Rob & Melissa Stephenson from Flea Market Flipper share three tips to help you get the most out of your next sourcing trip to the flea market.
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Reseller Hangout Podcast – Rob & Melissa on 3 Tips To Rock Your Next Sourcing Trip To The Flea Market
Rob: What's up, guys? On today's episode, we are talking about three tips that is gonna help you rock your next sourcing visit to your local flea market.
Melissa: So today we wanna talk about three things to help you be more prepared the next time you go to your flea market so you can score some good deals.
Rob: That's right. You guys might get overwhelmed when you go to your local flea market. We wanna help you combat that overwhelm feeling that you get when you walk up and there's stuff everywhere.
So we wanna give you guys some three tips. To hone in to get your guys, get the most out of your next visit.
Melissa: And I think that, that you did really hit that on the head like that. Sometimes people, you walk into such a massive thing, like a flea market. It happens at thrift stores too, but you go to a flea market and there are just people everywhere.
There's vendors, everywhere. There's stuff everywhere. So. Where do you even start and how do you go and be more prepared?
Rob: Great question. Let's get to it.
Melissa: All right.
So the first thing to know when you go to the flea market. No, but before we dive, even dive into that, like the flea market is really where we got our, not your start.
You start started at a whole bunch of stuff when you were younger. Yeah. But like really when we started diving into doing this as an income, a substantial income for ourselves.
Rob: It was really our number one source of sourcing. This is where we went to get all of our stuff and that's where we bought it from.
And then we sold it on eBay. So it is where we started. It's got a near and dear place in our heart because we love the flea market.
Melissa: So, yeah. And you went there religiously for every weekend.
Rob: Every Saturday and Sunday. Yeah, we were there. We were there looking for items.
Melissa: So, which we'll talk about in a little bit.
Rob: Yep.
Melissa: But so the first one is to find those areas of the flea market that are the used items. So not the new stuff we're looking for that used, used treasures that we can find.
Rob: Yep. So a lot of flea markets have some vendors or a lot of vendors that might order stuff from, Alibaba, the Chinese stuff, the knockoff stuff.
They might have a lot of vendors like that. Typically you do not want to be around those vendors. You want the vendors that have yard sale stuff, flea market. I mean, have yard sale stuff, have thrift store stuff, have storage, auction stuff, storage auction, all that kind of stuff that's used. That is where you're gonna get the best deals on the used items.
And you'll be able to make more money on those items. So look for those places. A lot of times they are in one section. If it's a huge flea market. It's in one section, they put all those vendors in one spot and they put all the new vendors with the Chinese stuff and all that other stuff, they put those into other spots.
So look for those used vendors that are selling used items. Okay. That is one of the best tips we can give you. That's where you're gonna find the gems you're gonna find those needles in a haystack with those people.
Melissa: Yeah. And we do notice that there are, we stop at flea markets when we're traveling. And so we go to different ones, various ones across our state. But we like to stop at them whenever we happen to be traveling on the weekend. And there are some of 'em that are a lot of the new stuff, but you still can find those used items. You just have to look a little harder and find those people. They're usually, I mean, from my experience, what I've seen, it seems like they're on the outskirts a little bit more.
And they're just a little bit off of from our everywhere else is yeah with the new stuff.
Rob: So absolutely. So seek those people out, find those people. And then yeah those are the ones you want to actually go to and find the items that you wanna resell for sure.
Melissa: Yeah. Ours is a mix of, a mix of everything I think like, and a lot of people do storage, storage auctions, thrift stores and all that. So yeah.
Rob: But the majority of, our flea market is those people who are buying from storage auctions. Yeah. And they're bringing it out there. So we don't have, we do have a couple vendors that are mixed in, but we don't have huge sections, but other flea markets that we have visited, they definitely have sections that are new stuff and then the used stuff, they keep 'em kind of separately.
Melissa: Yeah. I feel like more of the indoor ones have maybe more of the stuff.
Rob: Maybe. I don't know. And if it is a total indoor flea market, a lot of times, you want to try to find, a lot of indoor flea markets will have outdoor sections.
Melissa: Yes.
Rob: And that's typically where the stuff that we look for, the larger items, the, the used items are typically on the outskirts of, or the outside version of the flea market.
Melissa: And it's not that you can't flip new stuff, but that's not what we do.
High profits.
We like the higher profits. You're looking for that new stuff that is undervalued, in the local flea market.
And that we can go and sell it on eBay. And for somebody that's looking for that specific item. And so we can make our money, they can get their item at a discount, and it's a win, win, win, yeah, situation. Yeah. So, so the next one.
Rob: Tip number two.
And we're gonna skip it up a little bit on this one. Be okay to walk away from an item.
I want to.
Melissa: You switched it up on me.
Rob: I did . I want to, stress this guys. If you do see an item, you want to be able to walk away if the prices... our money's always made in the buy, whatever you can get that item for the cheapest that you possibly can get that item for, that is what we're shooting for.
So if it doesn't make sense, walk away from it. There's gonna be more items. You'll find more items, maybe not that day at the flea market. But it's okay. Walk away from it. Be able to walk away from an item for sure. Yeah.
Melissa: And a lot of times also that the person, sees you walking away and they just want to like, okay, maybe they might call you back, call you back and to go get it.
And then they might give you a great deal right then. That's happened to you before. Absolutely. You just wanted to walk away to go look it up. Cause you don't like looking it up right in front of them. No. Sometimes they're like, oh, they give you such a great deal. You can't even like, I can't pass that up right now.
So you go and get it. So, absolutely.
Rob: But like Melissa said, this is the great time when you're walking away from an item. That's when you pull out your smartphone, that's when you do the research on that item, you wanna find out what it's worth. You wanna find out what retail is on. You wanna find out what it's selling for on eBay, what it's listed for on eBay.
You do all that research when you walk away. And when you come back and decide that you're gonna negotiate with the, the vendor. Be able to walk away. That's where you, if it's not, if they can't give you the right price or they're not gonna accept your offer, be willing to walk away from it and leave that item right
where it's at. That's the biggest thing. And like, most
Melissa: That's hard for a lot of people to do.
Rob: It is, it is. And like most in the beginning, Melissa said too, it's one of those things that, when you do start walking away because they don't meet your price. Typically a lot of vendors, I have not seen a vendor who will not while you're walking away and saying, yeah, that's a little bit too much for me. I have not seen a vendor not come down on the price. So, typically they know they have you there and they have you at a price. They don't wanna lose you. So that is the, one of the biggest things is, be willing to walk away and then they might call you back and say, hey, they might not go to your price, but they might come up a little bit, or come down a little bit on what they wanted for it.
And then you can make that decision. If you had some room to play, if you can go up any better on the price or pay a little bit more for the price.
Melissa: Yeah. It's like a little dance back and forth. Yeah. But I wanted to add too. And the first part, when you walk away, when you're trying to go see if it's worth getting, if you wanted to go look it up first, if you don't know the item very well, is that, you could say, I, I just, one thing you say lot is I just got to the flea market.
I'm gonna walk around for a little bit, I'll come back and that kind of gives you that, you know, just got here, let me look around, and I'll be back to you.
Rob: So, yeah. And, and definitely, I remember going to the flea market, I went with my mom when I was younger and I kind of leaned on her and her negotiating skills because she was really, really good at it.
Melissa: I wish I could've seen her back in the day.
Rob: I know I, she was really, really good at it. So when I had to start going by myself, trust me, I didn't even want to talk to vendors because I felt obligated. Once I asked them a price that I had to pay that price. I didn't know how to get out of it. Once they said the price. So, be okay with that.
And it it's a little bit, it feels awkward at first, if you don't pay their price. So it's gonna feel a little awkward at first, but just like Melissa just mentioned, what I got really good at was how much are you asking for this? Okay. I just got here. Let me think about it. I'm gonna walk around a little bit and let me think about it.
And if you can do that, you walk around, you look at, look up the, the item, find out the retail on it, what it's selling for, all those informations. And sometimes. I've walked away and made it like 10 steps. Cause I didn't know what the item was. And then I look up retail real quick or what it's selling for and I turn right around and go back and then I start negotiating.
If it is a really, really good item and they're asking the right price for it, I'll go back right away. And sometimes I'll walk around a couple aisles, think about it, do some more research and then I'll walk back. So, but I've done it both ways. Just be willing to walk away in the beginning so you can do the research.
And then if the price is not right and you can't meet up, be willing to walk away again. There are more items there's always items out there that you can find to resell.
Melissa: And we talk a lot about your profit is made in your purchase. And if you are feeling like nervous that, okay, well, I have to buy it at this price, but my profit is gonna be cut in half or I'm not gonna make as much.
You're not obligated. So, you know, just be polite, be they, you know, say thank you. They see people all day long. Yep. So they're doing this negotiation thing all day long, they're used to it. So, so it doesn't have to be a scary thing.
Rob: So, absolutely. Absolutely.
Melissa: And the more you do it, the better you get at it.
Rob: Number three, the most important tip in my book is definitely build relationships, build those contacts. Now, I've been going to the flea market religiously for what? Seven years now?
Melissa: Yeah, like every week started when we, when we jumped in full time was like six years ago, like six and a half years ago.
Rob: Yeah. So almost seven years. So that's what I've been going religiously is to the flea market. And I've cut back in the last couple years. I haven't had to go as much. But the reason I have not had to go as much is because I built relationships with the vendors. This is huge. A lot of my vendors that I built relationships with will contact me throughout the week.
And I do not have to compete with other people at the flea market. They'll contact me. They'll send me a picture of an item, that they just got from a local storage auction, or they just got out of the trash or they just got from one of their vendors and they'll send it to me right there. And I can make a decision there that I'm not competing with anybody else.
And this is a game changer guys, if you can really get this down, this is a game changer. Just build those relationships. The best way to do it is if you start to see a vendor week in and week out, that has cool items and they're, they're churning items and they're turning items and they're getting stuff from local storage auctions, and they're picking up auction stuff and bringing it, and then their prices are right.
That's when you start talking to people, those kind of vendors, and be like, hey, do you have any of this? Maybe vintage radios or do you have anything, whatever you like, or you enjoy, start talking to them and asking them that stuff. And they might say, yeah, I have something back in my storage unit that is, what you're looking for.
Ask them, hey, can I give you my phone number or can I take your phone number and maybe come and look at it on Monday when you guys are done with the flea market? These relationships that you build with these people are going to be insane. We have literally made hundreds of thousands of dollars off of relationships that we have built in the last probably four or five years from flea market vendors.
So this is huge.
Melissa: You really don't have to go sourcing ever again.
Rob: No, I don't.
Melissa: Because of it. Because they send you stuff during the week, they'll call you text you like, hey, do you want this? And it's kind of crazy. And sometimes I'm like, no, we don't need it. and he's like, oh, but look at this. Yeah, this looks great.
Rob: So we were out of town last week and one of my vendors, my favorite vendor that I have, he sent me I don't know where he gets stuff. He's a scrapper. So I don't know. It's good stuff everywhere. He's got contacts with people all over central Florida. Some businesses and everything. Yeah, crazy. He sent me, a gym, a, it was an actual, what do you call it?
A rehabilitation gym. They were going out of business or they were doing something.
Melissa: I don't think you told me about this one.
Rob: I did I show, well, I don't think I showed you all the things he sent me. I think it was eight pieces of equipment that you could tell were rehabilitation equipment. He sent me pictures.
They were set up in the gym still. He had to, he had to remove them. I don't know what he paid for 'em or if he just got 'em for free, I have no idea, but he sent me pictures of each one. I asked him how much for all of 'em. He told me $1,500. Now that might sound like a lot to you guys. And it is a lot to me too.
I don't like to spend a lot of money on that. But these eight pieces of equipment, two of the pieces of equipment that were rehabilitation rehabilitation equipment is expensive. Very. Two of the equipment alone were exercise bikes. That I didn't get a time. We were actually driving. We were outta town and I didn't get any, a lot of time to look it up.
I looked it up the next day when we got to our location and two of the units alone were selling between $3,000 and $4,000. So he wanted $1,500 for all of it. I knew the two bikes. I knew the brand name on the bikes and I looked them up, like I said, the next day, called them back and said, hey, how quick do they have to be removed?
He said, sorry. I sold them to somebody else already. So he got rid of all of 'em and I didn't even get 'em, but that just goes to show you the power, these two pieces of bite, these two equipments between three and 4,000. That's what, $6,000 to $8,000 in profit, that I would've made off of those two units and the other ones, probably over $10,000 off of the other units.
If I would've sold them as. A whole like a, for a gym or something like that. So that just goes to show you the power of creating relationships, and really, really, you know, living into the relationships with these vendors who have the stuff that you want to buy. And this is right at my alley. The guy knows exactly what I buy.
And he's known me. I've known him for what, five years now? Four or five years. Cuz I didn't build relationships immediately, right? Yeah. It took me a little while to start living into it and, and doing it and creating relationships. So probably four or five years, I've had a relationship with this guy.
But I'm telling you this guy alone, has resulted in over a hundred thousand dollars in sales for us.
Melissa: I also remember the, autoclave so that he found he got it for free. Absolutely. On the side of the road, right. Or something?
Rob: No, I think it was a contact. Oh, business was going out of business.
Melissa: But he got it for free.
Yeah. And he sold it to you for a hundred bucks and we sold it on eBay for $5,000.
Rob: Yeah. I think it was over five, like $5,500, something like that.
Melissa: He got it for $100.
Rob: But the same contact and I didn't have to compete with anybody in the flea market. He messaged me as soon as he got it and said, hey, are you interested in this?
And I said, absolutely. He told me a hundred bucks. I said, I'll be there later today and pick it up. We did it. And this, these are only a couple, a couple stories guys. Yes. Hundreds and hundreds of items I have bought from this guy, that he's making money because he's getting it for free. He's taking pictures off of the side of the road because he is a scraper.
He's picking stuff up off the trash. And taking a picture of it and saying, hey, do you want this while he's there on the curb? I message him back and say, absolutely how much a hundred bucks. Okay, well, I'll take it. He picks it up, puts it on a trailer, brings it to, my location.
Melissa: So, and he knows that you sell on eBay.
Rob: So he, he knows I'm making money.
Melissa: And he knows like he he's making money off of you and you're making money off of him.
Rob: Absolutely.
Melissa: And so like, it's a win-win for everybody again.
Rob: So number three is the most important, just keep that in mind when you're creating contacts in this business is a game changer.
It is huge. If that's the biggest thing we can stress to you guys create those contacts, be nice to people, be cordial to people. And yeah, try to build the contacts with the people that have. Stuff, that you're looking for, that you like to sell.
Melissa: Yeah. And I wanted to point out to that that can be, it can sound really scary to do that, but I think the fact that you were so consistent in going to the flea market every weekend, you see this thing, people absolutely over and over and over.
It's not, it's not hard, not that hard to start a conversation, especially with the people that have the stuff at the prices that you like and have the kind of the same stuff. It's like a lot of the guys buy storage lockers, or, you know, they go through storage during the week or whatever scrapers or whoever, whatever, and it, you see the same people.
So like, we'll, we'll go to the flea market now. Hey Rob. Hey Rob, like.
Rob: Know a lot of the vendors.
Melissa: Everybody down there, but that's, didn't start like that. No, like you went, you know, really probably five or six years ago is really when you started to build these relationships. Yep. And you built 'em, I feel like fairly quickly once you were very consistent at it.
Rob: So absolutely. Absolutely. When they're seeing you week in and week out. Yeah. And they're there week and week in, week out, because that's their livelihood. That's how they're making money. That's when you start to talk to 'em, you start to get to know 'em I have probably five to 10 contacts in my phone right now that I could call up at the drop of a hat.
Let me go to your store. Exactly. Can I come and see what you guys have right now? Or, hey, I'm looking for. And I can get stuff from those people throughout the week, not having to wait till, Saturday or Sunday at the flea market. And I can do that. And these are numbers of people who would know me if I called 'em up.
And I said, hey, I'm looking for this or text them and said that they, they, they know me. They know who I am. And I bought from them, on the weekdays outside of the flea market. So, but very, very important.
Melissa: Don't think like, oh, you guys have been doing this for so long. That's why you had those contacts.
Now you had to make it a point to do that. And just by being consistent, it. So much easier. Yep. So, and then also, I mean, this is a little off topic, cuz we're talking about the flea market, but that's same with thrift store managers too. Like you get to know you walk in, see the same people over and over again, you create relationships.
Rob: Absolutely. Relationships are key in this business that will make or break you. You definitely can make a lot of money off of people who are in the industry, in the business, that are getting the items. They constantly have a flow of those items that you want or that you wanna resell. You definitely want to do that.
Melissa: I think in the beginning too, we were more, you were more like, okay, I'm not really, I'm kind of focused. I'm just looking for stuff to resell. You didn't really tell people, but now all your vendors know that you're going to sell it on eBay. Like they know it's not, they just don't wanna do it either for one reason, they don't wanna ship it.
They don't wanna deal with eBay. A lot of 'em, whatever is their reason, their business model is find the stuff really cheap and sell it in volume, so volume. So that's how they're making their money. They don't wanna deal with eBay. So yeah. And now you're, you know, people know you're a good contact for them.
Rob: So absolutely. So that is the one I wanna stress the most. The other ones are great, but number three, definitely build those relationships. It will pay dividends in the future. So guys, hopefully you enjoyed this episode. If you have, please like, and subscribe, we absolutely love making these videos, these podcasts.
So please, please, please it would mean the world to us if you guys could do that.
Melissa: And share it with your friends. We wanna help as many people as we can to increase their, flipping profits with their flipping gig.
Rob: Absolutely.
Melissa: Thanks guys.