Dilemmas, dilemmas, dilemmas. I have now found a place in a town 30 minutes from me that known for miles and miles and miles (maybe several states) around for it's plethora of antique stores. While it's only shelf space, I can place items on top of the shelf (it holds 1,000 pounds) and is of decent size. It also has the tempting price of $35/month w/a 10% commission. And, who's to say I couldn't move into a floor space if one became available there? The negatives are 1) No floor space as of right now; 2) no wall space as of right now; 3) it's a good 30 minutes from my house. Positives are: 1) located in a prime location; 2) store is nice and big with lots of vendors to help bring in traffic; 3) it's billed as an "Antique & Collectible" store; 4) it's been operating almost a year (well, could be sort of a negative too); 5) price is very reasonable; & 6) I could see if it's something I could succeed at now or if I needed to wait a little while longer. There is also the fact that several stores on that street are currently vacant BUT knowing the town, could very well be rented and leased the minute the economy turns around and I would have my foot in the door (so to speak) and be more tuned into things.
The other one closer to my home is a small upside-down L-shaped booth with a little floor space for furniture type items (a space that is 50" deep by 88" wide), wall space, and shelf space (14' worth less the 50" deep needed for the furniture). It's also the first booth you see upon entering the store. However, there are some very big negatives. 1) It's being billed as an "Indoor Flea Market" (UGH) with vendors of all ilk while 99% of my items are antique or vintage; 2) the rent is $100/month w/a 10% commission; 3) it's getting very little traffic; 4) it's not in an area conducive to this type store; and 5) somewhere around 4-5 stores have been in this location in the past year or too and all have closed up shop. It sits between an empty home-site (the house was demolished by a tornado a few years ago) & Mini Storage Buildings. Just on the other side is an area full of slightly shabby looking mobile homes (hey, don't get me wrong here, I lived in a mobile home myself for a while!)
So now I am back to square one trying to figure out what to do. Mom prefers floor space for the few bigger items that we have (I may be wheedle a foot somewhere else in the store where I could stick one larger item at a time - I'm a good wheedler!) and we need a place for a lockable cabinet in which to store the more valuable and/or small items I will have. Of course, I haven't even started negotiations with the lady that has the shelf space. Who knows what may come of that.
AHA the picture just arrived of the shelf space. More later~
Life is a mirror - if you frown at it, it frowns back; If you smile at it, it returns the greeting.
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