A month before: apply and get the paperwork
Apply to the market. Most have an application, a booth fee (often $20 to $60 a day, or a season rate), and rules about what you can sell. Some require that you grow or make everything yourself.
Ask the market manager which permits apply. Depending on your state and products that can include a sales tax permit, a cottage food registration for baked goods and jams, a nursery license for plants, or a health permit for prepared food.
Get liability insurance if the market requires it; many do. Policies for market vendors are available by the year or by the event and are usually inexpensive.
Two weeks before: your booth
Most markets give you a 10×10 foot space. You will need a pop-up canopy (with weights: 25 to 40 pounds per leg is a common rule, and markets enforce it), one or two folding tables, and a tablecloth that reaches the ground so you can store stock underneath.
Plan a display that shoppers can read from the aisle. Height helps: crates, risers or baskets raise products to eye level. A banner with your name and what you sell tells people why to stop.
One week before: prices and payments
Price everything and label it clearly. Shoppers who have to ask often walk away instead. Round numbers ($5, $8, $12) make cash faster.
Decide how you’ll take payment. Cash is still common, but many shoppers expect cards and phone payments. SnapCart works this way: shoppers scan your QR, tap photos, and pay with Apple Pay, a card, Venmo, PayPal, Cash App or cash, and every order lands in one list on your phone.
If your market takes SNAP/EBT or runs a token program, ask how vendors are reimbursed. That usually goes through the market, not your own checkout.
The night before: pack this
Canopy, weights, tables, tablecloth, chair. Signs, price tags, your banner. Bags or boxes for shoppers.
A cash box with $100 to $150 in small bills and coins. Your phone, charger and a power bank. Your QR code or payment sign, printed and in a sleeve.
Water, food, sunscreen, a rain jacket, clamps and zip ties, a pen and notebook, hand sanitizer, and a copy of your permits and insurance.
Market morning
Arrive early: setup usually takes 45 minutes the first time. Check in with the manager, set up your canopy and weights first, then the tables and display.
Take a photo of your booth once it’s set up. It helps you remember what worked, and it’s good for social media during the day.
During the market
Stand up, say hello, and offer samples if your market allows them. People buy from people.
Keep track of what sells and when. If you sell out of something by 10 a.m., that’s the most useful thing you’ll learn all day. A checkout that counts stock does this for you; otherwise, a tally in your notebook works.
Tell shoppers where to find you next: a card with your Instagram or shop link turns a one-time buyer into a regular, and they can preorder for pickup next week.
After the market
Count your cash and check your sales total against it. Note what sold out, what didn’t move, and the weather; after a few weeks you’ll see patterns.
Thank the market manager. Good relationships with managers get you better spots and invitations to special events.