Flea market readings?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 08 Jun 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Tony1000	08 Jun 2005
Did anyone read Tarot cards on the flea market??? How did it go??? Tony

MeeWah	09 Jun 2005
Tony: Welcome to Aeclectic Tarot~ Is your thread intended to ask if anyone reads at psychic faires & their experiences? Or is it intended as a post/reply to an existing discussion? The ambiguity of your thread title & the content may be preventing responses.

tao51	09 Jun 2005
I agree with MeeWah. Your question is ambiguous. I have read at psychic fairs and the like. I have never read at a flea market.

Tony1000	09 Jun 2005
Soorrrrry! English is not my first language. Yes, I would like to know your opinion about reading on psychic fairs! Also, I would like to rent space on flea market for 1 month. What is your opinion about this?? Thank you! Tony

light2000	09 Jun 2005
I´m sorry to interrupt... What is a flea market?? If you are saying fairs i dont see a problem whith that. I never read at one, but there are really good ones. I go to the fairs to see the "news", of course i saw a few whith a lack of professionalism but i had saw a lot very good, especialy to buy crystals and tarot decks. I know i´m not helping you out but...

Al Si'ra	09 Jun 2005
I think what Tony means by flea market is this: Ok let me try to explain it; there's a huge area in which there are lot's of sellers-stores of all kinds- you can find anything you want-(also a good place to look for second-hands)and buy it-and if you want to sell sth there you might rent a place..And here in my town it's lovely and there are lot's of tarot readers who are giving readings there- i once got a reading from a reader there (and it's not expensive), and it was the most amazing accurate reading that i've got so far.. So i think it's fine and fun !

light2000	09 Jun 2005
oh, thanks Al Si'ra !! So flea market is equal to a esoteric fair. I think that is ver good, like i had said i go a lot of that kind of fair.

MercyMe	09 Jun 2005
Not exactly, light -- flea markets are like bazaar's, a marketplace where many different people buy and sell many varied things. Some sell used items, some sell new, some sell flowers, some sell music. Lots of JUNK! :D But many treasures, too. Anyone can set up a table or booth (small shop-like enclosure) if they pay a sellers fee, and sell whatever they like. Many flea markets are outdoors but some are permanent and use large buildings. I see nothing wrong with setting up a tarot reading table at a flea market as long as the owners/managers don't mind. ~Mercy

catti	09 Jun 2005
I live in Georgia USA and was considering reading at a booth in the flea market our town has. this market has indoor permanent booths and outdoor tables that people buy for the weekend only. i would be reading in the permanent area. I have not done it because I realized that I would have to be prepared for my clientele to be hostile and trying to prove me wrong as well to have alot of youths into "being weird" as my clientele and frankly didnt think i could make it worth my time. some things are not worth money. if i were you id spend a whole weekend at the flea market , or at least 3 hours sat 3 hours sun to see what the movement and type of person is like. take your deck out and see how people are appreciating you. good luck

HudsonGray	09 Jun 2005
Hi Tony! I'm in Wisconsin too. Most flea markets are outdoors so you'll need something heavy for each card to keep it down in case there's wind (polished stones & crystals work fine), but the mood at most flea markets is 'I want this cheap' so I don't know if you can charge $20 a reading and get it at those. Even at the big ones like the Fireman's Park Rummage in Cedarburg and the 7 Mile Fair. If it's ok with the operators of the event then give it a try with a booth, but a lot of people are there to meander & buy low cost items. And if you're going to have someone sit in the hot sun for 20 minutes that'll be a consideration. One of those $80 pop up tents may be needed for comfort (yours and theirs). But the Spirit Fairs are more structured & run differently. They're all indoors, the promoter of the event, even the small ones, takes 50%, so a $20 reading only gets you $10. Plus you'll be up against probably a Reiki practitioner, an Aura photographer, 8 other tarot readers, 3 psychic readers and maybe even a masseuse. All wanting a share of the money of people who come to those things. Sometimes they're not very well attended, so you should probably check them out before signing up, I think we have several in Milwaukee that are on a quarterly basis (4 times a year). The other thing you can check, which MAY work better for you, is to look into the local 'farmers markets'. Most of those start at 7am and end by noon, the booths in the city here run $15, and we have at least 8 of those events now in the city during the summer. Some only are open on Saturdays, some run Wed. and Thursday. Some are on Sundays only--check the local paper for them or call the city clerk in your city to find them. A booth there would almost always be outdoors, again you'd need maybe a tent to keep the sun off, but when people go to these they intend to buy food/gardening produce & the other items being offered (lawn ornaments, etc., there was a masseuse and her chair at the last one I was at, who did good business).

Tony1000	10 Jun 2005
Thank you Hudsongray! Do you read in public??? I just got call from 7 Mile Fair, I can not read Tarot over there! Tony

Osher	10 Jun 2005
Camden Market is essentially a flea market, and there are Tarot readers there too. Somehow, a Tarot reader in a flea market has a certain sense about it

HudsonGray	10 Jun 2005
I haven't done it officially, so I guess it's 'no, I don't'. Just for friends. Don't be put off if the 7 Mile Fair says no, sometimes they think of it as a form of gambling (go figure, these places can be weird). I've seen tarot read at a Buckskinners event in Hartford (re-creation groups for the Civil War put on a big show there & there's all sorts of vendors dressed in costume selling Pioneer and Civil War stuff). I've seen readers at the Bristol Renaissance Festival to the south (they had a request out for more readers one year, so they have several that read). Check with the Cedarburg city hall about the Firemans' Park rummage sale, they hold two a year I think & the thing is HUGE. That one draws the people like crazy. They may even have a website, try searching on Cedarburg Rummage Sale in google.com But the farmers markets are a better bet. It can't hurt to check with them. If they say no, then just check the next one. Someone did post something a while back about finding a beauty shop which was agreeable to having them as a reader once every two weeks, or on a particular day, to entertain their clientelle. You can always check with some beauty shops with that idea in mind. Your customers are where you find them, and women do like to have their cards read more than men do. Don't give up!

bluebird	10 Jun 2005
A beauty shop is a good idea, In my area their's a shop that has sister's that come in 2 times a week & read for their clients, & some of the men find it interesting.

tarotbear	11 Jun 2005
The problem I have had with public places is that they can get TOO public! You need to be able have a balance between attracting customers, but not making the current customer feel like they are on display or something! What I have used with success is a 'screen house' that is 8' x 10' - big enough to fit over a picnic table size. It has a lightweight aluminum frame and plastic-y canvas walls, with large panels of mosquito netting that zip closed. You have the panels open until you get a customer. Inside is your rug (looks good as a base), a table, and two chairs. When you have a customer, you simple zip the wall closed to signify ' this is private, but I will get to you next.' You can also set your table and chairs up behind a decorative screen so that the querent does not feel like they are part of some kind of show they may not want to particpate in. This can be a fancy screen, or simply a decorative blanket or throw hung over a clothesline between two poles. I actually had a booth, but it was strictly an indoors type of thing; the screen house could be used outdoors without worry of it blowing down.

Tony1000	11 Jun 2005
Thank you Tarotbear! You are right! I got an idea from the photo you sent me. I just finished reading your book, and I sent one to my friend in Yugoslavia! Really good book! Tony

HearthCricket	12 Jun 2005
There are so many resources in MA to read tarot cards at, I am not sure where to begin! So, let us start with your question about flea markets. The inside ones are pretty strict, and noisy. Easy enough to get room, if that particular place does not mind tarot readings, but no sense of privacy. An outside Flea Market is another thing, if you have an assistant. Try to find one that allows readings, get your space, set up a screen house, and do the readings privately inside. Have an assistant sit outside and keep the lines in order, sending them in when you are ready. Possibly add something to keep them occupied while waiting-like herbal tea, while listening to calming music. We have a lot of Metaphysical stores, around here, and tea shops, tarot shops (Salem) and if you can't read in them, you can leave your card for people to call and set up appointments and start a clientel that way. Many of these places have bulletin boards to put your card on. Once I went to Filene's to pick something up, and there was a young woman sitting in front of the inside of the store, reading tarot. It was the oddest set-up I had ever seen, and not at all private, as she allowed any shopper passing by to just stand there and listen in. No thank you! I'm not even sure it was legal, or if she just showed up and gave it a try! Renaissance Fairs. King Richard's Fair in Carver, MA. If you have credentials or hope to, and want to open up a booth, that is the place to go. Weekends, during the fall months. See if there is anything like that where you are. Most of them are college age or just beyond, but some are older participants who have been doing fairs since their twenties. There are also some Renaissance themed restaurants that may hire you out a space to do readings for their customers, too. A lot depends on what is around your area and what your resources are. Good luck!

Ace	13 Jun 2005
I have clients or friends who have been to flea market psychics and returned with scarey, 'there is a black cloud hanging over you, give me more money to get rid of it...." stories. I worked several local street fairs with one promoter who would vouch for me with the sponsors and allow me to set up a table. It was dreadfully difficult work. The NOISE, the drunks, the dust, the long hours and the heat (when it didn't POUR rain) but it was fun too. LOTS of fun! If you can get into a street fair or flea market and not pay TOO much ahead (7 mile fair is $200 for a booth space each weekend, I bet) it can be fun, but many fairs (Like 7 Mile) will not let you in because of exactly the experience I decribe above. If they don't know you, they will prefer to say NO PSYCHICS rather than risk trouble with a con artist. Even my promoter had several fairs he COULDN'T Let me in, because the fair had already had such a bad experience (one had two local readers start a fight in the middle of the street during a fair, they apparently had been competing for business!) that they decided that NO readers were better than even a highly recommended one. Ace

HudsonGray	13 Jun 2005
Boy, that's a lousy situation, you can't blame the events people for saying a permanent 'no'. Not even references would get you in. That black cloud stuff--I wonder what would happen if you look the reader square in the eye, say 'heck, that's bogus, I wanted a real reading, if you can't do it then I'm not interested' and walk out without paying and go straight to the people running the event (they're ALWAYS there, you just have to ask where they are & track them down) and report what the person was trying to do to you. They certainly don't need that bad PR smirching their event, I'll tell you! Usually they'd be checking out their readers. Or I'd think they should. I know I saw flyers up at a New Age store 4 months before the Bristol Ren. Faire was scheduled to open that summer about 8 years ago -- they wanted readers & anyone interested should call a certain phone number and the lady there would check them out as readers.

Ace	14 Jun 2005
May of them don't check all that carefully. IF a person can do a good reading, and is willing to pay the price (at most psychic fairs, it may be a small table fee and 50% of your take-and you are only one among a LOT of readers. I am not sure what the deal is at Bristol. Except that it is all that AND HOT outdoor weather in carefully approved medieval style dress) you can get in. At a Psychic Fair I worked, a woman come in one day and pull that kind of bad stunt. The fair promoter fired her at the end of the day when she realized what was going on, then called every one of her clients from that day and apologized. But this was a very ethical promoter. Flea markets may not go to the same lengths. If you get a black cloud reading, I would recommend doing exactly what you suggest, Hudson Grey, except that instead of seeking out the Flea market owner, I would call the police first. It is hard on the Flea market person, but These are con artists and need taking out ASAP. Actually, when I first heard about that scam, I was doing a street fair and someone asked me if I saw a black spot on her husband. He had been hit on by a local Reader in a shop near by. I told them, "we don't call such people psychics, we call them crooks" and showed him in a reading that he was really just fine. The next day, I mentioned it to a policeman acquaintance who worked Organized crime (busting illegal bookies and such) he told me he would mention it to his friends in Bunco. He also suggested the victim-to-be NOT get angry and stalk out, but instead pretend to believe it, and say, "let me think on it, I will get back to you" and walk straight to the police station. If they can send her back in with a wire on her, he said, they can bust the con artist right then and there. I once called to work a 900 line and the person answering the phone asked me to do a reading for her. I did and she said to set up my phone line she would send me a contract-no back ground check, nothing. Is it any wonder that I was told by a friend that he was badly ripped off by a reader on a 900 line? The only one of those that did background checks-that I know of-was the Psychic Friends Network. Ace

Ulfdis	14 Jun 2005
There's a lady who has a permanent booth at one of the flea markets in Augusta, GA. I'm not sure what she charges, but she seems to be doing quite well. She's also one of the few (maybe even the only) vendors belonging to the Better Business Bureau.

Ace	16 Jun 2005
Now THAT is a flea market psychic I am willing to be read by! Ace

The Flea market readings? thread was originally posted on 08 Jun 2005 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.