As we have announced, our rent is increasing starting in September, so we need to raise the booth fees or hold a weekly auction to increase the revenue. We are currently running the ANNUAL BOOTH LICENSE AUCTION. This POLL is to see what our vendors would prefer. AUCTION vs SET BOOTH FEE and to see what you would be will to pay to be at LACC Swap Meet:
Options:
The Weekly Auction: All Booths not associated with an Annual Booth License will be up for auction each week. Vendors must BID on available booths NOT held with a Booth License each week. Bids will start at $65, and the auctions will start on Monday and end on Friday each week for the upcoming weekend. Only booths that do not have an Annual Booth License attached to them.
Set Booth Fee: If we go this route, which I prefer, things will remain the same as they are now, but the booth fee will be raised from $65 to $85 for Non-Premium Interior Booths and $95 for Premium Corner Booths. This is by far the best option, in my opinion.
When we were asked to keep the swap meet from indefinitely closing, we negotiated to pay a lower rate to help everyone get back in business. The rates were supposed to increase months ago, but I kept fighting to keep them at the reduced rate. We stopped the auction and reduced the fees. Everyone has enjoyed huge booth fee savings for over a year.
Now we must go to the increased rent starting in September. Our rate did increase three months ago, but we have been covering that without raising the fees. This next increase starts in September and puts us at the same rates Newport was paying.
I am interested in hearing from all our vendors. Would you prefer to bid on your booths each week, or would you prefer to pay a little more and keep things as is?
Some things to consider.
Bidding means…
The fee could go much higher than the opening bid.
You may not win and thus have to scramble to get another booth.
You can only book one week at a time and not weeks or months in advance.
Set Booth Fee means…
You don’t have to stress each week knowing you may lose the bid.
You can book multiple weeks or months in advance.