Antique Store Wisdom: Finding the Best Antique Store

[All photos are of my booth at the Southern Crossing Antique Mall. It's a single tall bookshelf near the exit.]

It's not always easy to find the right Antique Store to sell your valuable antiques. How do you know which antique store is the best for selling your wares? How do I find the best Antique Store? Here are some key factors you need to look at:

1. Great Location and Ample Traffic

Buy a booth at a store that receives plenty of foot traffic. The right store is in an excellent location and people come in droves to shop there every weekend. The store should be incredibly busy with eager customers on peak shopping days. Check out the store you're considering on the weekend and busy days, you want to see long lines at the cash register!

2. Rent You Can Justify 

You have to make sure you have more than enough to sell to make up for the rent. Don't pay too much for rent. If there are no stores with reasonable rent in your area, you can always sell antiques online or at fairs.

3. Friendly and Communicative Store Owners

The best Antique Store owners are passionate about what they do. They compliment your merchandise and give you advice on how to stage and sell it. They're real antique lovers that want to see you be successful. I knew I picked the right place when the owner said, "Welcome to the family," after I first set up my booth. (Aw!)

4. A Store that Stays Fresh  

You want a store where vendors change frequently and merchandise in each booth is frequently rearranged. This keeps customers coming back for more (and scoping out your booth for new goodies, too).

5. Great Location: Choose a Place You can Visit  

You'll need to stop by your antique store booth at least once a week to fluff your merchandise, check on sales, and add more to your shelves. Choose a shop that's conveniently located near your home or work. If it's too far out of way, it'll be hard to force yourself to get the store and get to work on making sales!

 

It's tricky to find the perfect antique store. Take your time and find the one where you'll be successful, it's worth waiting to find the right spot for you and your precious wares.

Past Antique Store Wisdom Posts:

[2/02/2011] Don't Underprice Your Items
[2/10/2011] Should You Rent a Booth at the Antique Store?
[2/16/2011] Stage Your Booth Like a Pro and Increase Sales 
[3/03/2011] The Answers to Your Antique Store Booth Questions
[5/03/2011] The Four Month Update

Got Questions? Advice? Please share them in the comments.

Edit: I'm sorry if some of your comments are deleted. Some comments were lost as a result of  a Blogger glitch!

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