How to Price Flea Market Items

Flea markets are a great way for a large number of vendors to gather in one space and sell a lot of random items. A flea market serves as a place where customers and sellers can meet and haggle the price of individual items. Selling at a flea market can be both fun and lucrative. However, you should keep in mind a few rules when deciding how to price the flea market items you intend to sell.

Always mark the price on your items; don't keep it in your head. It's not just the item, but also the price tag that draws the interest of buyers, and an unmarked item is less likely to attract inquiries.

Visit other flea markets and investigate what kind of price you can expect to get for a comparable item. You might even try online auction sites, such as eBay, to find out typical prices.

Set a price that is a nice round number, such as $1 or $5. Loose change is a hassle for both buyers and sellers to carry around at flea markets, so make the price as convenient as fishing a buck out of a wallet or purse.

Don't mark the item with your final price; set it a few dollars higher. Flea market visitors are looking for deals and like to haggle, so don't go in with rigid prices in mind. Set prices that allow the customer to negotiate the price down, so that it is below the marked price but above your bottom price. That way, you both feel like a winner.

Forget what you originally paid for an item. For example, don't get hung up on the fact that you paid $1,000 for an armoire six years ago if you know someone is unlikely to spend that money for something that old and in that condition today. Remember that having $150 in your hand is better than having an unsold armoire.

Avoid marking the price at a round number, such as $50 or $100, which can be a psychological obstacle for many people. Drop it instead to $45 or $95. It is important to get over a customer's mental block in order to get to the haggling process, which is where you can make your sale.