Hi all,

Managed to get a good daily rate on a local Saturday street market - £40 ($50 approx) for the day, 9am - 6pm, includes gazebo hire and electricity for my amp.

I’ve only got to sell 4 Sven decks to cover that so I think it should be ok... it’s a touristy town, and a very affluent area so the locals aren’t short of cash either.

I’m used to pitching at flea markets and car boot sales (it’s a British thing) so I have my patter down. The only thing I’m not sure about is if I should place my pitch table right at the front of the gazebo to help stop the passing trade or to set it further back inside, offering a little protection from the elements to my punters (and knowing the British weather, rain is more than likely...) I’m even considering closing the doors and starting a new show every 10 mins, in the same way as the guys do at Universal Studios...

Anyone tested these variations and care to share results?

That's great Phil.. You'll quickly find out that tourist spend way better than fleamarkets.. and many times you can even raise your prices!
I prefer to place my table all the way to the front. I feel it's easier to build a tip as your joint is much easier to be seen and I feel some might be intimidated to be the first to walk into the tent... but I've also done it were I have almost to the back. Not sure if it's better or worse for others as I see many pitchmen do it either way. I prefer to be in front all the way and throw plenty of merchandise on the table as it brings them in many times without even having to bally them in.. One advantage of having the table inside is to protect you from the sun as it will warp your cards when the sun hits em.. and of course not to mention the rain.. Also you can build a tip and not bother your neighbor vendors, but I still prefer being up front as I feel your much more visible..

Phil:

My thinking is running along Frosty's thoughts. If the weather is nice, I like to be up at the front of my EZ Up (tent) so the people walking by can see me and the other specs. If the sun is beating down (North Carolina summers can be brutal) I'll move my pitch table more toward the rear of the tent, demo the Fuzzle Worm out front, then invite the tip to move into the shade of the tent for the Sven pitch.

Let us know how you made out.

Thanks for the tips, Frosty and Leo.

I had to chuckle to myself when you both said ‘normal day, have your table at the front to draw the crowd, but when it gets hot, come back into the shade’... Trust me, that’s not going to be a problem where I am for another 4 months at least 😂

I really like the idea of working the Worm at the front, or maybe messing around with D lites, or a dancing cane to get the first few stopping, and then inviting them into the gazebo as protection from the wind and the cold (and rain, most likely!).

Have either of you ever tried the strategy of having a board out the front saying ‘next show starts at x:xx’ and actually closing the doors during the show, in the way they do at Universal Studios? There, they do a 40 min show where they dem Sven deck, fire wallet, dynamic coins and UFO card (or hover card, as some call it- basically a piece of IT and spinning the card around) and then at the end they pitch everything. I think it’s $20 each, but there’s some bulk deal like a three for the price of two... or maybe you get all four for $50, it’s something like that.

You guys ever tried the ‘closed door’ approach?

Nope, I haven't tried the "closed door" approach. The places I pitch are the standard street festivals and inside flea markets with some occasional inside events during the February - March "chill" (car shows, collectible toy shows). I would hate to drag that much stock around, plus I don't think the average Joe here at a street festival would invest the time for a lengthy pitch. Resort areas tend to have a different atmosphere, plus the visitors have saved up more for the trip and probably planned for more disposable income spending. Just my opinion, and I could be wrong. My wife tells me frequently that I am lol..........

Same here, I haven't tried closed doors.. But for that I believe you would need to convince your marks to walk in to see a free magic show when In reality you would perform a few larger magic tricks and or your same slum tricks then pitchem one trick or a package deal or so at the end.. kinda like old magic pitchmen back in the days working on stage at large fairs pretending to give free magic shows but the actual purpose is to sell them pitch items and still ding them with a blade box or so...

Also never tried using a sign saying next show at____. Usually when pitching at a decent fair or Festival, you'll be too busy doing demos mostly all day one after another, though for what you want to try might work for you... best to you if you try it out and let us know if it works for you..

Here is a pic of my simple set up... It's pretty much just an 8 foot table which I set it all the way in front and I have a banner hanging from the upper center joists of the tent, so I only use half of my 10 X 10 tent.. then I place 2 PA systems.. one on each side of my table (not shown on this pic)..

Click here to view attached image.

Here's another pic I took on a very windy day so you can see how my pa speakers just sit on each side of my table... It was so windy that day I couldn't put up my tent without it flying way even with weights on it.. I even had to park my truck behind my joint just to block part of the wind from blowing off my table... but as they say: the show must go on... Lol!

BTW, that good looking fella behind my joint is my best agent I've ever hired to work my joint... (That's my little one..) LOL!

Click here to view attached image.

Good lookin' joint, Frosty!

Thanks LeoH