“Kasadya gali mag-bazaar.” I overheard someone from a nearby booth said when we joined another bazaar event a few days ago. They were, I assume, a group of friends selling their preloved items. Yes, I agree it’s fun especially with a few bloopers along the way but with the fun comes some strategic (lol) planning, physical exertion and marketing among the other things to consider.

My sister and I had our first time selling preloved stuff a few years ago. I just saw a tarpaulin ad of a garage sale event. I didn’t have any idea about putting up a booth and how it works but when my sister and two of my friends agreed to join, I had the courage to send a message to the organizer.

I didn’t have any decent photos but this was during that first garage sale. We actually learned from the process, the marketing, how to have an attractive and effective display, and the little but important things.

Last month, we joined a bazaar event just because we want to declutter. Because we still had a few things with us, we decided to join again this month. We were not “veterans” when it comes to joining bazaars but my sister and I have learned a few things that we would like to share to those who have thought of joining a bazaar or garage sale event but have no clue about it.

Tip #1: analyze if the location of the event favors you

I think it all starts with the location. Here are some questions that will guide you:
Is the event near my location? Of course, you would be bringing stuff from your place to the event. If it’s far from your place, you have to consider commuting or taxi fare.
Is it a place where there a lot of passers by or people have to come over? It’s an advantage if the bazaar is in a mall or a shopping district. It’s also easy to sell if it’s a bazaar during a festival like Dinagyang. People are just going around, they pass by your booth, see something interesting and might buy from you. Our latest bazaar was at a rooftop in a building wherein people need to come over. What made us decide to go ahead with it anyway was the affordable rent unlike in popular places. I told my sister, “If we can’t make up for our rent, let’s just think we paid for the music and the atmosphere.”
Who are the potential customers around the area? The people around the area of the event are your most probable customers so you have to consider that too especially if you have a target niche for your products. Is it a residential area? Is there a school nearby? Are there commercial places around too? Are they selling what I’m selling? In our case, we’re selling our preloved clothes very cheap so we sold a lot from residents around the area. Also, the B Lifestyle Complex had families staying over so it helped that we were selling some kids stuff. And also, the building had some students coming over in their co-working space so we were able to sell our artsy stuff like the dreamcatchers and journals.

TIP #2: know the inclusions and exclusions of your rental fee

So the rental fee might be cheap but at times, it’s because there are additional fees for certain necessities. Usually, they make you sign a sort of agreement so you should read that to know what encompasses your rental fee. Here are some probable inclusions and exclusions you should ask about:

• electricity (for the light or for appliances if you’re selling food)
• tent (if it’s in an open area)
• tables and chairs
• water (if you’re selling food)

tip #3: prepare the things you would bring and sell

It helps to visualize how you will display your items. Bring what you need and leave what you don’t need. Our mistake was we didn’t prepare ahead of time and just brought whatever we think we need or sell so some items ended up taking space under our table.

How many tables do you think you’ll need? How many hangers do you need? Should you bring a table cover? Should you bring a tarp to cover your items at the end of the day? Do you need a two-pole clothes hanger or one-pole is enough? Do we have more dresses to sell or shorts? Dresses would be good hanged while shorts on the table can do.

TIP #4: don’t forget some little but important things

Plastic/paper bags for the items sold, coins and bills for change, food container good for takeout are some. In our case, we make sure we bring some plastic twines, garbage bags, plenty of hangers and safety pins.

tip #5: think about your possible expenses

This is in connection with tip #4. There are a few hidden costs in joining a bazaar. Some of these would be taxi fare, food and water, pay if you hired a person to look after your booth, plastic/paper bags, clothes and shoe rack and hanger if you don’t have some, some shopping for yourself, etc. I remembered totaling our profits and subtracting our expenses one time, we laughed at how much is left for us. We had been rewarding ourselves too much with food.

tip #6: it’s good to have at least an online shop

We were asked a couple of times where is our physical shop or if we join bazaars often. Some younger people asked if we have a Facebook page or a website they could go to contact you when they need to. We don’t have a physical shop but we do have a Facebook page and a website.

So that’s it. If you are a first timer and you need some help, let me know in the comments below. If you’re a bazaar person for a while and you want to add more tips, still comment down below. We would love to hear from you.

—–Update as of year 2021

I’m not active on this Facebook seller page anymore but I have an online shop you can check out here.

Interested in these stuff? Head on over to the shop for items for sale. Click on this link for arts and crafts services such as face painting, DIY arts and crafts booth for children’s parties and requests for dreamcatchers and purses.