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First Things First... When you are looking to participate in craft sales, the first thing you need is to find some!!! A favorable place to look is in your local paper under the "Events" or "Craft Sale" sections. If you are already a seasoned crafter, you will also usually find some through word-of -mouth and from Craft Fairs seeking you out through other crafters. This is at least what we have found after 8 years of doing them! Larger shows are usually advertised on TV and in your local papers with a contact phone number. Call the phone number that is listed in the ad, find out the location, time of the sale, date of the sale, setup times, if hydro or floor space is provided, the size of each table, if there is a deal for renting more than one table, and if table covering is provided. Record all this information, with the contact name, and decide if you wish to participate in the sale. If so, do not forget to ask for a receipt. Some small tips to remember are these... 1). Should you decide to do a particular show, do get a receipt , as it is not actually a surprise that people who put shows together can make mistakes. We have showed up several times for shows, and our tables were not there!!! The show coordinators had to quickly "fit us in", and we were happy that we had a receipt to prove that we had paid! If your craft business is a valid registered business, you can write off the table rental as a valid expense. Check with your accountant to make sure. 2). Table coverings are usually not provided. Make sure you have your own to use because they do make a display look inviting. 3). Check to see if you need a vendors permit to do the sale. A lot of school shows do not require it, but you do not want to violate any laws. 4). If you should book a show and it does not go too well, do not always judge the sale by that one booking. We have done shows one year where they did not go as well as we had hoped , and then booked the same location the following year and it did fabulously! You never know from one year to another! 5). Check to
see what the approximate amount of traffic is that
comes through the show. If a lot of people
attend it every year, chances are that you will do
better! (It's a numbers game of sorts). Craft Components Because of resale value, it is a wise choice to plan out the crafts you are going to make, and the exact quantity of materials needed to make those crafts. If you do this, you can watch for the materials to go on sale, and if this is done well in advance, it allows you to either make more money, or be able to make your product easier to purchase being you can reduce the price somewhat. What you do with your savings are up to you!!! Take note of the fact, that each craft sale will go differently. You may sell 50 of one item and think that the next sale will sell the same amount of that item. It won't necessarily be so. Don't go crazy with inventory, as you may end up with a lot of extra items. Your Display
Elements of Presentation... It is a nice idea to present a
product in a unique atmosphere.
If you knit baby booties, put them in a wooden
doll cradle for presentation. Other ideas
could be to attach jewelry (ie. brooches) to
an actual sweater and hang the sweater up on the
wall or a grid, to actually wear a piece of
jewelry you make to show it off first hand, or to
place Christmas ornaments on a small Christmas
tree that you place on your table. Be
unique. It will make the customer stop to
look---the first step to enticing a sale!!!
When you have the amount of materials you used, figure out how much of that particular material therefore was used for the craft, and its resulted cost. Do this for all the materials used. When you have the total, this is the COST of your product. How long did it take you to make
your product -- If you "pay yourself"
$10.00 to make a craft and it took you one hour to
make it, add $10.00 to your product. This is
now your "real" net cost. To
find out your selling price, multiply the real
cost by 2 or 3x. When you find your
final price, check to see if it is
competitive with your
competition. Don't be surprised to see a
product you sell for $5.00, being sold by another
vendor for $10.00. Your costs for the
products might have been less for the same
thing. Do not despair if you are the vendor
with the higher price. If it causes you to
reduce your price, you lose money and you do not
want to do that. Chances are you will do
another show where no other vendor will be selling
the same items that you are, and your
"higher price" will them be seen
as reasonable. At The Show Being well groomed, wearing a nice outfit and a big smile are probably the most effective forms of presenting yourself. Don't forget, that although you may not think of it as such, YOU are part of your display!! Customers like to deal with happy, nice people. If you had a bad day, leave the "grump" at home! (This may seem silly, but we have seen it first hand, and customers will walk right past a table where someone is acting anything other than pleasant!) Misc. Craft Show Tips... 1- Do make sure everything has a price tag on it, and make sure it is legible. There is not usually enough time to help everyone at once, and so this makes your work easier, and the customers experience more pleasant. 2- Make sure that your table is not next to someone else who is selling the same item. Most exhibitors will ask you what you sell, but is is wise to make sure the "competition" is not directly beside you! 3- Take pictures of your table/booth after it is set up. This is great for your scrapbook, and is also helpful if a juried show asks you for a photo of your "wares". 4- Use a pleasant color for your table covering. Hunter green, earth blue or white are best to give a comforting feeling. Black or white will show off jewelry the best, and Festive colors (such as red and green for Christmas) help create an atmosphere . Try not to ever put your products on a bare wood table. It is not as appealing to the eye. 5- Do not talk badly about other crafters. Although this may seem trivial, comments may come back to haunt you if you are dispersing them negatively! 6- Make sure you take lots of change to the craft sale. People often come with larger bills, and will use them to pay for even the smallest items. Asking another crafter to "make change" for you won't always work, as they do not want to part with what they have for the same reasons. There is not usually a place to get change, so be prepared. One other idea to keep in mind, is to ask a customer if they have smaller change when they hand you a large bill. This usually helps solve problems early on. 7- Make it clear if your items include tax(es) or if they are extra. 8- If you take credit cards, post a sign saying so. It may boost sales, as most people do not think that crafters accept them. 9- If it is your fist show ever, go early for setup, as you may not realize that it does take some time to set up your table/booth. 10- It is not common for customers to "dicker" or "haggle" prices. A craft show is meant to be that, not a flea market. You may never be asked to negotiate a price, but knowing that you do not have to is important. (If you choose to do so, that is up to you) 11- When pricing items, it is sometimes a good idea to list the item's price, and offer 2 of it for a slightly smaller price. An example would be...MITTENS: 1 pair for $6.00 or 2/$10.00. You would be surprised how many times you would sell the 2/$10.00 option! 12- Don't ask another crafter "how much did you make" after a sale. It is being too nosey, and it may also embarrass them if things did not go too well for them. 13- You may find that other people see you selling a lot of one item, then they show up at another show and have made the same thing!! Don't be disappointed if this does happen, as it is an unwritten crafter rule not to do this, but some people do it anyway. Be happy and proud of your work, and sell it with pride! ....more to come........ |
