Trader tips
Thank you for trading with us! Here are some tips and recommendations for anyone trading at Green Rooms Market events. We hope you will find this useful.
Stall display
Depending on the stall size you have booked our stalls usually consist of a trestle table (that we generally provide) plus extra space for you to bring a further table of your own, or your own display furniture including hanging rails to enhance your display. (Please note that dutch plant trolleys are not permitted as part of your stall display.)
We would suggest that you bring a table cloth covering big enough to cover your table and reach almost to the floor at the front. Sometimes the tables are nice wooden ones, but sometimes they are trestle tables with a white plastic top so look nicer covered. Often the cloth covering can help to brand your stall. It is also a useful way of hiding what is under the table.
Please do not bring large standing banners that can block sight lines, instead you could have branding on your table covering, or a waist height A-board
Vary the heights of your display with stands and/or hangers to add interest and maximise space for your products.
What is your unique selling point? Is it the look of your brand, a brand message, a product material you use, your eco credentials? Making sure these USPs are communicated through your stall display / branding / signage is a great way to get customers engaged.
We discourage any single-use plastic. Please make sure plants are not displayed in their plastic wrappers.
We encourage the use of paper bags, these can very cheaply be branded with your business name or logo using a stamp.
Its a really good idea to do a mock-up of your stall, even simply measured out on the floor not necessarily on a table, so that you can get a real idea of the what will work.
You can take a look at our instagram or the gallery below to see some effective stall layouts.
Pricing
We are all about community over competition. We are not a price driven market.
We are about giving the customers a great day amongst plant loving people with brilliant products and knowledge.
It is really important to have clearly visible, concise prices on each product, or on a sign on your stall if you have a succinct pricing structure relevant for all products.
Customers tend to feel much more comfortable about purchasing if they don’t have to ask for the price from the stall holder.
Pot Makers / Plant Accessory traders
The plantier the better!
For the non-plant traders who might be selling pots, hanging planters, plant stands, any plant display products we STRONGLY encourage you to have plants on your stall that are for sale with or without your products. This will not only enhance the look of your products, it will likely attract more customers to your stalls. In our experience the ‘plantiest’ stalls are the most popular as this is our USP opposed to the abundance of craft markets.
You
Smile!
Customers will often feel much more comfortable browsing and shopping a stall if the stall holder seems warm and approachable. Our customers tend to be thirsty for knowledge (especially in terms of plant care) so any tips or stories behind the product you can give as a customer is browsing is generally really appreciated.
Enjoy yourself and learn from the customers. It’s a great opportunity to see what sells best, what is priced too high/low, what do customers really want? What attracts them to certain stalls more than others?
We pride ourselves on the fact that our markets are all about community over competition.
Feel free to chat to the other stall holders.
Perhaps there will be a trader there who could stock your products in their shop?
Perhaps you could do a product or marketing collaboration with another stall holder you have met at our markets?
Useful tool kit items
There are a few items that you might find useful to have in a ‘tool kit’ for use on the day:
Pens / Marker Pens
Spare price labels
Phone Charger and a portable charger (make sure it is already charged!)
Safety pins / Clips to help keep table coverings or banners in place
Snacks
Extra warm clothing
A folding stool in case chairs are not provided
Blu tac / Sticky tape
Scissors
Remember to think about how you will carry your products from the loading area to your stall.
It is a good idea to have your own trolley / set of wheels.
Taking payments
We encourage card payments at our markets so you will need an EPOS (Electronic Point Of Sale) system with a card reader that links to the relevant app on your phone for you to take payments. These are pretty cheap (about £30) you will likely pay a small transaction fee for each transaction (about 1.5% - 1.75%). You can send email receipts to customers and keep a log of all your transactions.
Many of our traders us Zettle or SumUp Air
Public Liability Insurance
We ask our stall holders to have public liability insurance with £1m cover. Getting insurance is pretty simple, expect to pay around £50-£100 per year for a solo craft seller. You can also get a one-off weekend cover or one-event cover.
Some recommendations as follows: