Low Cost Business Start Ups: The Flea Market

For people who want to start up a new small business but do not have a lot of money to get it going, this low cost business start up is a great idea. By selling merchandise at a flea market or swap meet, you will be able to make a good profit with little trouble or financial outlay.

Flea markets come in many different sizes and styles. Some are one-shot deals help in the recreation room at a school, firehouse, or church. Others consist of acres of spaces, booths, and tables that operate all year round. Finding the right flea market for your merchandise is up to you. 

Whichever flea market you end up selling at, you will find that it is a very cost effective proposition. Most outdoor flea market tables or booths cost anywhere from five to twenty dollars. Spaces with built in tables, roofs, or indoor booths will cost more. Still, these places cost much less than a traditional brick and mortar store rental.

For a flea market business start up, the only other expense is the cost of goods to be sold. If you intend on selling used goods, you might not have to spend anything on product at all. After all, many people start their flea market careers by cleaning out garages, attics, and closets.

If you run out of personally owned things to sell, you can get additional used merchandise at other flea market tables, garage sales, and thrift stores. Purchasing a bag of children's clothing for $3.00, for example, and reselling each item for $3.00 is a great way to make a sizeable profit.

Other flea market vendors do not want to sell used merchandise. Instead, they opt to find a wholesaler of product and sell new items only. There are two ways of doing this.

One way is to find a general merchandise liquidator or surplus seller. You can purchase large job lots of mixed merchandise that are either store returns, overstocks, or shelf-pulls. These are all items that could have been found in a normal retail store.