I'm not sure if the health supplements would do well. I've seen booths setup at flea markets, rallies and fairs and didn't really pay attention to how busy they were. That probably means they weren't busy. I usually pay close attention to a booth anytime I saw a lot of customers at the booth throughout the day. Plus if you look at the crowd going by, not many seem to be real worried about their health.

I did watch a Watkins (spice and supplements) booth at Quartzite one year. They were setup across the way from us. They seemed to do OK...not real busy but would have people stop by for the samples and some would buy.

If you include a demonstration, you will increase sales (ex; Ginsu Knives, Slicer Dicer) to demonstrate the benefits of a couple of the supplements...more energy, glowing smooth skin, stronger fingernails...etc. It works for snake oil.

Jane,

Sorry, I meant California.  This was couple of years ago.  The company had a better than average quality magnetic bracelet/necklace for a reasonable price.  Reasonable means half of what I could get it for elsewhere.  I went together with another vendor for better pricing and they started getting wierd about shipping to other states.

Pricing is difficult but you seem about right if you stay toward the higher figures.  One problem is you'll find you often need to offer $10 each or 2 for $15/$16/$18 to increase your gross.  There just aren't going to be enough sales if customers only buy one so you offer an incentive to buy more.  There are only so many customers interested in jewelry at a given market.  And there are a lot of vendors selling it.  And often you won't get what you think it's worth.  Like others, if I can't retail it for a reasonable profit, I wholesale it to another vendor who might have better luck.  Then I turn the money, and my slight profit, into different stock.

Ebay is not my friend.  I prefer straight from China purchases if I'm going that route.  My favorites are still auctions, other vendors, and in person wholesale.

fleamarketeer

Having something other than jewelry is a good idea.  When you finally run into a Dollar Jewelry Vendor, you still need to make rent.  The only things that sell well everywhere are guns and junk.  Junk is too heavy and guns are often banned at markets or maybe even illegal for nonresidents without an FFL to sell.  I don't keep track of gun laws.

There's no way to tell what might sell in a given area of the country.  I bought a dozen bracelets each with seven Fleur de lis charms.  I stripped them for the charms but don't remember selling one until I hit LA.  Here I made them into earrings and necklaces.  I'm running out.  Necklaces with crosses are also doing better here.  I stay away from logo'ed items because I'm not positve what's counterfit and what's not, but team items do well locally.   For what it's worth, yesterday at Jockey Lot in Lafatette, LA there was a bust for some sort of electronics knockoffs.  Police left with trailer full of stuff.

Dog stuff usually does well at the markets where I've sold.  That's why there is at least one vendor taking  2 or 3 spaces with a box truck selling it at every larger market.  They even do well at markets where dogs are not allowed.  You can't compete on variety or price but there are often small booths selling home made dog treats. I've never been close enough to one of those to see how they did.  I've seen hand knitted dog sweaters for sale too.  I got half a dozen dog sweaters from a storage unit and they sold very fast for about half of retail.

Baby clothes??  I've started seeing little girls tu-tus in Louisana and they sold pretty well at Bonnie and Clyde.  They're handmade with about $4 in materials and go for $20- $40.  Clothes in general, except T-shirts, are a tough sell.  And T-shirts are not selling as well as they did.  They also get heavy fast because you need a selection of sizes and styles.

Unique is relative and fleeting.  If you have some thing different and others see that it sells well, they'll have it next week. If you bought it- so can someone else.  If you made it; they'll copy it and might well improve on "your" idea.  It's reality; just accept it.  I've seen some on various forums conceal their secret brilliant ideas.  They buy themselves a couple of weeks IF it sells.  It's more likely that someone who has seen something similar fail could have warned them.

Buying habits don't really make the move to different areas either.  In northern states, blacks and hispanics make up well over half of my customers.  I don't even bother with "Ozzie and Harriet" markets anymore.  South of TN, my customer base changed.  I'm still getting some ethnic traffic, but only 20-30% total.  Vendor demographics look about the same.  But here there's a much greater preference among customers to deal with vendors of their own race.  Many of the products I purchased to appeal to the ethnic market just sit there.  Customers still look, smile, and pick them up but don't buy often enough.  I hope my shipment that arrives on Tuesday is heavy on "Leave It To Beaver" land!

Sorry I can't be of real help.  I've just never been where you intend to sell.

fleamarketeer

Nightsky, good idea! Children's and pet costumes should be discounted at this time of year, so perhaps I will look. Little girls and tutus is always a win-win.

Locally, I've been to the Sebastopol flea market, and White people sell old garage junk, and Mexicans sell new plastic junk. The lines never seem crossed, as far as what they sell.

I've been buying jewelry cuz it's small and portable, with a decent mark up. Dog sweaters are also small. Tutus are fluffy.... I did see a Chinese manufacturer that makes real feather dresses for little girls, as well as these sort of weird lace, tutu'esque jumpsuits.

Got some other ideas, like flags, but the problem, is cost, size and shipping.

Jane