Saturday, July 25, 2015

Friday Lunch Stop and Some Questions

 The lunch stop picking have been pretty slim this week but Friday was a good day.  The aluminum colander in the back will replace a porcelain enamel one I use for button sorting and cleaning.  It is my third one.  Oh oh.
 Some sweet Christmas finds.  The angels are made in Japan and have the original Sprouse-Reitz 59 cent price tags.  I miss dime stores.
 I don't find indents very often so was delighted with this box of ornaments.  I am getting quite an accumulation of Christmas inventory for the booth now.  I need some advice from you seasoned pros. Do you switch out existing inventory to make room for holidays and then bring it back after?  How long do you leave things in your booth before you decide they are not going to sell and just donate them?  My real estate is very limited and I can't use it up with things that aren't moving so I'm thinking about that.  I have only had the space less than a month and sales have been good so far but still...  I know everything won't sell.
This is a modern repro Santos doll but I have been wanting one for ages so I'll take it!  It will be fun decorating it.  She must be a swimmer with those shoulders - LOL!

14 comments:

Art and Sand said...

Your Santos doll is my favorite this week. I have always wanted one also - even a swimmer will do.

Celestina Marie said...

Hi Kathy, Love the Santos doll. You sure found some great treasures this week. I miss dime stores too. There is an old one towards the hill country I like to visit when we travel. It's not much of a dime in price wise, but the feel is the same inside the store.
Have a nice weekend. cm

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

The little pixie is my fav...I love those! And the Santos doll is a great find. I would have grabbed it to...I don't mean away from you though! haha! Hugs!

Betsy@My Salvaged Treasures said...

I'd say you did pretty good this week. It's never too early to start hoarding for the holiday season. What do other vendors in the mall do? Do they hold store-wide sales every now and then and ask the dealers to participate? If you're short on space, you might try moving things out that have been there awhile and then bring them back in a month or two later with a price change; sometimes a little break is all they need. Also changing things around will give a new perspective to shoppers who are in there all the time. I'm always back and forth about slashing tags or just repricing with a new reduced price.

Marrianna said...

Love the modern repro Santos doll. I can see where you would have a great time creating clothing and outfits for her. All your treasures are excellent. Since I haven't had a booth anywhere, I don't have any suggestions.

Take care,
Marrianna

Melissa said...

I've had my space over 2 years. I have a lot of things that will sit and sit. Some since day 1. But then suddenly it sells. There is no rhyme or reason... just the right buyer has to come along. I think the best thing is to move things around as much as possible, so that it looks fresh each time someone comes through. I try to do that once a month. I did that just yesterday, and a few regulars commented about how they love my space because it looks different each time they go through it. Now, as for the putting things on sale vs. donating... I have personally never gotten rid (donated) of a single thing out of my booth unless it got broken or someone stole a s&p lid (common in this biz, unfortunately). I also don't mark things down except big ticket items (usually $100 or more), but that is only after several months of them taking up a lot of space. I have also never had a % off sale in my space. I think the only people who need those are the people who don't move inventory around or bring in fresh stuff often. Let me know if you have any other questions. I hope this helped, even if it's just my perspective! :)

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Kathy great Christmas finds! I seldom just took things out and donated, I moved them around, it just means the right person has not been by. Once in awhile I would offer things to other dealers at 50% off and then they would sell right away in their booth...Go figure! That being said, you don't have a very large space and you don't want it to get stale as the store probably has a lot of repeat customers. A month is not long at all though.

Carol

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Kathy great Christmas finds! I seldom just took things out and donated, I moved them around, it just means the right person has not been by. Once in awhile I would offer things to other dealers at 50% off and then they would sell right away in their booth...Go figure! That being said, you don't have a very large space and you don't want it to get stale as the store probably has a lot of repeat customers. A month is not long at all though.

Carol

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Kathy great Christmas finds! I seldom just took things out and donated, I moved them around, it just means the right person has not been by. Once in awhile I would offer things to other dealers at 50% off and then they would sell right away in their booth...Go figure! That being said, you don't have a very large space and you don't want it to get stale as the store probably has a lot of repeat customers. A month is not long at all though.

Carol

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Kathy great Christmas finds! I seldom just took things out and donated, I moved them around, it just means the right person has not been by. Once in awhile I would offer things to other dealers at 50% off and then they would sell right away in their booth...Go figure! That being said, you don't have a very large space and you don't want it to get stale as the store probably has a lot of repeat customers. A month is not long at all though.

Carol

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Kathy great Christmas finds! I seldom just took things out and donated, I moved them around, it just means the right person has not been by. Once in awhile I would offer things to other dealers at 50% off and then they would sell right away in their booth...Go figure! That being said, you don't have a very large space and you don't want it to get stale as the store probably has a lot of repeat customers. A month is not long at all though.

Carol

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Kathy great Christmas finds! I seldom just took things out and donated, I moved them around, it just means the right person has not been by. Once in awhile I would offer things to other dealers at 50% off and then they would sell right away in their booth...Go figure! That being said, you don't have a very large space and you don't want it to get stale as the store probably has a lot of repeat customers. A month is not long at all though.

Carol

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Kathy great Christmas finds! I seldom just took things out and donated, I moved them around, it just means the right person has not been by. Once in awhile I would offer things to other dealers at 50% off and then they would sell right away in their booth...Go figure! That being said, you don't have a very large space and you don't want it to get stale as the store probably has a lot of repeat customers. A month is not long at all though.

Carol

Annette said...

Oh, my, I haven't looked at blogs in a long time!! Love these finds and am still amazed you find them there. With limited space I would take out some things and fill with Christmas. find out what others do as far as when they start on Christmas displays. I think you got good advice in the other comments. Hope all is well with you!