There are all kinds of different business models when it comes to antique malls and antique stores.  Here are a couple of different types of antique shops you may encounter.

Some antique shops are owned and operated by the owner and all of the items for sale are for sale by the owner of the shop.  These types of antique shops may be good to contact if you are trying to offload some items and don’t want to deal with selling them yourself. This type of antique shop may purchase one or all of your items with the intent to resell in their shop at a profit.

Another type of antique shop may focus on consignment. This typically means many if not all of the items for sale belong to various people and are listed for sale at the antique shop. The owner of the antique store will then sell the items and split the profits with the original owner. This type of arrangement might be best suited if you have very few items to sell and do not have any interest in attaining additional items to sell. It’s worth noting the consignment rate oftentimes is at least 50/50 since sellers do not typically incur any other expenses.

The third option for selling your antiques and collectibles for a profit is to team up in an antique shop that rents space. The rate is typically per square foot and the amount of space you can rent will vary depending on the antique shop and space available.

Teaming up with this type of antique shop has many benefits to both novices and professionals. It does depend on the antique shop, but in many cases, you as the vendor have the ability to create your own store in the space you’ve rented. This means you can paint and decorate your space to make it look amazing and attract shoppers to your booth.  The appearance of your booth can be the difference between shoppers entering your booth to look for treasures or walking right by it because it doesn’t have anything to draw them in.

Not all antique stores

If you’re looking for an antique mall to set up your own shop, you should note that not all antique stores are equal. Depending on where the antique shop is, the amount of traffic they have, and the space they have available you can typically expect to pay at least $1.25 per square foot for your booth. In some more heavily trafficked places where space is a premium, you can expect to pay over $2 per square foot.

Along with your base rent, you do need to account for other expenses such as commission. Most antique shops will also charge a commission on your items that sell.  This rate is typically 10% but again could be higher depending on your location. You may also want to find out if the antique store charges credit card processing fees or requires you to work a certain number of shifts at the register.

Once you’ve decided what you’re willing to accept for your operating expenses, you need to research the antique shop. Find the answer to these questions.

What kind of marketing is the antique shop doing?

Are they on social media?

Is there a Google Business listing so they show up on Google Maps or Bing?

Does the antique shop have a website of customers can find the antique shop and find your booth?

Based on the answers you find, you should be pretty confident in being able to make a decision that best suits your needs. There will be a few more things you’ll want to find out, but most of those questions should be answered in the antique shop’s contract.

Now it comes down to you and the items you have for sale. If your items are priced right and presented well they should eventually sell in a well-managed antique shop.  If you find some of your items are not selling as quickly as you had hoped try repositioning them or adjusting the price.

The worse thing you can do is ignore the data and do nothing. Many people frequent the same antique stores and if your booth becomes stagnant, shoppers will notice and they’ll stop looking.

The ability to make money from your antiques and collectibles is there, you just need to determine how you want to sell them. You can offload them at a steeply discounted rate. You can split your profits with consignment. Or you can rent a booth at a fraction of the cost of opening your own shop.

Vintage Garage Antiques in Clarkesville, Georgia specializes in renting booth space so vendors can create their own spaces. This gives vendors the ability to take pride and ownership of having a mini antique shop without all the overhead and expectations of a brick-and-mortar business.

If you want to inquire more about being a vendor at Vintage Garage Antiques just click HERE.