Melbourne Frock Swap Womens Pre-loved Fashion Market - Has Ended

Welcome to Melbourne Frock Swap - a second hand market with a difference (not a swap, sorry about any confusion!) Our stall holders sell second hand, pre-loved and vintage women's clothing and accessories; and the whole event is indoors complete with food trucks, coffee and plenty of change rooms! Anyone is welcome to book a stall - so why not get together with some friends for a wardrobe destash for cash! Our stalls are a very roomy 3x3m each (so you can share if you like) and are all completely indoors.  We also open at the civilised hour of 10am, meaning stall holders don't need to arrive on site until 8.30am, at the earliest!

For an additional fee, we can organise a rack hire for you, otherwise you'll need to bring everything you need on the day.  When you turn up, you will literally have a space of concrete with chalk marks measuring out 3 x3 metres.  What you do to that space is completely up to you.  It is large enough for a 3x3 marquee, if you want to bring one.  Otherwise, you can be as creative as you like! Stallholders are required to sell pre-loved women's fashion and accessories only.  No kids or men's clothes, no books, no kitchen or household goods, no bric-a-brac.     FAQs   What is a Frock Swap? Well, it is not girls swapping frocks (apologies for the confusing name!)– It’s just a fancy name for what is essentially a second hand clothing market.  People (you!) rent stall space from us, clean out their wardrobes and bring everything along to sell and make some pocket money.  It’s only for women’s clothing (sorry guys!) shoes, bags and accessories.  But it’s a little classier than a normal flea market (well, we like to think so).   The markets are entirely indoors and under cover and lots of fun. What is a stall? It’s really just a space measured up on the floor.  We don’t supply anything else, so you’ll need to provide your own racks, tables, displays, boxes, chairs etc - or you can hire as many racks as you like, when you book a stall.  The stall spaces at Seaworks, Williamstown are a minimum 3 metres wide and 3 metres deep.  Some stalls may be slightly deeper than this along the walls, but all are a minimum of 3x3. What can l sell? Women's preloved fashion and accessories.  So.... Clothes!  Shoes!  Bags! Jewellery! Scarves! Purses! Nail polishes!  Make Up cases! Unopened perfumes and make up!  There are endless possibilities.  What you can't sell is underwear (yuk!), opened cosmetics or skin care products, books, art, bric-a-brac, furniture, household goods, children's wear, men's wear.  toys, etc.  This really is a women's pre-loved fashion market.  If you are unsure - please contact us for clarification BEFORE booking.

What would l need to bring? Your goods for sale, priced and tagged if possible (see below for more info) Everything you need for your stall display - rack (unless you've chosen to hire one through us), table, chair, boxes, baskets, clothes airer, ladder - the options are limited only to what you have access to and what you can fit in the car! If you have lots of shoes – bringing a chair for people to sit on is a good idea.  A chair for you to sit on might help as well (it’s a long day!).  You’ll also need a money float so you can give people change; something to put your money in (something you keep on you like a shoulder bag is best) and some recycled bags for customers – so hold onto those shopping bags. You might like to bring a water bottle and snacks, but we have coffee and food vans on site so you're looked after, and the Williamstown cafe precinct is only a two minute walk away. Please do not bring anything that requires power on the day.  There is also music played in the venue during the market so please do not bring any portable music player. Can I share with a friend? Of course!  Once you pay for a stall – you can share it if you wish.  If you don’t want to share but still want to do this with your friends, you can book multiple sites and choose side by side ones from the floorplan when booking.  It’s important to remember we are pretty strict on everyone keeping within the designated space (it’s a health and safety issue as well as being fair) so it’s a good idea to book two sites if you know you have a lot.  We strongly advise that you set up a “test” stall at home in a measured out space – so you aren’t trying to work out your set up on the day.  You really need to be set up and ready to go by 10am on market day! What do I price things? There really isn’t a right or wrong way to choose your prices.  If you want a good clean out, go low.  If you are not sure you want to get rid of it – price a little higher.  

We go down to about $2-$3 for scarves and earrings etc., but have had some things priced over $100.  It really depends on the items – and how desperate you are to be free of them.  We find you’ll have a better day if you come along with the frame of mind to just clear out whatever you can and be happy with whatever money you can make.  Some people may haggle, but you don’t have to change your prices if you don’t want to.  But the idea is we all get bargains – and to get them, you have to offer them as well! Do I have to tag everything?  Our advice to you is YES.  Some people don’t price anything – but we recommend that you do price things, or at the very least have items in boxes/baskets or on racks marked $5, $10, and $20 etc.  You don’t want to have to try and remember the prices you quoted every different person, and what if the same person comes back and you quote a different price? If you are sharing a stall or a few stalls between friends, the best way to price is to create tags that show the owners name, a short description and a sell price.  Then, every time something is sold, the tag is removed and placed in a jar, and at the end of the day – the jar is sorted and you’ll know who sold what and how to allocate the money.  This works really well, but remember to change the price on the tag before putting it in the jar if you mark something down.  And have a notebook for the times you forget to cut off a tag (it happens) so you can rip off a piece of paper, add the details and add that to the jar too.  So a pen and some paper are crucial!  This system also means that you can take turns running the stall AND shopping – so it’s win-win! How do I set up a stall? Well, there are lots of different ways to do it. If you can borrow some clothing racks, or would like to hire some through us – that’s great, as people love shopping through racks... But racks mean lots of coat hangers and if you don’t have enough, this can cause a problem! We don’t like to recommend you buy coat hangers just for a market (as we are all about recycling and reusing – and we want you to make money, not spend it!)  So try borrowing from your own wardrobe and from friends.  You can lay your wardrobe clothes on the bed for the day as you’ll be bringing your coat hangers back home that night.  If that all sounds a little hard, having an array of boxes that are separated by size or price works well too – but try to bring them up on a table rather than making customers rummage through them on the ground. How much will it cost? The cost per stall for a second clothing seller is $60.00 (+ the Eventbrite booking fee) for a 3 metre wide x 3 metre deep site.  

Racks can be hired for an additonal $20 each.  The racks available are 1.5m long and 1.7m high, and are industrial strength, meaning they can hold about 100kgs of clothing each - that's a lot!! What time do I need to get there? Close to market day, you will recieve stallholder notes with your allocated confirmed stall number, a site map AND your designated arrival time.  We stagger stallholders arrival times to ensure everyone gets to use the laoding bays and set up is as easy as possible.  You will either be allocated 8.30-9.00am OR 9.00-9.30am.  PLEASE DO NOT ARRIVE BEFORE 8.30am.  You won't be allowed in the venue as we allocate this time to food and beverages trucks that need to be able to drive onto the premises - so you may as well have a little more shut-eye, or go and get a coffee. What if I can’t do the whole day? Sorry – but we can’t allow people to arrive and set up after 10am - OR - pack up and leave before 4pm.   If you can’t stay until the end of the market, please do not book a site. However, you are quite welcome to ask someone to come in and take over for you and finish the day, if you can. What if I can’t make it?  Can I get a refund? Sorry – we don’t give out refunds.  If for some reason you can’t make it, you can sell/give your spot to someone else if you need to – just let us know of the change of contact.  Alternatively we can transfer your stall to another market date, providing cancellation occurs with at least 14 days to market date, just send us an email :) What if I’m running late? You need to call us!  Make sure you put our contact mobile number in your phone before the day (you’ll get this info along with stallholder notes the week of the market) and give us a call.  If you don’t call and you aren’t there by 9.30am, we may move another stall holder into your space. What if people want to try things on? One of the things that makes the Frock Swap so unique is that we ALWAYS have change rooms and mirrors on site.   

We space these around the market to ensure all stall holders have a change room and mirror nearby. However, its worth noting that we can’t have change rooms directly beside every stall, so they may not be within your direct view.  It is completely up to you whether you feel comfortable letting strangers walk off with your clothes or not.  To date, we haven’t had any issues (but do let us know if you have!) and most of our customers are lovely people.  However, it is your stock and the Frock Swap is not liable for any loss incurred on the day.  If your item is especially valuable you might like to ask the customer to leave something with you or perhaps pay for the item and you can refund them if it doesn't fit.  It’s completely up to you.  But you will get a vibe on the day about how it all works. What if I need a break? If you are there on your own, you’ll probably find that you and your neighbours will become quite friendly during the setting up process (we love that about the Frock Swap) so it’s a great idea to offer to watch each other’s stall when you need a bathroom break or want to get a coffee (another good reason to label your stock).  But we are also more than happy to come and mind your stall for 5 minutes if you call us over, or send a text to the contact number on the day (don’t forget to tell us which stall you are at!) Do you only have second clothing for sale at Frock Swap? No, we try to have a few “complimentary” sellers there to make the day more fun and interesting.  So we might have a nail artist, a masseur, a hair stylist, a coffee van and maybe a few other food vendors, maybe a local sewing school offering classes or a wardrobe consultant.  Perhaps you might see a jewellery maker or some unique handmade candles.  Maybe even a local kinder having a cake fundraiser… Who knows!  It depends on who we can get on board and who gets in touch with us with an idea.  

Space for complimentary stalls is limited - and must be pre-approval by management (do not book a standard stall if you are selling anything classed above as a complimentary stall).  We are primarily about second hand women’s clothing and we are quite strict on how many we allow each market.  If you think you have a great idea for a complimentary stall or a business that you’d like to promote that fits with the Frock Swap brand, the best thing to do is to send us an email explaining your idea and we’ll most likely give you a call to have a chat about it. PLEASE NOTE: any standard stall booking must not set up on market day with anything other that women's clothing and accessories unless authorised previously by us, or they will be asked to pack up and will forfeit their fee.  If you are unsure, please ask - but we have a strict rule that your stall must be at least 3/4 pre-loved fashion and accessories unless otherwise approved. Can I invite my friends? Of course!  You can invite anyone you like to either apply for a stall or come down on the day to shop.  The market is open to everyone, but please let shoppers know there is a $2 entry fee (men and kids under 12 are free).  We do have a marketing campaign but word of mouth is a wonderful thing.  If you can share Melbourne Frock Swap events on social media, through a school or kinder, a work place etc; please do, we really love and appreciate the help!  How often are the markets run? At the moment, we are holding four markets a year.  For 2017, our remaining dates are Sunday 26 February, Sunday 28 May, Sunday 27 August and Sunday 26 November.  For the time being, the Melbourne Frock Swap is held only at Seaworks in Williamstown. What about parking? We offer free all day parking for stallholders.  For customers, there is metered parking at the immediate front of the building and free all day parking in surrounding streets. What if you haven’t answered my question here? You are most welcome to contact us with any other questions you have, or if you need clarification on any of the above.  We promise to get back to you ASAP!  Its best to do this before booking if you are unsure.  As mentioned - stall fees are non refundable. How do I contact Melbourne frock swap? You can contact us via email or Facebook Email               info@melbournefrockswap.com Facebook     facebook.com/melbournefrockswap Website          melbournefrockswap.comBUY TICKETS HERE