh, I said pole!) is, but Hick asked that it come down so he could have the double unit. You can see more stuff that he hasn't dealt with yet, just waiting to be displayed.


Hick is excited about his new pastime. He virtually glows when he talks about it. But that could just be from sitting in the cold all morning. He bartered three tubs of buttons to another seller for some shelves so he can display more stuff. He's also making a cabinet with glass doors for things he doesn't want the people touching.

With Christmas on the horizon, he's going to offer some outgrown toys that are currently chilling under our pool table. He has talked about making some stick horses or those wheely stick push toys that have flapping feet made out of rubber. Not for this year, probably, but for the future. Old people like to buy retro toys for their grandkids, he says. He also has his eye on stuff at the auction, telling me that he thinks about what he could resell it for.

I hope he doesn't see a lady on Antiques Roadshow with a valuable button discovered at a Backroads flea market.

18 comments:

  1. Hey, a hobby is a hobby, and I don't make any money at all out of golf. I suspect he likes chewing the fat with customers as much as making a sale.

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    1. I think he likes fat-chewing MORE than making a sale. And even more than fat-chewing, he likes looking through other sellers' wares and bartering with them.

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  2. Val--This is not going to work. When Hick is working his flea market, he will be away from you.

    I know you won't stand for that!

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    1. I'm handlin' it. Though it WILL cut in on my Sunday morning casino excursions.

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  3. I think this is a great idea, Hick can sell stuff, then go out to Goodwill etc and buy more stuff, sell that.....
    I'd buy that miniature brown wagon :)

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    1. Would you make a planter out of it?

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    2. I had to enlarge the picture to find that little brown wagon! I didn't even know it was there. Hick says he doesn't know what it is, but he got it at Goodwill, and that he's asking $3.00 for it. Of course he didn't say what he paid for it.

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    3. fishducky; I need somewhere to keep all my charging cords for phone, kindle etc, and that looks perfect. Much nicer than the current empty tissue box.
      I think I should do a run around the local Goodwill and other assorted junk/antique shops.

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  4. It's amazing what things are called for selling use things. Around here it seem they use the term rummage sale, barn sale, shed sale, yard sale, and get rid of sale. I'm propley miss some...Coffee is on

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    1. Same here. The "antique stores" that Hick goes to every now and then are just a better class of junk. I'd say only about 10% of the stuff in them are what you might actually consider an "antique."

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  5. An interesting collection of things. I'm not sure all of those items are actually collectable, but then beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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    1. Yes. They're quite "breathtaking." My mom had a lot of junk. After two days in business, Hick has taken in $69 for it. Mostly pine cones and Christmas wreaths, and cross stitch patterns and embroidered pillowcases.

      His stuff is separate. He re-sold one kind of big item that he got at the auction. Hick has collected $160 from Saturday through Sunday. So his rent is paid for November, anyway.

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  6. It looks like Hick has a good idea going on here, he can get rid of some stuff he doesn't want and gather up some stuff he needs...and sell the stuff that you are supposed to split with your Sister too, definitely a win/win/win.

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    1. I am supporting Hick's latest folly. He is paying his rent out of his allowance/profits, so it doesn't drain our bank account. And it gets him out of the house!

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  7. I am impressed! He must get lots of traffic there. I ought to take a load of my junk to him ..... 20% is low! The consignment shop I have been unloading my stuff in charges 50%!

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    1. The parking lot is usually pretty full when I go by on a Saturday or Sunday morning. The other sellers told him this past weekend wasn't very busy. I'm sure he got some buyers because he's new, and has stuff they haven't seen yet.

      I don't mind him getting a cut. I don't have to deal with any of it but put my hand out for the money.

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  8. I have a friend that rents a space at a flea market - she buys or acquires old looking containers, jars, metal bins, etc., spruces them up with some fake flowers, or air plants, etc., and is making good money. I saw her check for $1000 last month. Now you should go into business with Hick and be the "decorator" and you could get a lot more out of his treasures.

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    1. Hick would be a lot better off if he could partner with blog buddy Kathy, because that gal is REALLY crafty! Me...not so much.

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