If I ever feel like frivolous shopping again, that second hand market experience last week should stop me in my tracks.

I feel like a good reminder before I make a purchase is to have a think how much I will be affected if I cannot use the item to its full potential. Such as what I can possibly recover if I tried to sell it at a second hand market, or how reluctant I would be to just donate or throw it away.

Last week I decided to share a Glebe market stall with a friend and bring all the things I’ve decluttered over the last few weeks but not yet ready to donate. While most were clothing and shoes, there was also handmade jewellery, unused makeup, and other accessories.

A few experiences made it an absolutely terrible ordeal that I never want to repeat again, and possibly swearing off ever wanting to run another second hand market stall.

Firstly, it was an exceptionally hot day. Weather report in the morning had temperatures going up from 20 degrees to a high of 30 degrees. That felt like an utter lie as I stood there in the blazing sun, under an umbrella, with the sweat rolling down my neck. It wasn’t as bad in the morning due to having a tree overhead providing some shade. But as the sun moved across the sky, there was literally nowhere to hide by noon. As I don’t often do market stalls, we didn’t have a gazebo or stand-alone beach umbrella to bring. So all our stuff was left baking in the sunshine. To the point that the metal jewellery were searing to the touch and I saw more than a few people hastily drop the pieces back on the table after picking them up to inspect.

I had previously done a market stall at Rozelle a few years ago, which had a good turnout and netted me sufficient funds back to justify the full day. Not Glebe. Possibly due to the demographics, there were definitely some hard bargainers out there trying to score cheap deals. Most of my offerings were in the $5-$10 range, so it became increasingly irritating when I had something listed for $5, and still had people trying to bargain it down. Or trying to get 2 items for $5 when a single one was listed as $5. I had one lady come in simply asking if I was selling anything for $1. Or the gent who offered me $1 for an item, and when I refused, smirked as he walked away saying “a dollar is a good deal”. Why didn’t you just ask for it for free, huh?

Apologies if my tone is giving away my rising annoyance as I think back to the ridiculous offers of that day. However, in calmer hindsight, I should have just accepted any offers I could get, since I was intending to donate most of the unsold items anyway. But the principle of the situation (and my temper) just made me not want to give these people the satisfaction.

At the end of the day, possibly impacted by the heat, I barely walked away with $100, after factoring in stall fees, sustience, and parking. From chatting with neighbouring stall holders, they all agreed the turn out wasn’t very good either.

If I ever rethink the decision to set up another market stall somewhere down the track, I would say takeaway learnings are:

Bring something that provides free-standing shade. While a gazebo would be the recommendation, it’s probably not worth buying one just for the occasional market stall. But a free-standing beach umbrella would leave your hands free to serve customers when needed.

Bring water. Lots of it! I had brought 3 bottles and finished it all by early afternoon. Snacks and other food are also good sustenance as it’s difficult to leave the stall if you don’t have someone else to share and mind it for you.

Bring (more) spare change. The amount of people that handed me $100, $50, and $20s while purchasing a $5 item! I brought about $100 worth of coins initially, but most of it was immediately used in providing change for the first few customers. I would suggest to bring $5 and $10 notes next time.

Jewellery and clothing sold well, if they were cheap (around $5-10). People were also looking for second-hand branded items (can be high street labels rather than luxury or designer).

Don’t bother trying to sell shoes. No one even looked at them.

Hang up clothing so people can browse easier. The clothing rack should be at the front of the stall to catch people’s eye as they walk past. Not many made the effort to step into the stall to look at the other items spread out on the table.

Maybe next time I’ll try suitcase rummage instead…..or just stick to online marketplaces.

Have you ever tried a market stall?
What were your previous experiences with selling second hand clothing?