Today I was in Lichfield and they were having their Festival Market – This is part of the world famous music festival. Now over the years the market has taken on a few forms. For many years it was a medieval market, then it changed to a Georgian Market, and now it is just a Festival Market.. I attended the market wearing a few hats really. I went to see what it was like this year and how busy the area was with stall holders and buying buying, but also I went to see what products were selling and to see if there was any chance of doing any joint ventures. And I can say I came away please in all areas.

Lichfield Festival Market

The stalls were all laid out in neat lines around the Cathedral Close, some looked more professional than others, and some looked hey we are here and we have no idea how to set up a display, but they were all busy and they were all selling and engaging with the punters. Even those who had no idea how to set up a stall. But there was also a real buzz about the place, good music playing in the back ground, street entertainers and this put people in buying modes. I was also able to strike up some good business connections with some of the stall holders and I came away with a few promising ideas and plans both with products to sell and also consulting with others on how to get started on eBay. But as with anything only time will tell if these come off. Well I know at least one will, as I walked away with some stock and they are dropping some more off today on their way home. And there will be unlimited stock and as much as I want. They sell second hand CD’s, Records and Dvd’s. So we will have to see what comes of it over the coming weeks and months. I think most will go to Amazon FBA. But as I looked around the stalls and chatted with people, I found a lot of hidden talent and niches that were just ripe to be sold on sites such as eBay – in fact it is a pity that Etsy does not let people act as Trading Assistants as they were many fantastic artists at the event, who were great at their craft but just needed help with marketing, and they just need that boost with a wider market and audience. So this is something I shall be looking into as well. As I was going around looking for these hidden niches and products to sell for other people, there was something that really stood out to me, and that was the lack of marketing these people had. No flyers and worse still no business cards. So I ended up with a pocket full of bits of paper, with numbers on. This was sad, as these people most likely missed some great opportunities to do some marketing.

Andrew Milburn Is An eBay Consultant, Based In Lichfield Staffordshire