By Yuliya So:
On a bright and early Sunday morning, our Vancouver Flea Market Fundraising Event took place. Several Rovers were responsible for setting up a display for our shop that ranged from clothing to kitchen items. While we were hard at work, all the other vendors inquisitively gathered around our table. It felt like we were new student(s) in class, as the rest of class tries to figure out what kind of person you are. They were very curious to see what kind of items we were selling. Questions like “How much is this?” or “What is this?” flew at us. During this time, I saw Charlie selling a tumbler – our first sale of the day.
Slowly, our neighbors began setting up. To our left, a lady had a table full of hats, small cars, and souvenirs while on the right side, the family of three was setting up jewelry, Lego, and an array of various pins. The flea market had an atmosphere that made it feel like its own world, and everyone possessed a welcoming aura. I could see vendors leaving their tables just to come and greet one another. It felt like a small family, where everyone knew each other.
During the second half of the day, more visitors started to arrive and look around. Karen and Garden were enthusiastic in helping three customers find the right size of clothing for them. One of our neighbors noticed that we were part of the Scouts community. She suggested to make a sign that would say: “All donations proceed to Scouts.” The sign was a way to attract more customers since the cause is for the greater good, and it did just that.
For the next shift, Trish, Alex and Henry came to help; bringing along some ideas on how we could market our items. For the books, they suggested a deal: “buy three for three”, and for articles of clothing they proposed the offer: “Buy two, get one for free.” Their promotions worked splendidly, attracting more customers to browse our selection.
By the end of the day we didn’t sell absolutely everything, but we did learn new things, made friends, and had a lot of fun. Our neighbors shared some of their marketing strategies, including how to attract more customers, or when it’s the right day to sell. We also learned some neat tricks, such as how to distinguish a plastic stone from a real one (plastic stones are warm to the touch, while real ones are cold). I would say that we killed two birds with one stone, since we not only managed to raise some money for our Scout group, but we also gained priceless knowledge and experience through this event.
Check out our most recent reflective blog from Karen Tse:
One reply on “Flea Market Fundamentals”
Definitely “like its own world”