Tips for How to Run a Successful Flea Market at Senior Residences

Senior Residences may find it helpful to consider a flea market as a fundraiser to help offset the cost of cultural and leisure activities. At our senior residence, a group of senior residents met and decided we would hold a flea market as a fundraiser to finance future activities. We do not have an activities director nor do we have funding available to cover the expenses of our cultural and leisure activities so we planned a flea market as a fundraiser. We decided to collect items from interested residents and encouraged everyone to search his/her closets for treasures that they no longer wanted. We held several meetings to ensure that the flea market would be a success.

To avoid the cost of renting tables and space, the flea market was held in the beautiful courtyard of our facility. It was agreed that all profits from the sale would be placed in a fund to benefit everyone and no personal monetary gain would be realized. To satisfy the hunger pangs of shoppers and vendors, we set up a food concession table to sell hotdogs, hamburgers and hot fish sandwiches cooked on site.

Cake and soda were also sold to add to the proceeds of the flea market. Sale merchandise was prominently displayed on the lawn with shoes displayed according to size. Clothing was hung on sturdy rope between two sturdy columns. To encourage socialization among both sellers and buyers, chairs were set up on the grounds while oldies music provided by the grandson of one of our residents wafted through the air, bringing back a bit of nostalgia and memories of our youth. The weather was picture perfect with not a rain cloud in sight!

Throughout the day, raffle tickets were sold and every half hour a ticket was drawn and awarded to the lucky recipient. Tickets were reasonably priced and sold at a price of "one for" or "3 for" which stimulated sales for the chance to win a useful handcrafted or baked goods item. Approximately one hour before the close of the sale, all items were reduced to half price. The price reduction attracted last minute bargain hunters and eliminated the need to bring back many unsold items. We have listed some suggestions that helped our senior residence to have a profitable flea market with a net profit of $530.00.

Prior to the Sale

Post a flyer in prominent areas of the senior residence and on community bulletin boards and other public places in the surrounding community.

Enlist the help of senior resident volunteers to sort and price the donated items. Be sure to stress the importance of donating practical and useable items, not broken or soiled items.

Provide enough tables and chairs for the prospective vendors. Some of the vendors might have mobility issues that would cause difficulty standing for long periods.

Place a gaily decorated collection box in a well trafficked area in the residential complex where residents can place their donations.

Purchase the food items that will be sold in advance of the day of the flea market. In our residential complex, the residents pooled their resources to buy the food to avoid deducting food costs from our flea market proceeds.

Set up various committees such as food and clean-up

Day of Sale

Approximately one hour before the sale begins, have the set up committee set up tables and chairs and place colorful tablecloths on the tables. Put helium balloons at the entrances of the senior residence to attract the attention of passing motorists and pedestrians. All vendors should bring their own seed money of $15.00 in dollar bills and coins in a moneybox. Each vendor should verify one another's seed money. At the end of the day, each seller will take out his $15.00 seed money before the total proceeds are counted. When the money from the flea market sale is collected, it can be deposited into an interest bearing account at a neighborhood bank. (To maintain financial integrity, the treasurer and two other individuals handled this transaction. In our monthly newsletter, we published the amount of money raised in the flea market).

Have items displayed on the tables and clothes securely hung ; shoes and other items should be conspicuously displayed.

Smile and be pleasant to your customers even if they do not purchase from your table. Remember, items sold benefit everyone. Enjoy the day and have fun!

Check that food supplies and paper products are replenished as needed during the sale. Periodically collect the money from the concession stand and place it in a secure place for counting after the sale.

Select a resident volunteer to sell raffle tickets and to call the winning ticket numbers at designated intervals during the day. A young relative of a resident could be solicited to draw the winning number.

Have cleanup committee clean the area and gather unsold items to be returned to the vendors.

These helpful suggestions resulted in a profitable flea market earning us over $500.00 to place in our bank account for our newly formed social club. Our senior residents enjoyed the food, fun and fellowship and we plan to have other fundraising activities during the year and another flea market next spring. It was a delightful way to share and socialize and the $500 is the start of something great!