Expat Market Recap

In America, we go to yard sales and garage sales. In England, it’s the Boot Fairs. As far as I could see there wasn’t anything similar happening here in Prague, and the way my kids are growing there are always bags of clothing to get rid of and more clothing needed. Expats often need to furnish a whole household (preferably on the cheap) and then turn around and unload it all on short notice. So the idea for an Expat flea market was born. Thanks to Expats.cz and its ability to pull communities together, combined with the event planning skills of the people at the Prague British School, not to mention their excellent facility, our first ever Expat Market was a smashing success. The event raised over 22,000 CZK which was donated to Klokanek and Domov Sue Ryder, both of whom were also there.
 
Between 9am and 10am the sellers arrived with their used clothing, toys, books and household items. Most people sold their goods out the back of their cars or spread out on blankets, but others came with just a backpack. Despite heavy early day showers (which everyone somehow was miraculously well-prepared for) the skies cleared and it was a gorgeous autumn day. Everyone milled around, looking for bargains, and there were plenty to be had. By the end of the day, sellers were just giving the stuff away.
 
Over 400 people turned up to buy from the 52 sellers. Not everyone managed to sell everything they brought, while others cleared out too fast (especially the fellows with the “Food You Miss” barbeque). The food court was a great addition to the event. Frutapura sold their healthy fruit juice creations and fresh fruit while Paprika Restaurant featured sausage, bread and wine. Indian Jewel sold out of their butter chicken and lentil dishes and thank goodness for Bohemia Bagel who kept us all going with their fresh brewed coffee. Lanka Cakes brought gorgeous little cakes and got some great exposure for her growing home-based business. Parked next to the food court in their giant Voerman truck, were the Voerman team who were on hand to package up anything people bought and didn’t want to carry around. They also delivered large items right to people´s homes – free – just for the asking.
 
Some comments I received from sellers:
 
– It will stay as a great souvenir and a lot of fun memory. It was simply a perfect day, exceeding our expectations in terms of organization selling (and the most important, giving some space to our living and garage rooms 🙂
– It was a real pleasure to take part; we had a great day and met a lot of nice people.
– The market was, I am convinced, a huge success! We had much fun ourselves.
– We made over 4700 CZK and we couldn’t believe it as we didn’t even sell it all! If we knew we could have made this sort of money then we would have done a boot sale many years ago!
 
The response was positive from the start and I realized we should be doing these several times a year. By the end of the first event, people were asking to be informed of future events and saying they would encourage their undecided friends to come too. We expect (and can easily accommodate) considerably more for the next one we are planning for spring. If you sign up as a pre-registered seller you will receive a guide full of tips on how to prepare and display your things, so don’t worry if you’re a first timer. If you’re interested in selling food at the event, email me at eva@expats.cz. The spring event will be at the same place – the beautiful campus of Prague British School and we will let you know the date once it is decided.