Market Bookings Guide

As a market organiser, you can accept stall booking applications directly through your market page. Before stallholders can apply, you need to complete three setup steps.

First, you'll need to connect your bank account through Stripe — Australia's most trusted payment platform. This ensures booking payments go directly to you. Itinerant Traders never holds your money.

Once your bank account is connected, you set up your stall types and pricing, then configure your booking policy.

Go to your market management page and click "Set up payouts". You'll be taken to Stripe's secure website to enter your ABN, bank BSB and account number, and a photo ID.

This takes about 5 minutes. Once complete, payments from stallholders land in your account every Monday following your approval of each booking. You cannot activate stall bookings until this step is complete — this protects stallholders who pay in good faith.

You can create multiple stall types — for example a 3×3m stall at $45, a double stall at $80, or a food van spot at $60. Each type has its own name, optional size label, price, and capacity.

Stallholders see all your stall types when they apply and choose the one that suits them. You can update stall types at any time.

Your booking policy controls how applications work:

Manual approval means you review each application before it's confirmed — giving you full control over who attends your market. Auto-approve confirms applications instantly up to capacity, first come first served.

You also set how many days before each market date bookings open and close, and a cancellation window in hours. Most organisers open bookings 30 days out and close 3 days before the market.

When a stallholder applies, you receive a notification and can review their application in your market management page. You'll see their trading name, what they sell, their setup type, and any message they've included.

Approve to confirm their spot — their card is charged at this point. Reject to decline — no charge is made and the spot returns to available. Stallholders are notified by email either way.

When a stallholder applies, their card is pre-authorised but not charged. The charge only happens when you approve their application. If you reject it, their card is never charged.

Payments go directly to your connected bank account — Itinerant Traders does not take a percentage of bookings at this time. The only cost is the Stripe card processing fee, which is passed through to the stallholder transparently in the booking panel.

Find the market you want to attend and scroll to the booking panel on their market page. You'll see upcoming dates with available spots and stall types listed.

Click "Apply" next to the stall type and date you want. You'll be asked to enter a message to the organiser (optional but recommended — tell them what you sell and your setup requirements) and your card details if the stall has a fee.

When you apply for a paid stall, your card is pre-authorised — not charged. This reserves funds but no money leaves your account until the organiser approves your application.

The booking panel shows a full breakdown of what you'll be charged: the stall price, any card processing fee, and the total. There are no hidden costs.

If your application is rejected, your card is never charged and the pre-authorisation is released automatically.

Once you've applied, your booking shows as "Pending" while the organiser reviews it. You'll receive an email notification when they approve or reject your application.

If approved, your card is charged and your spot is confirmed. The organiser may also reach out directly with any questions or briefing information before the market day.

If a market has multiple upcoming dates, you can select several at once using the checkboxes next to each date. Once you've selected two or more dates, you can either apply for them individually (separate applications, each reviewed independently) or as a season booking.

A season booking groups all your selected dates into one application. The organiser approves or rejects all dates together — useful for markets where the organiser prefers committed regular stallholders.

Some markets require stallholders to hold current public liability insurance or other documents. If the market has document requirements, you'll see a checklist when you open the booking panel.

You can upload and manage your documents in your Trader Passport — go to Account → Trader Passport. Keep your documents current to avoid issues when applying. You can still apply even if a document is flagged, but the organiser will see the status when reviewing your application.

Each market sets its own cancellation policy — typically a window of 24–72 hours before the market date. Check the market's booking policy for their specific terms.

If you need to cancel, go to your bookings in your account and cancel before the cutoff. Refund eligibility depends on the organiser's policy. Late cancellations may not be refunded.