Hi
Just wondering if anyone has any experience of running a market stall selling non-food items (for example candles/soaps, or greetings cards and second-hand books, or baby clothes etc etc) in France? I imagine I would be able to get information from the equivalent of the Chamber of Commerce in the town(s) we would be hoping to work in, this would be in the Deux-Sevres region, but I was looking more for personal experience than the facts and figures.
Still planning.....
Barbara
Barbara wrote: but I was looking more for personal experience Still planning..... Barbara
but I was looking more for personal experience
Unless you have large investment, vehicle, stock and knowledge of course and french language, it will never be more than pin money!
I've been looking into this with a friend and broadly, it isn't worth it. We had a Brit woman with a stall on our local markets doing something very similar and she lasted less than a season, probably three months. She just couldn't sell enough to make things worth while. The facts and figures are the most important thing. You have to register, pay your taxes and get a permis to have a stall which isn't too difficult but will cost. And another local woman who I looked into this for was unable to go ahead because of the practicalities - even hand producing cards on an industrial scale would not give an actual return for time spent making them because there aren't the people here full-time to make it a business proposition.
We also have established businesses/stalls selling books/soap etc and shops selling second-hand clothes and they would not look too well on a newcomer - the argument about competition being good for business doesn't work that well if you're an outsider.
I know we're in a microcosm of France but unless you have another substantial business backing this venture, I wouldn't really consider a market stall unless you're going to do something so outre, it's wholly new, innovative and can bring in a large income, quickly, during the tourist season.
Thanks for the above, Tony, yes the last thing we would want to do is get off on the wrong foot with existing businesses in a small town, and you have confirmed my suspicions about the practicalities! I'm not quite as naive as I must sound though, as we have a supplier of beautiful cards here in the UK, and have contacts to get hold of stock of second-hand English and French language books but just wanted to know if anyone has managed to make a success out of this type of thing in France. Everything boils down to the finances in the end, there's no point working all hours for little or no reward. Anyhoo, back to the drawing board..........
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