Nth Qld Babies & Kids Market

Q. Why are the stall fees higher then the local charity/council run markets?

The markets are a “Specialised Market” that have proven very popular and are very different to any other local market. We also cover the cost of Public Liability Insurance and Secondhand Dealers Licence for our stallholders therefore adding to the costs of running the markets. Other local markets do not provide those things and are a mixed market, not specialising in a “target audience of babies & kids things”. Shoppers come because they want to buy stuff for their kids and they want to find out about services and products in the area. So our stallholders are guaranteed interest and sales… this has been very well proven by past response and the success of the markets and the stallholders businesses and sales of our parents with preloved goods. Many of our stallholders have very good impressive sales and have expanded their business due to the markets. So it is rather cheap considering that you pay $1.50>$3.00 for the paper and every business in the paper pays in the hundreds, even $1000′s for advertising which someone may or may not read and is also not a “unique target audience”.

Q. Why is there a $2 door fee? And does this go to Charity?

As mentioned above, you pay $1.50 to $3.00 for a newspaper yet all the advertises in there are paying for advertising as well. So why not just charge the stallholders more and have no door fee? By having a door fee we are catering to those who want to shop and keeps the stall fees well below what they charge in other areas like Brisbane. To cover the costs of the market we would need to charge the stallholders almost double and we want the markets to be affordable for everyone and successful for all our local families. Plus, if there was no door fee we would then need to hire a much larger more expensive venue (pushing the costs up for running the market) just to allow traffic flow and room for market visitors who are not purchasing. Hence why it is a very unique market, creating sales for our stallholders. Our market visitors are there because they want to save time and shop in one place, support local families and local mums with home based business and find out about some very unique business/services available in our community.

Many would not understand or see the how much work and time goes in to operating and running the markets. Many very late nights and lots of structure/organisation to ensure a smooth running market. Just as each business and local parent wants to sell their preloved, new or handmade products, they are providing a service and a business for all who come to the markets, so are we! Our business is providing the markets as an opportunity for everyone who is buying or selling. So we are a business and we do not donate the door fee to charity, just as none of the stallholders donate the money they make to charity. We do however provide Charity organisations the avenue to promote or raise money through our markets. We promote and support that by allowing that service for free to them.

Q. Why is there so many more New/Business stalls then preloved stalls?

Ask any parent who has organised a preloved stall and held one! We want them to sell their goods and not have to return home with lots of stuff. They have taken the time to sort and prepare their goods to be there for the market and they more sales by having a limited Preloved stalls at the market. We have never said that we were a ‘Preloved’ market only. The markets have included New/Business or Services as well as Not For Profit Groups. We are providing a ‘Unique Avenue’ for local homebased businesses to reach their target audience and have found the markets very successful in promoting their business or service to parents. How wonderful it is to have a complete “one stop resource market” for parents. They can get everything all in one place. We have a minimum of 15 preloved stalls at each of our markets. This way we provide a really good variety of ages, sex, brands and items for sale and also prices. If we were to have say 20 preloved stalls it would then mean each parent taking time out from their family and organising all their goods to be their on the day, would have far less sales per stall holder. We have limited preloved stall so they need only come to the market once sell the majority of their goods and allow for someone else to do the same thing next market. We do find however that some preloved stallholders will have a stall at the market more than once as they sell goods as their children grow out of them, perhaps returning every 6 months. If you were to pay $30 for a stall and only sold $100 worth of stuff you would not be happy. Most of our preloved stallholders have sold between $250 to well over $1000. Average sales so far have been around $700/stallholder.

Q. I had a Stall and didn’t sell so much?

On occasion we have had stallholders that did not sell to much or as much as other stallholders…Why? The reasons we have found for this (going by shopper feedback) has been:

1. Pricing! Some stallholders overprice things with preloved items. Remember Department stall clearance sales & how cheap things sometime are. Also at the time of the market some bulky items may be much less new then it was when you purchased it new. So keep this in mind when pricing. It’s better for you to sell 100 items then to sell just one/two things. Ie. When I purchased a particular educational toy it cost me $69, but at the time when I was selling it at the market it was on half price sale at the department store, therefor I could only ask $20 for it as it had been barely used, but I knew it could be purchased brand new that week for $35. You will make much more money with offering bargains to the shoppers. Better to be in someone else’s hand then to be in your storage cupboard or at the tip.
2. Presentation! Do not over crowd your stall, people will not stop to look. Make your stall easy for shoppers to shop. The markets can be very busy and overwhelming for first time visitors. Be organised and simple. Business Stalls do well to present their stalls in a “Boutique Shop” style with very well presented products and displays. Allow customers to feel & try! They have come to the market to look, feel & buy! Otherwise they would have just purchased it online from you already.
3. Personality/ Cheeriness! You need to sell yourself before you can sell your products. Speak and greet all shoppers. Preloved stalls ask what size or age their child is that they are shopping for. Business stalls – greet your shoppers, talk about your products or ask them if they’ve been to the markets before, build rapport with your customer, offer your business card. Thank them for looking or purchasing. If you are sitting down and not engaging your customer you will sell far less product as you will not be making connections with your shopper.
4. Season/Availability/Uniqueness! Is your product different from the next person? Is your product available in shops all the time? Is your product unique? Is your product suitable for the season? Think like you were shopping. We like our markets to be Unique and have different products to what is available elsewhere locally all the time. Business Stalls: Look for new products that no one else is providing. Create a ‘uniqueness’ about how you handmake, a signature line that everyone will talk about and want. If everyone is making or selling the same thing the markets will not remain popular and your product will not sell. You will do well to have the markets as a opportunity to “Release a New Product Line” or “Launch a New Clothing Design”. Some stallholders do this and advertise a sneak peek on their facebook pages, this way it is creating a very “Unique” aspect to the markets and in time people will know that they can be the first to buy your new released products/lines only at the market. Let them know that there will be a limited release only at the markets. Create a frenzy.. create a need.. create a want! You’ll make sales, have a successful business, successful market day and build a following for your product! Preloved Stallholders do well to remember the season. I have at times taken things out of season, but had them under the table in case someone asks. Ie Jacket selling in summer is odd, but perhaps someone is traveling overseas and can not buy any in the department store. Take a couple of out of season items, but do not have a complete stall of winter stuff at our summer markets and vise versa.

Q. I wanted to advertise my business or market through your markets, but I was told “No”, why is that?

We support local business, yes! We support parents wanting to sell their preloved goods, yes! However, if your business or service (or your market) is in direct competition with our markets we are within our rights to not allow you to advertise through our markets; or if your business or service (or your market) would hinder the sales of those who pay money to be stallholders at our markets; the answer is NO, we will not allow you to trade off on the reputation that we have built up in Nth Qld. Much time, resources, research and energy has gone into creating a formula that is unique to the requirements and nature of people who live and operate businesses in Nth Qld and we will endeavor to protect the market that we have established for them and for our shoppers, making it a very successful market for everyone who shops and sells. We also run our markets according to local and state laws and have found that some other markets or businesses do not do this, so we can not be associated or found to be promoting another market or business that does not abide by those laws. Please do not be offended if we feel the need to say NO to you (which could also include deleting comments posted on our Facebook wall). This could be as a stallholder (as we do not allow business type preloved stalls, our preloved stalls MUST be a mum or dad selling their unwanted goods), as an advertiser in one of our many avenues including (but not limited too) Website, Flyers, Print Media, Facebook & Market Bags.

Summary

Hope this explains things a little better. I have worked very hard to develop a very successful market formula and have a reason and system for why every thing is done the way it is. So if there is something that concerns you or you do not understand, we welcome you contacting us to discuss. We would prefer you ask than to presume something that is not true or misunderstood. At times we have also been able to use your questions/feedback to help develop the markets further. Ie the pricing issue with preloved items and overcrowding stalls ect. We support home based business and have helped many become very well known and successful through them showcasing at our markets. It’s all about supporting the community and providing that safe environment for parents to sell their preloved goods. Really, who wants strangers coming to their home when you have little ones to keep safe.

Best Regards,

Christine Wilson

Managing Director

Nth Qld Babies & Kids Market

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© Christine Wilson t/a Nth Qld Babies & Kids Market 2011