Rental Inquiry

Choose Your Space

Mahone Bay Pop Up Shop
Rates Regular Peak Holiday Festival
1 Day Inquire Inquire Inquire Inquire
1 Weekend Inquire Inquire Inquire Inquire
1 Week Inquire Inquire Inquire Inquire
1 Month Inquire Inquire Inquire Inquire
More.. Inquire Inquire Inquire Inquire

Regular – normal store operating dates

Peak – Summer (May – Sept 7)

Holiday – Occurring on calendar listed holidays

Festival – As listed on Mahone Bay City Calendar

(examples include Scarecrow Festival, Father Christmas, etc.)

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the store hours?

The available store hours are 10am-5pm. You need to man your own space if you want to be selling – we aren’t staff. We are often not in the store and we leave at 3pm. It’s also up to you – if you want to come in late and leave early – it’s your space, however the one thing you can’t do is come early or stay after hours as this is also where people live. 

Is there WIFI Included?
Yes – we have 500 mbp wifi.
Do you process sales for us?
No- you need to have your own ability to collect sales. Happy to guide you on what to get for that if you need help.
Do you provide the tables/chairs/setup?

No- This is like a trade show environment. You need to bring what you are used to displaying with. Bring a stand up banner, peg boards, easels, tables, a chair, whatever it takes to put your products in the best light and you can be comfortable while in the space. 

MUST FOLLOW THIS - When can I move my stuff in?

Our store hours are 10am-5pm. You can move your stuff in 1 hour prior to store opening. We don’t allow night before move in because we aren’t at the retail location after 5pm.

If you feel you have a lot of setup, you can rent a space the day before for a day rate of $95 and spend the day before getting ready – that is a choice you can make.  PLEASE DO NOT COME BEFORE 9am – WE WON’T BE THERE.  If you arrive in Mahone Bay early, head to Tim Horton’s, grab a coffee and a bagel for lunch and wait until 9am when we arrive early for you and open the store for your move in.

Regular Days – We also arrive and open at 10am – please don’t come early on the other days unless you are okay with waiting till we arrive. People don’t rush in at 10am so you don’t need time to get ready – there is plenty of time for that.

For pack up – that is up to you. We are staying open until 5pm – but 4pm is often when people stop coming in.  Most people pack up at 4pm on their last day, but that is totally up to you.  Of course in the peak summer months, that could be a different story and they keep pouring in to 5pm. 

Do you provide hand sanitizer/masks or gloves?
We provide access to sanitizer at the front door, and an emergency mask – but I would recommend you have sanitizer by your ‘pay’ station and provide any additional items you want (masks/gloves) as you wish in your own space as well.
Do you provide power?

Yes – power is included. For the front spaces power is directly from the middle of the windows. You may want to bring a power bar and extension to reach towards the back of your space if you need power in multiple locations. For the back spaces power is along the wall towards the back of the space. 

Can a space be shared?

A space is not designed to be shared. This is a retail space broken into 4 stores. We are looking for vendors who have enough work and goods to warrant trying their own wares in a retail environment and who could benefit from more exposure and promotion. This isn’t a share shop or flea market, those exist and you can utilize those for many to share in a single space.

The other reason is at any given time, because of Covid, the store occupancy can be restricted. Each spot can only have 1 person in it as the vendor at a time to leave room for people to come and adhere to current 6 foot rules and occupancy ratios.

We also promote just 1 person/company to be featured on the website and if you have rented for the month – you get the marketing package which includes additionally being promoted on Facebook and Instagram.   We hope you consider using the space just for yourself, or for the vendors you have in mind, each of you book a space and enjoy the experience together.

Do you provide cleaning?
We clean the store with high end sprays on high traffic areas, along with sweep and mopping floors. Your areas however are your responsibility.
The washroom is for employees – not customers. We keep this area sanitized and clean as well.
Are you like our staff?

No- This is like a trade show environment or a market. The hours you are there are the hours something can sell. You can set your own hours, come later than it opens, leave earlier – that is totally fine. We recommend you have brochure or business card so they know how to get in touch or what time you are in.

If you would like – I do have access to commission based only people who will watch your space and then take a % of what they sell – which means they could cost you nothing.  You need to let me know in advance though so I can check on their availability. It’s random hit and miss or will work great if planned out well in advance. 

 

Do you guarantee sales or foot traffic?

We don’t guarantee anything except you have a store on Main St. This is the rental of a space so that you can send people to it that you know from your social media or email lists. We do give you a marketing jump start that involves inclusion on the website, or if you are staying for a month – a social media post to Instagram you can use and we will send to our page, a Facebook Live promotion that we will record and post from in the store to create interest (that you can also share) and a chance to promote yourself as a store front on Main St. You can take as many promotional pictures as you like in fact for your own future marketing. From experience we can tell you that to date all vendors have recovered their investments from the appearance on Main St. 

How do I know if retail rental is right for me?

This is the beautiful part – you don’t know if it’s right for you. This is the perfect opportunity to test it. So instead of hoping it is and taking out a 1 year lease term on a full retail store location, (which everyone does right now), you can dip your toe in the water. You can test it for 30 days and see what happens making the risk very low. 

One thing I will emphasize, and that is consistency sells. Which means appearing every weekend for a month – or being somewhere for a month – a single day and no sales does not mean it didn’t work.  A weekend, a week even and no sales – doesn’t mean it won’t work. You need to build excitement you will be somewhere, then be there consistently, and then start to track and measure. Marketing is about consistency – which is why in the old days of magazine or newspaper advertising – you gave something a fair shot. Often those mediums would insist on a 90 day run to build the audience up. Just something to think about.  And if you hit it out of the park with a weekend, week or month long stay – then always keep in a marketing activity that is converting for you – and look at booking again. 🙂 

Do you do any marketing for me?

For your fee we will include promotional placement on the master website – https://MainStPopUpShop.com – on front index for the duration of your stay – with a link to your site if available

Any additional marketing is an extra package that can be purchased from Main St. Marketing Plus under Promo Options
For retail renters however we give a dramatically reduced rate. Our normal price is $345 for renters the price is $95 for the launch kit. 

The Launch Kit which includes:
> Creation of 1 social media MEME that includes your logo OR product shots – whichever highlights you best
> Instagram post to our page with link
> Facebook Live Announcement from the store once you are set up
> Facebook Post to our page 
> Promotion to 3 most popular local Facebook Groups/Pages
> Provide you with the social media meme to promote anywhere else you deem appropriate
(Marketing package value of $345)

What do I say when people come in the store?
Here’s something you can easily say – 

Welcome – Main St pop up shop is a store that allows vendors like myself to rent so we can take advantage of Main St exposure. I’m here for (state length of stay), and then new vendors will pop up – so you can keep popping in to see what’s new. What I sell/do is…. (then your personal pitch) 

Often someone will say something like  “this is my store I’m here just for the weekend.” However this can give the impression once you leave the entire operation folds up so we ask that you help keep the store going by giving them the understanding that this is a permanent store, and you are here for a given term. Otherwise they think after you leave – the store shuts.

The retail store ‘isn’t a popup’ – we have developed a unique concept of permanency with the pop in of various vendors – that way when the next vendors come they understand they need to keep ‘popping’ in to keep the success going for all future vendors – possibly yourself. Thank you 

 

Can I drop into the shop to see it and ask you questions?

Absolutely you can but you need to book a time to do that or chance that I’m available to talk. I have 2 TV shows that I do – so I currently close the store while I do these. I also have clients calls as I run a marketing agency and do business coaching. And I leave most days at 3pm 🙂 The best way to get in touch is email or text 902.299.2884 to arrange a call slot or in-store visit. Also remember that we are closed from January to March so are not available during these times. 

Can someone else man my space/shop for me?

Absolutely – that is up to you. Friend, staff – it’s your space. The only thing I will say is that nobody is a better sales person of your stuff than you. And when it comes to art, photography or something custom and hand made – it’s more rapidly sold when they are meeting the actual artist/creator. However, it’s your space to do as you please.  Remember only 1 person can be in your space at a time. 

If I need to cancel, can I get a refund?

The simple answer is no. We can’t provide a refund once the space is booked as we immediately pull it from the rental calendar and place you on the website which labor wise is often the cost of the retail space if you are less than a month. What we can do is put a credit on file towards a future booking or you can have a friend do it for you, or get another vendor to pay you and take your place. Please note this credit is for face value, which means if the space price has increased for when you rebook, you will need to pay the difference.