Selling novelty items in a booth

[shmootz]

Hi,

I came across the idea of opening up a booth to sell a specific brand of silly putty which I believe could become quite a cool novelty. They are colour changing (by heat or by light) and also have cool magnetic versions... anyway, I am wondering where to start. I have contacted the supplier for wholesale information in regards to this product, however, I am wondering if anyone has any ideas on cheap, but effective places to rent out a kiosk in Melbourne (small shop front) to sell these. I have contacted Chadstone Shopping Centre, however they have not seemed to reply or show any interest (I also predict that they will be quite expensive). Please let me know if you have any ideas. Any help would be greatly appreciated By the way, I am 15 years old.

Thanks!

[LeelaCosgrove]

Bit of trivia: Kiosks are actually the most expensive part of the shopping centre (in a cost per square metre comparison) - because they are prime real estate.

Okay - first things first. There's no way you'll get a commercial retail lease. You're legally not allowed to sign off on it - and commercial premises aren't going to accept your parents signing off for you (on top of which you'll be looking at $1,000+ a week).

Why not start small? You've got a huge advantage in that your target market is right in front of you - at school!

Once you've sold a bit of product and you know it's going to go well, I would then suggest looking at getting a stall at the local markets.

With a bit of creative marketing you could make some decent money this way, and it will cost you very little in overhead ...

Do you do economics or business principles at school? Or similar subjects? Because I would totally recommend having a chat to a teacher who teaches one of these subjects ... they'd be able to point you in the right direction and tell you what you need to think about in terms of taxes, purchasing, business planning and tracking. Having that kind of support will be invaluable.

good luck!

[Burgo]

Now young shmootz, welcome to the forum.

Now the advice from Leala is really good and I will back her 100% in what she has said.

Having had market stalls at various time throughout my business life I can tell you you will have fun. You will also be able to gauge the market and you can go from market to market without being restricted by having a kiosk or a shop.

Start it off as a hobby something that will give you extra cash then gradually build it into a business. By going to market to market you may even find several areas that you do well in, and others not so well. Not only is this giving you valuable market research on the product but also where the market is and who your market should be targeting.

What an oportunity I bet every one on the forum is GREEN with ENVY. Something like this is what we all dream about , to be able to do market research before we actually commit.

Well done and keep us all informed, and remember any questions ask away, and those questions you may think are silly could be just the key to a successful business.

[vstacy]

Your age is going to work against you until you're 18 (legally able to sign documents yourself)... thus I agree with everyone else: start small. Do it as a paying hobby then go from there.

[shmootz]

Hi,

Thank you all for your replies! I have had experience running eBay businesses selling Bose headphones, which was quite successful, however, I had some problems with eBay and am waiting to find another product to sell online. I do not believe this silly putty would have a great chance of success on eBay. I have also started a successful mobile phone unlocking website at freeunlocks.com which uses a service called TrialPay for my customers to get these unlocks for free. Please feel free to check the site out if you wish.

That said, I do not really want to be selling these items at school. I would much prefer to be doing this over the summer, thus the idea of a booth/stall. Does anyone know where I can hire a stall (indoors, or even outdoors in a market)? The Victorian Market is very expensive and requires long term leases, and Chadstone Shopping Centre has not seemed to show any interest in my emails. Maybe I will call them and request more information.

I thank you all for your help so far

[shmootz]

Ok, back to the original question... does anyone have any ideas as of where I can sell my products in a small and cheap kiosk/booth/stall?

Thanks!

[Accounts Studio]

You could try approaching a shop that is already in the centres you wish to target and asking them whether you could rent a bit of floor space from them for your machine?

[cathnniv]

Hi Schmootz

another idea is to sell them in gift stores on consignment.
This way they are more inclined to stock your product as it is at no cost (only bit of floor space) to them and they make on average 25 - 35%.

Otherwise if there are Centro malls in Melb try them, i know our local centro does casual leasing for a smallish fee you just get a table set up and away you go.

even a few local busineses selling non competing but similar style products may agree to let you sell from a table out the front of their store, push the age thing, use it to your advantage as many people would be inspired by your work ethic and creative thinking skills i know i am.

Age is only a barrier if you let it be.

[shmootz]

Originally Posted by cathnniv

another idea is to sell them in gift stores on consignment.
This way they are more inclined to stock your product as it is at no cost (only bit of floor space) to them and they make on average 25 - 35%.

Thanks for the idea! I will email a What's New novelty store in Chadstone Shopping Centre to inquire about the consignment idea. Just wondering, what would stop them from going to the company in the USA and ordering the items wholesale straight from them?

Would you mind explaining a bit more about this system and how it could work?

Thanks again.

[belonna]

I'd say set up stalls at markets where you can also hand out promotional material with each purchase and get some word of mouth going for your website. There's always stacks of children in tow of parents at farmers/craft/flea markets, if the product is as attractive as it sounds I don't see why it would not be of great interest to children. But you'd need to deal with import duties and so on, legals and financials. Best to get an accountant and attorney at least to give you advice.

Unless you have a great deal of money and your parents are willing to back you up 100% it would be a very expensive endeavour to set up a booth at a shopping centre. IMHO market stalls are the way to go at least in the beginning. My local market (I'm in Brisbane) which incorporate farmers goods and second hand/craft stall gets many thousands of people coming through every Sunday. I go myself every Sunday and it booms no matter what season. Stall costs are cheap as chips and vary across the city depending on the market location you're interested in. Prices here for a stall range from $20 - $55. Some markets don't allow wholesale goods, some do.

No insurance hassles, no legal dramas. You'll just need to get transport there and back - easy peasy.

Your age could be a real bummer where the consignment side of things is concerned though. You'd need to set up your business properly, all legals etc. Quite expensive. You'd need a good amount of money to purchase in bulk to make it worthwhile, if the product is as good as it sounds others with more buying power will be able to offer it for less. Then there is the import side of things which brings in a stack of other legal and financial matters. There isn't a thing you can do to stop others from simply going to their website and ordering the goods for themselves unless you can become the sole distributor for Australia. Unless you can prove you have a great distribution network set up already and are willing to put your money where your mouth is and invest in quite a large initial shipment I really doubt you could secure that. There's also a stack of legals and tax implications associated.

You have your age going for you - some will be impressed with your ingenuity. Definite selling point.