How to Handle Cash Safely at an Outdoor Flea Market

One unfortunate fact of being a vendor at an outdoor flea market is having to deal with thieves.  Not only will some unscrupulous people tried to steal items from your table or booth, others will target the cash you have directly.  Learning how to handle cash safely at an outdoor flea market will make your sales day both more lucrative and less stressful.

Cash Safety at Outdoor Flea Market - Taking Customer's Money

One of the most important things for a flea market vendor to do is to take the customer's money for their purchases.  While most will hand you the dollars or coins directly, some shoppers prefer to count their money out flat onto the table.  Encourage customers to put the money directly into your hand.  However, the most important thing is to be directly in front of the customer when the money is being passed over.  Having a helper at the outdoor flea market can help take care of multiple customers at one time.  Otherwise, you must insist customers wait their turn.

Cash Safety at Outdoor Flea Market - Making Change

Many outdoor flea market customers do not carry exact change.  It is your job as a vendor to quickly make and give a change to any that make a purchase.  The safest way to do this is to have cash and coin on your person.  Put the large bill away directly before pulling out smaller bills or coins to make the change with.  A vendor's apron or fanny pack can be useful for keeping a supply of change on hand.

Cash Safety at Outdoor Flea Market - Storing the Cash

The safest way to store cash is to keep it on your person.  The aforementioned pocketed apron or fanny pack can be useful.  However, if you do a lot of business during the flea market day it may become too full or hard to organize.  Large bills that are not useful for making change can be stored out of sight inside your car, if your car is parked nearby, or directly under your table in a secure box or bag.  Be aware that some thieves at an outdoor flea market may attempt to crawl under the table to steal cash.

Cash Safety at Outdoor Flea Market - What to Look For

An unfortunate part of an outdoor flea market vendor's job is keeping a lookout for thieves.  Some of the warning signs that a person may tried to steal something from you are: excessive browsing without showing interest in any particular thing, lack of response to your questions, glancing around to see if anyone is looking, and the practice of resting hands or bags on your table or booth.