Drawing people to your booth...

Jonathan

Jonathan

VFG Member
I just sold at the Gadsden sale in Toronto yesterday and on one of my many runs around the sale looking at other booths I began making mental notes about what brought me into some booths and caused me to skip by others.

1) Items not clearly marked for price are a turn-off - I want to see price tags hanging off everything
2) Mundane items hanging on the back of the booth that are supposed to catch my eye are a turn-off. I want to see cool stuff on the back of the booth - the oldest and best items you've got
3) Items not obviously arranged by some category doesn't encourage me to waste time going racks - I want things either by date or type of garment - colour doesn't cut it.

Anyone else have hints or helps for booth set-ups?
 
In absolute agreement about prices being clearly marked and the booth being blocked.
I want things either by date or type of garment - colour doesn't cut it.
Click to expand...

That is a tough one. I tried it each way when we did booths, and each system seemed to appeal to a portion of the buyers. I think I finally sorted the racks by period, then by color!
Talk about anal.

Too much booth 'decor' does not appeal to me if it looks like it is an attempt to make up for a lack of merchandise.

Hollis
 
When the dealer is away form the booth for long periods of time, and the person watching the booth knows zilch about the merchandise, or making a deal, discounts, etc. I go back later and still no dealer. I have done many shows and I know it is hard to be there every moment, you have to eat, bathroom breaks, go shopping, etc, but I get frustrated when the assistant knows nothing about the dealer's merchandise, nor can tell me exactly when they will be returning.

Even worse, I REALLY get bothered when I buy quality merchandise in good shape, or antique items with delicate trims, antique hats, etc....and the dealer does not have proper packing or bags suitable for the items purchased. I hate when they take my purchases and stuff them into little plastic bags, lumping everything on top of each other willy nilly like it was old laundry. Paper shopping bags, preferable with handles, or large plastic handled bags are what you need for a vintage clothing show and make a nice presentation. Yes, I bring a cart if it is allowed, and my own bags if I can, but that should be the sellers responsibility....I am actually offended when a dealer stuffs my $375.00 Edwardian dress that has survived intact for 100 years, and puts it in a second hand Acme plastic bag and hands it to me and says..."there you go". Then they put 4 antique hats in one bag with a jacket dropped on top. I cringe. If you sell antique hats then bring along proper bags. I think this shows respect for your merchandise, and your customer.
 
I had a little melt-down with a dealer at the Manhattan sale a few years ago over a pair of 1930s shoes. Her booth was a pigsty, I rooted around and found a pair of woven leather sandals in two different parts of her booth and then hung around for 15 minutes, which is like saying 3 hours in New York time, waiting for the dealer to return. When she FINALLY came back to her booth I asked how much the shoes were and she told me $350.00! I lost it because the shoes weren't even in wearable condition, they WERE nice when they were new, but they were in horrible shape. I was thinking $50 was going to be about tops AND I could have just walked off with them while she was gone.
 
Also please light your booth! I'm about ready to invest in a miner's helmet with a strong light on the front! Nothing bugs me more than finding damage I couldn't see when I was in your poorly lit booth. I'll think twice about returning to shop with you at the next show.
 
Oh I like this game! I love going around shops and stalls, making mental notes of what works and what doesn't....and I agree with all your comments.

My least favourite are the unticketed stock, the missing sales person, the boring stock on display - the back wall is for the flashing stuff and the fragile stuff. I also wish the traders were prepared with proper bags, business cards, payment methods (cash only will lose you sales) and correctly dated items! Here it's common to see '90s frocks as '60s and '80s as '50s. I cringe when dealers either can't tell or are happy to mislead their customers.

In my shop, or when I trade at fairs I always sort stock into types (dresses, blouses etc) and then colour block. I'm a big fan of colour blocking as it's the only way to make vintage look neat and easy on the eye.
 
Another thing that can be irksome is going into a booth to look at something and as soon as I touch the hanger I begin to hear the back story about the dress from the booth owner "I bought that a couple of months ago from an estate in Buffalo, the matching coat is over here, it has a wonderful lining, here, I'll show you, and those buttons are to die for... here's the coat - when I got it I just thought it was the most most stunning outfit and yesterday a girl came in and she wanted to try it on for a party she was going to, but her mother thought it was too sophisticated for wearing to just any old party, but it has a great look don't you think?..." SHUT UP!
 
As someone who sells retail all the time - at my "shop" and at farmers' market - this is an enjoyable read. Clear pricing is VERY important to me (Jen does a great job in her shop). In my case I rely n POP (point of purchase) cards, where I give a brief description of some of the plants. I would think if a garment was "special" for some reason, that reason could be written on the tag?
 
I totally agree with the Chatty Kathy booth sellers. A nice greeting, or let me know if I can help you is fine, but I don't want to chit chat when I am looking.
I also hate when sellers try to make me buy other things....Like when they say..."did you see this" or ""did you see that".
 
I do art shows so my pet peeves relate mostly to that. So again clearly marked prices, good lighting, thoughtful presentation and I hate when a dealer is on their cell phone when I stop by. If you must make a call, please keep it brief.
 
That Chatty Kathy sales associate approach makes my blood boil like nothing else.
Not vintage booth, but I was in L'Occitane store, and the nice SA that leaves me alone while I shop, greeted me kindly, with a little cup of herbal tea. Then, the new SA started yammering away, non-stop. I cannot concentrate on my shopping at all when they do that, and it makes me nuts. I really wanted to say something; I need to come up with a line. The coup de grâce (was when she spilled the tea on me, as she shoved my package across the counter.
 
If I have shopped with you consistently for several shows in a row and you have cashed my checks worth hundreds of dollars in that time, please greet me like you recognize me and value my business. It's nice to be appreciated as a repeat customer. If I'm trying to purchase something from you, don't stop mid transaction to sell to someone you think is more important than I am. This happened to me at the last show I went to. I had my checkbook in hand half filled out, just waiting for a total. The dealer stopped adding up my total on her calculator to greet someone else and made me wait while that person paid her for something they had asked to be held earlier. Grrrrrrrrrr.
 
Dare I chip in with a few idea of my own which I use when running my own trade booths

a:- Posters these can used to decorate a stand, at the back they can mounted up higher than you want stock to be in case it falls, makes a great talking point and people point to them out to each other making it out you have really interesting items , mine were just photo copies of music hall bill poster from the 1930's /40's.
I had them also in clear plastic folder for people to flick through and buy for £1.50 not a great profit maker but selling 20 or 30 soon adds up.

b:- Have your name clearly displayed, if people are looking around 50 or 60 stands they will have seen several items they like as they go around and it's surprising how many will forget where they seen the item. and return to a competitor stand becuse they forgotten where they seen your.
Keep the your name sign simple trading name + home town. surprising how many people will say I "pass through *** I did not know your here" I call in next time I drive through

c:- Talking Point:- we always had something very usual at the dead centre of the stand, a collector collectors item, you can then say " have you seen this it's not for sale but it's interesting to see" that can get people talking and into conversation and then might lean about something they looking for that's on your stand or you have at home and not brought. you can always sell it if some one offeres the right price

D:- booth cloth, I use a plain black cotton sheet cut and sewn to the with of the table top, black becuse it would not clash with the multitude of different colours of items on the top of the table.
on the front we have colourful tea towels again sewn onto a black sheet background, the subject matter was in keeping with what was been sold on the stand.
made our booth stand out from the rest, by the way these happened to be genuine vintage ones and the only item that was not for sale.

e:- I often swap position of stock around if I know something should be selling and it's not,


f:- lamination people often like to see thing moving and adds interest to the stand, if it makes a slight band or noise even better, I often put something close to it that I want to sell .

g:- Multi level I used some of the boxes that the stock were packed in for travelling to build up different levels on the front and back tables, these have there own black sheet cut to size to cover them like loose covers so the sheet on the table was always flat.
this meant you could display small items at different heights and would not get lost with all the other stock.


I hope it does not sound like I am trying to teach you things you already know, these have worked for me over the years and people have always said my stand or booth were interesting to look at, did I sell more becuse of that that's another question , I hope so but I did get best in show twice.

The bargain bin never worked for me and was always a mess with people opening packets, the DVD payer was not a great success either and the vegetable racks looked ok but did not sell enough for the space they took up.
 
I can't stand it when inventory isn't priced - don't make me ask, please. And I too go insane when the seller tries to distract, chat endlessly or up-sell me ("look at this beautiful bracelet, isn't it unusual?") when I'm happily looking at something else and I don't give a rat's arse about what she thinks is beautiful or unusual!

The folks selling stuff to me at my shop do this too, and I find it equally annoying. They bring in their bag or basket of clothes or jewelry they want to part with, and I always politely suggest "why don't you look around the shop a bit while I go through this?" But no, inevitably the person says, "oh, I'd like to watch you! and see what interests you," or some such thing, then EVERY item has to have a comment or two, "now this one is really special, look at those buttons! I'd say it's a size small, wouldn't you? blah blah blah." The only time I enjoy this dialogue is if the person is older and has a genuine memory connected to their items, such as "this is the dress I wore when I met my husband in 1942," okay, yah, tell me more, that interests me. I don't want to hear a person's editorial review of something they picked up at a thrift store to flip, when they are only distracting me from my own gut reaction, thoughts, and my chance to look for condition issues and damage.

However, I have to defend the notion mentioned that it's rude for a seller to be on the phone or texting while in their booth. When I'm in my show booth, my cell is my connection to people working back home in my shop, and sometimes questions must be immediately answered. Also, many times if I'm at a show, if you see me texting, I'm punching in or phoning in a credit card order. I've been burned by letting a customer walk away without getting the cc authorization number and approval for the sale. So there are legitimate reasons to be using the cell phone. Chatting endlessly on an obvious personal call in front of customers is something else again.

Somewhere a few months ago I read a letter to the editor of an antiques journal, where a shopper was complaining about a dealer eating his lunch in front of her in his antique shop. She wrote that the smell of the gentleman's knockwurst or what-have-you was "unprofessional" and bothered her while she was shopping. She asked dealers to please not eat smelly foods in their shops or booths. I almost wrote a letter back myself but didn't. I wanted to say that the poor man, like most antique dealers, probably has little or no sales help, maybe even works from home, and most of of us need to eat lunch during the work day. If someone complained to me that my lunch smelled, I'd be happy to show them to the door, turn the CLOSED sign around, and say "okay! See you in an hour --after I eat lunch!" :hysterical:I'm sure that at my shop people have been offended by my cigarette ashtray on the front porch or the lingering smell of an earlier cigarette, or maybe by a dust bunny, a spot of mildew found on a vintage shoe sole, our cat's fur here and there, or they can smell a whiff of the cat box from upstairs at times. Maybe I burned the toast this morning or cooked too much garlic last night, and the Japanese incense burning in the shop doesn't cover all those other smells. I'm very self conscious about it and sometimes people have said my shop agitates their allergies. But you know, it's my home. We sweep, we clean, vacuum, mop, dust, we smoke (not in the shop rooms, but we smoke), we have cats, we cook well and eat and live in this house. If someone is truly offended, I'd say sorry but I'd suggest they shop online where they are sure not to be troubled by the presence of another human being, or pet.

Jen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top