WHY YOU WON’T GET ACCEPTED TO THE FLEA.

The Flea is a community of artisans and creative business owners who show up as their best selves for their own growth as well as the growth of an entire creative community.
We not only have curation standards, but we also have community standards. Here’s the most common reasons that we’re not the right place for certain businesses.

We do our best to cultivate a community of inclusion, openness, kindness, curiosity and personal (& business) growth. We’re not perfect, but no business ever is- especially the truly human-run ones.

COMMON REASONS YOU MIGHT NOT BE A GOOD FIT FOR THE CLE FLEA COMMUNITY

• You don’t have a business instagram account or you account is private (we can’t review your business if it’s not a biz account)

• You make or sell Culturally Appropriative Merchandise (in our area, Native Appropriation looms large and we’re uninterested in supporting it). Just because you don’t bring it to Cleveland Flea isn’t enough for us.
  It’s more about our shared values than it is about where merchandise is available or not.

• You don’t have enough merchandise / product photographed for us to be able to assess.

• You’re not unique enough within your category (vintage / handmade / small batch)

• We have too many people in your category.
  Sometimes there are just too many similar-looking jewelry makers, tee shirt designers and cupcake bakers. And if they’re not that unique (see above point),
  it’ll just bring down the uniqueness of the entire market and make it hard for you to make money at our events.

• You’re rude, mean, impatient, judge-y in your communication with us. No one needs that.

We aren’t the place for everyone RIGHT NOW, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn to be one of the strongest brands in Cleveland.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS, BROKEN DOWN.

We require you to fill out a Vendor Profile, so:

• we know who you are

• we get an idea for what you sell

• we have all your relevant details so we can contact you + promote you on our website

• you can sign a vendor contract with us

• we can decide if what you’re selling would sell well to our already-established customer base

• we can curate the best experience possible for our shoppers by rounding out the types of businesses and options

• we know you’re an independently-owned business / aren’t a franchise / aren’t a MLM company

Once you’re approved, you’re eligible to purchase a booth spot at the markets you’re interested in.

• You’ll be given access to our Vendor-only Instagram, The Vendor Lounge

• Inside the Vendor Lounge, you’ll find all you need to prepare for your market, book your booth spot, read up on what to expect, get your setup information, ask us questions, and more

• The Vendor Lounge is our hub for Vendor Customer Service, booth sales, announcements + news

• You’ll look there for all your Event-Specific Information (in other words, don’t email us)

• Booths are between $200-$300 for a standard 10x10 space, with some adjustments for double booths, food trucks or extra power.

• You will either pick a Market Weekend (Saturday + Sunday) or a Day Pass (1-day only)

• There are no refunds if you can’t make it, and we can’t transfer your payment to another date.

IF YOU WANT FEEDBACK ON YOUR BRAND, BUSINESS OR IDEA LET US KNOW!

Sometimes people don’t gain acceptance to the Cleveland Flea Community and they’re left wondering why.
We typically provide personalized feedback but sometimes we don’t have time if there are just too many of you.

You can also request a biz review BEFORE you apply to join our community. We’re happy to provide feedback from our own perspective.

Our filter is that we want you to succeed, we want our market to succeed and we want shoppers to trust that they’re trading their hard-earned dollars for high-integrity items.