Two things we’ve learned from selling furniture in a booth space. 1.) White sells. 2.) Coffee tables do not sell.
Sometimes we get bored with painting things white, and because we feel like it might bore you too, we don’t share all of the white makeovers on our blog. But we’ve learned quickly that this style sells in our area. People dig the white, slightly distressed furniture around here. I love to experiment with different colors and finishes, but we know when we do that, it’ll probably take twice as long to sell as when we just paint it white. So even though I sometimes feel like I’m going to poke my eyes out if I have to open another can of Annie Sloan Old White paint, if we want to sell something quickly that’s the direction we head in.
I had painted this drop leaf coffee table once before. It was tan with a grain sack stripe and a number, and when I asked for opinions on Facebook you guys were 50/50 whether you liked it or not.
I decided to go with it anyway and see if it would sell. Well, it didn’t. It sat, and it sat, and instead of lowering the price I decided to just give the people what they wanted and repaint it white.
We did a little distressing around the edges, and I love that you can see a bit of the tan paint and some of the original dark wood finish.
We sealed it with CeCe Caldwell’s Endurance. This is the first time we’ve worked with this product and so far I think I like it, but I want to play with it some more before telling you guys for sure what we think.
Do you sell painted furniture? I’m curious to hear what sells best in your area and what doesn’t. Hope you have a fantastic week!
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Hey Amy – both versions of your table are beautiful! It’s hard to believe that the creative grain sack finish didn’t sell. Our area is a bit of a mixed bag of preferences – overall customers prefer white and old white finishes as well. A close second would be anything in the blue family. Your table is pretty – hope it sells quickly!
Yes! Blue is a fast sell around here too. Sometimes I’m amazed at what sells immediately and what sits for a while.
SO pretty and perfectly distressed! LOVE it!
Thanks Kristi!!
Sometimes it is so hard to tell what people will like. I really liked the original grain sack look. But, you can’t go wrong with white either. It will be interesting to hear if the now, white table, will sell faster. I am too lazy to sell stuff, I don’t know why. I would love some tips on how you guys are successful at it. Thanks!
-Shonee
http://www.hawthorneandmain.com
I have a feeling it’ll still sit for a bit just because it’s a coffee table, but I know the white will sell faster. We sell in a multi-vendor shop and it’s nice because we can drop off stuff whenever we have something new and that’s it. It’s so low maintenance. There are employees at the shop who sell our stuff for us, and if something of our sells we get an email that night letting us know. We could be better about keeping our booth stocked and staged pretty but we don’t always have time for it. If you have any multi-vendor locations near you it would be right up your alley.
So did it sell once you painted it white? Hearing your insight on selling from a booth was a bit fascinating. I have never taken products to an art show or craft fair, but I think about it a lot. I was surprised to hear that white always sells better. If I do end up sewing products to sell, it’s a good reminder for me that sometimes ‘safe’ is better. Do you have any other tips you have learned from selling out of a booth?
Hi Kelli! We’re definitely not experts at selling in a booth, but a few things we’ve learned along the way… the most versatile pieces sell first. For instance, a table that can be used as a night stand or an end table can go into many different rooms in your house and will sell quicker than , say, a vanity that’s very specific. You also have to be careful with how you label things. So if we remake an old sewing table, I wouldn’t tag it as a sewing table because many times a customer will get tunnel vision and say oh, I don’t need a sewing table. But if you just label it as a table it leaves it open for their own interpretation of what they can do with it. We also did a lot of research before we opened our booth by walking around and seeing what the price range was in the area where we sell. Knowing what other people were getting for similar products helped us decide how to price our stuff. Staging makes a huge difference too. So lets say you’re selling pillows. Just putting them in a box on the ground isn’t nearly as appealing as if you placed them on a cute bench. People are more likely to buy if you can give them a vision of how it can look in their home. And lastly, don’t be quick to lower your prices. When we first started selling, a lot of our stuff would sell within days of putting it in the booth. But then there would be a couple pieces that didn’t. We immediately thought we needed to lower the price, but the reality is sometimes there’s nothing wrong with the price and you just need to wait for the right buyer to come along. Don’t sell yourself short and don’t give away your hard work. If you choose to start selling I wish you the best of luck! We’re definitely not getting rich by selling in our booth but it gives us a place to unload some of our projects and it’s a lot of fun :).
Thanks for such a thorough response. Sometimes I like the idea of selling at craft markets, but I know that would take a lot of time and prep work. I haven’t looked into too many details for selling in our area, but maybe sometime soon. 🙂 My husband and I talk often of what kind of product we would sell, but our ideas change weekly.
Amy, I am giggling because I’ve found the same thing at my booth too! I can sell end tables pretty well but man, as soon as I put a coffee table in there it sits and sits 🙂 I’m totally with you on the white too. Whites, greys, and blues are still really popular colors for me. Hugs, Coco
We actually have 2 more coffee tables in our to-be-painted pile, and only because people gave them to us for free. I don’t know why they’re such a hard sell but they ARE! I won’t buy another one and I actually don’t know if I’d even take another free one. They just take up so much floor space in the booth and they stick around for-ev-errrr. And I totally agree…greys and blues are right behind white.
I am so shocked coffee tables don’t sell… or maybe I just have a huge weakness for them! Love this one! I’m sure it’ll sell fast!
I don’t know what it is about them but we can hardly give them away! Thanks for stopping by, Kendra!
I hear you about the white but I also wonder about black. There seems to be so much new black furniture in the stores, I wonder if it’s a color that would sell for us..I’ve seen people who do all white in their booths but I wonder how an all black booth would be received. Of course, I’m all over the color palette My favorite piece is a dresser I did in Barcelona Orange on the body and French Linen on the drawers, finishing with a glaze made from AS dark wax. I use it for storage in my garage because I assume no one would buy it. Anything I have painted AS Florence sells for me, but I just use it on jewelry boxes and small decorative shelves and boxes. Anyway, I love your booth and I always look forward to seeing it when I go to fluff up my booth next door (booth 9276). I loved that baseball themed dresser and love the sewing table.
Thank you, Sheila!! Our booth is so empty right now! We had a few custom pieces and I did a few for my own home, and in the meantime our booth emptied out before we had anything new to put in. We just finished 3 pieces that we’ll be taking up this week. We love seeing your work as well and love that we have such a talented booth neighbor! We’ve done a couple pieces in graphite that sold rather quickly so you might be onto something with an all black collection. Barcelona and French Linen sound like a gorgeous combo and I’m sure someone would’ve snapped it up!
Sheila do you have a website or facebook page? I’d love to follow you if you do.
I understand your coffee table pain! I also have a retail space. I’m fortunate to be in a beautifully renovated barn with wide pine floors, exposed beams, and wonderful light. I love how pieces end up looking in there. But, coffee tables (and even end tables to some degree) seem to fall flat. Perhaps it’s because the taller pieces keep people looking up, not down? Have you tried stacking them on something else? The white is very pretty and I could see it staged and stacked on another coffee table, maybe one or even two of your free ones 🙂 As for me, dressers are by far my best seller with those painted in Aubusson Blue always selling quick.
Your retail space sounds gorgeous, Ann! That’s a good idea to stack the coffee tables. Maybe we’ll paint up one of the freebies and stack them together. Dressers are always our top sellers too and any shade of blue or gray sells well for us too. We’ve not done a piece in Aubusson Blue but I think I have a can of it on the shelf. I’ll do a piece in that color and see how it goes :).
I just recently opened a booth in a local antique mall and started selling some painted furniture. I’m having “ok” luck with boho/Aztec type designs on furniture. I haven’t tried white yet… there is already a lady in the same mall as me who paints everything white. I think she does pretty well so I may have to try it out myself. **Sigh** why do people have to be so anti-color?! lol!
Tania
There’s one lady in my mall who has an all-white booth as well. I love that her booth looks very cohesive and I know she does well. But I’m with you and I want to paint with some color :). I haven’t tried anything with a boho vibe but it sounds pretty. I hope you have great luck with your booth and I appreciate you stopping by!
I have noticed that any low tables do not sell well in my booth. People seem to prefer a taller table that does something–like have a drawer or two for storage, or have a shelf, or be tall and thin to serve as a plant stand. End tables just languish so I keep moving them around in my space and change out whatever is displayed on them, hoping to catch someone’s eye. I have sold every chest of drawers that I have had, so this told me that shoppers will buy functionality over a prettily painted occasional table. The color thing I have not yet got a handle on. Some white things sell well while other white things stagnate. AS Duck Egg Blue tall stools always sell, but I am leery of painting a big piece in it. Seems like it is hit or miss for me.
I totally agree, Ruth Anne! End tables sell ok for us, and any type of chest of drawers or side table with drawers sells immediately. I haven’t done a big piece in duck egg yet either. Although we did just put a large cabinet in the booth that’s old white on the outside with duck egg shelves. The whole thing has a french linen wash over it (I’ll be sharing it on the blog next week). Sometimes I’m so surprised by what sells quickly and what sits around for a bit.
I love both tables! I also have a booth at an antique shop and a blog so I really enjoyed reading about your space! It’s interesting that both coffee tables and end tables seem to be the slow sellers. It’s the same for me too. I have had a little more luck selling them if I leave the top wood stained. I usually have to sand down to the natural finish and restrain a dark walnut, which can take some time. Dressers are the best for me too and when I get my hands on a good buy then I feel like I’ve found gold! lol Whites and grays sell best for me too! Thanks for sharing!
Leasa
Strange how items sell good in one area and not in others. I’m in an upscale antique store and I have no problem with coffee tables and end tables. I do a lot of white, usually with some kind of a graphic on it. And I also sell a lot of red and black, but my fastest mover is any shade of teal or turquoise. I love Paris gray and french linen, but they are slower to sell. dining room tables go pretty quick to.
It is funny how sales vary in different states. I’m curious if you have luck selling dining tables as stand alone pieces or as a set with chairs? I’m glad you stopped by, Yvonne!
My shop sells lots of coffee tables, so that IS funny. White and black sell quickly and I do very well with French Linen and Paris gray. I use them constantly Right now I’m using Aubusson blue and have been dry brushing it with French linen. I also mixed it with graphite and loved it. There’s one lady in our mall that does all white shabby chic on everything and she sells like hot cakes. I try to stay safe but I cannot help myself sometimes. I want to make a profit but I also have to feed my artistic soul. I’ll never figure out what people want. I’ll have a run of something and then get stuck for months with something. Most recently it was a round kitchen table. Gorgeous, small, antique oak. I painted four chairs black and it was so cute. However…hard to fit in a small home. I’ll only buy rectangular tables from now on. When you figure out the perfect formula, let me know. 😊
I’m totally with you about trying to stay safe and paint what sells but getting bored with it and wanting to be creative! I try to do both but it’s a fine line. It’s funny how some things fly out of the booth and others sit for weeks or months. It’s so unpredictable!