I didn't set a record in April, but I did have a really nice overall total. It was definitely a case of the very strong first half making up for a weaker second half of the month. We kind of hit the rocks once the weather got nice and the Derby Festival started.
Thankfully, there's only one more week of the Festival left. We made it through the fireworks show, the marathon and the balloon race. Now we just need to make it through the steamboat race, the parade, Oaks Day, and, finally, Derby Day. A couple of those events really snarl up downtown traffic and the bridge access across the river, so it will probably be a slow week.
I'm running a 20% off sale this week to try and offset any sales dip. We'll see how well it works. I don't like having a sale so soon after getting so much new stuff out, but the re-do only took about three times as long as I thought it would. That will teach me to bring in two dozen tubs of smalls all at once.
My sale started Saturday and will run through Mother's Day. Saturday turned into a real good day, which I guess is due to the sale. It wasn't my best day ever, but it was definitely Top 10 and maybe Top 5. (I'd have to look it up to be sure.) Sunday was good too. Now, of course, I am second-guessing the whole sale thing. I really don't like doing blanket percent off sales.
I am not planning on doing any major restocking for a few weeks, since I just put so much in. That will buy me some time to get ready for my yard sale and for junk set out. It will also give me time to dig some shelves off Sorrow Mountain for the new booth. I'm setting it up tomorrow using my tables to get it started. We dropped them off yesterday. It's going to take a while to find my last few large shelves in the mess that is my storage. I just hope the former vendor finally got moved out. I'll put some pics up once I get done.
I'm actually kind of dreading the set up. It's just a single booth and I am so not used to working with single spaces any more. I have a huge list of things in my head that I want to put in this space. There's no way it's all going to fit. The biggest challenge will be dealing with the column. The one at my other space is in the aisle, but right up against the front of the booth. It's a pain, but workable. This one is smack dab in the booth. Not fun.
In addition to being Derby Day, Saturday is also an important date for a couple of other reasons. For one thing, it's the day of the street sale that I consider to be the "official" kick-off to yard sale season. Everything up to now has been "pre-season." This is the sale that kicks it off, and it is always grand. Seven or eight groups of people, including a couple of antique dealers dumping their winter left overs for cheap. From time to time, I can even grab a couple of pieces of furniture at this one.
Saturday is also Free Comic Book Day, which will mean trips to at least two comic shops, more if I can squeeze them in. I'll write more about FCBD on Friday, including which of the titles I most want to get.
I went on my usual Sunday junk walk last night and found this.
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| Is repainting your shed still a thing? |
I'm not totally sure what it is, but I love the little metal casters. "Casters" is such a cool word.
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| Is sweeping your sidewalks still a thing? |
I've decided to stay home today, since the neighborhood next to ours is having its junk set out. Booth set up is one thing, but free crap is another matter entirely. There will always be tomorrow.
Before then, however, it's time for Music for Monday:
Finally, thanks so much to everyone who stopped by and visited or commented during Friday's group blog event. I think that post is now my most viewed ever! I hope some of you all are sticking around and finding something to enjoy here. I know I ended up with a few more blogs to visit out of the experience. If you're a regular here, but haven't checked out the whole blog hop, you're missing out on some good reading!
I'll be posting two addenda to my original list this week, along with a bit of the usual silliness.
See ya!
3 comments:
I just turned down a chance to rent a booth in another town about 45 minutes away. I had been on the list for two years, but since that time I have gotten the huge booth and the small booth. I do not think I could handle it. Big columns in booth space is an issue at Riverfront (this once was a K-Mart.) Ways dealers handle it: Ignore it, box it in with shutters (if you turn them upside down you can hang stuff on them), box it with lattice, encircle it with chicken wire or hardware cloth. The stand with those to-die-for casters looks like an old IV drip pole bottom.
Happy hunting!
I love free junk so I hope the set out has some good stuff for you to haul home.
hugs,
Linda
Well, April was a record-setting month for me - my best ever. However, I think my sales trends followed yours. Nearly half the money I made for the entire month was made in the first WEEK of April. The other half took three weeks to make.
This Saturday kicks off our "official" yard sale season, I think. It's the first yard sale route - the Indiana 38. Mom and I can barely sleep at night, because we've been waiting for this day for so long!
I have a column in my booth too. I have shelves stacked all around it, kind of encircling it. Also, if it is metal, you can get those magnetic refrigerator clips and clip smalls all over it. I've done that too. For a few months I wrapped it in burlap and hung thing from that, but I found they fell easier, which is when I came up with the magnet solution.
Glad to hear your post was popular! :)
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