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Market Trading
Market trading has been a feature of retail life for hundreds,
if not thousands of years. It is one of the purest forms of retailing
which does not rely on millions of pounds being spent on image and
advertising, but rather on good honest deals being done by real
people on the ground.
Selling products on a market stall requires energy and committment,
and is a very different process from selling via a car boot sale,
shop or other means. It is a step from selling as a hobby to selling
as a business.
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you run a market stall, you run a business. This is the main difference
between selling on a market stall and selling at a car boot sale. You
have to buy stock to sell. You cannot simply rely on selling home made
items. Your time will be consumed by running the stall, and this will
leave little time generating the stock yourself, be it craft productss
or fruit and vegetables. One of the most important aspects of running
a successful stall is in finding reliable suppliers. You want to buy stock
at the right price, but you also want continuity of service and supply.
While running a market stall is a more formalised business than selling
at a car boot sale, it is an easier process than finding shop premesis
and paying a fortune for lease and staff. You will have to look for a
pitch at a market, and this will often need determination and ingenuity.
Many markets have all their pitches let, and have a waiting list for new
entrants. Give yourself as many options as possible and visit all markets
in your area. With a foothold and experience in one location, you can
watch out for better options and move at a later date. As with a car boot
sale, or shop, the choice of location will have a big impact on your sales.
If there are few visitors to the market, or passing your corner, there
will be few sales. It is better to wait for a reasonable pitch than to
open a market stall in a corner of a market which can only bring failure.
There are enough difficult aspects to market trading without fighting
to survive in poor passing traffic. Consider the market as a whole. Is
it thriving and progressing with a buzz of activity, or does it seem run
down and fading? It is better to be carried along in an upward current
of activity, than be pulled down in an atmosphere of decline.
Running a market stall and being a market trader is a lifestyle committment,
and should not be taken lightly. You will have to start work early in
the morning, and you must be determined to stick at the job of making
sales and being at your stall. Having said that, you will have the opportunity
to be your own boss and control your destiny in selling stock you have
chosen.
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