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Post by blythwhimsies on Mar 14, 2016 9:24:37 GMT
Well........ the craft fair was on Saturday and I was excited and nervous. Right at the last minute there'd been some confusion and I hadn't completed the booking! Anyway I was given a table. The setup took a full hour with help from my husband who had made the hanging pole for scarves across the front. Then I sat and waited, and did some sewing, and sat and waited. Eventually I sold one flower brooch! Yay! I did have some nice conversations with other people who had tried felting themselves or who made fabric bags. Then, a lady wanted to haggle with me to buy one of the silk flowers I had on display to illustrate my vases. She completely ignored me when I said they weren't for sale and in the end offered me a lower price than I had bought it for in the shop originally! What cheek! Thank you for all your great advice and I did learn a lot. I reckon my stand was overcrowded and cluttered - people had difficulty finding my cards even when I pointed to them. And I guess I will need to do what I think of as silly things like having to state that the flowers are not for sale. My cafetiere coffee pot cosies attracted quite a bit of interest as did the cover of my portfolio. Not sure I will do that venue again as the other stalls had mostly hand crafted rather than hand made items and were generally quite a low price point. It is a learning process and I'm pleased I have taken the first step, and disappointed I didn't have more sales. It has provided the necessary motivation to get on with my Etsy shop listings though.
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Post by lyn on Mar 14, 2016 10:48:31 GMT
I think your stall looks lovely Marian - not overcrowded at all - and I would have been drawn to it as it's so pretty. I like the scarf hanging rail!
Some craft fairs can be very disappointing with a lot of people passing by just looking for cheap bargains and not appreciating the value of handmade items. I think the most successful craft fairs are those from September onwards when you can advertise your wares as 'unique Christmas presents'. Often people only look for themselves and need a nudge to remember that they could be buying for others! One little trick is to wrap an empty shoe-box with Christmas paper and ribbon and attach an oversized 'gift-tag' with the wording of your choice advertising the fact that your items make lovely gifts.
Another use of a craft fair could be to sell off stock that hasn't sold on other platforms (such as Etsy) then you could maybe have an 'end of season sale' stall where your prices would be lower so that you could maybe recover your making costs. You could make your price tags as they do in shops i.e. have the original price crossed out and the sale price showing.
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Post by felicity on Mar 14, 2016 12:17:48 GMT
Well done Marian! The small fairs could be very tricky but you need to start somewhere! And felt sells much better in real venue then though internet I think. As usual Lyn's advice is extremely valuable - about the season and selling the items which are tricky to sell online. If you are to keep going with fairs try to find a bigger and better known one at the time closer to the holiday season. But you may need to apply for the place early. Try Stallfinder www.stallfinder.com/And keep us posted!
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Post by jwugg on Mar 14, 2016 16:43:40 GMT
I think your stall looks lovely, very smart with what looks like a nice range of items. I find scarves sell far more than anything else when I do sales, & always remind people how easy & inexpensive to post they are. I like your rail.
Sounds like a bad venue, do try again. Thanks for that link Galina, useful
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Post by koffipot on Mar 14, 2016 17:59:36 GMT
Your stall looks wonderful Marian. A veritable Woolly Wonderland.
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Post by Teri Berry on Mar 14, 2016 21:37:39 GMT
All good advice from everyone else, I have had only very limited success at local craft fairs, the majority cost £20-30 for the table, a day of my time and transport costs to see me sell £5-10 worth of goods. Very frustrating! The bigger fairs might be better (some charge visitors an entry fee so at least the people coming in are more serious buyers rather than browsers) but they usually charge 10 times more so it's a bit of a gamble. I've had some success with Etsy, averaging 2-3 sales per month, but it did take about 6 months to make the first sale.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 14, 2016 23:34:09 GMT
Your table looks inviting with lots of colorful fun things to look at. I'm sorry you didn't sell more, but it was a good learning experience I'm sure. At least you put your work out there. Kudos to you.
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Post by MTRuth on Mar 15, 2016 2:42:54 GMT
Great job Marian. Do you have any galleries or boutique type shops near you? Perhaps you could try contacting a shop to see if they would consider consigning your work? You get less than retail but it's less hassle for you.
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Post by koffipot on Mar 15, 2016 8:01:57 GMT
I don't sell very much, but I use a gallery in an Art Cafe. Galleries have overheads and percentages vary, I'm very happy with my arrangement. www.jacaloujunction.co.uk/
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Post by Teri Berry on Mar 15, 2016 8:28:33 GMT
That looks great Judith, do you mind my asking what your arrangement is? What percentage of the retail price do you get?
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Post by felicity on Mar 15, 2016 8:44:21 GMT
The very big show/fairs like Woolfest, Wonderwool and alike are not for me - fees are exorbitant and you need too much stuff to make and sell just to cover the fee, transport and accommodation cost. But I do know a few felters who are doing quite well on the these shows... I'd advise to try some medium size event like some local sheep festival, often they have some stalls for selling goods. They usually charge reasonable fee and wool is in focus. It's usually more relaxed event. I'm going to Masham Sheep fair in September www.mashamsheepfair.com/ If you suggest that you can do some demonstration free usually they are very happy and may offer you the second table free or at discount. But you need somebody to help you in this case.
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Post by lyn on Mar 15, 2016 11:36:33 GMT
Great job Marian. Do you have any galleries or boutique type shops near you? Perhaps you could try contacting a shop to see if they would consider consigning your work? You get less than retail but it's less hassle for you. Ruth has a good point. When a customer enters a 'real' shop they are mostly prepared to part with a realistic amount of cash for handmade goods. Very different from craft fairs! Your items have a long exposure time in a shop as opposed to just one brief day at a craft fair and your items will have a realistic selling price (higher than you would probably price each item for a craft fair). Although the shop will take almost half of the price of your item, please remember that the shop owner deserves it for her efforts on your behalf and high shop overhead running costs- and of course 20% VAT if you're in the UK. It's been said before, but if you are selling identical/similar items in a shop and on other platforms, then you must price them the same. This won't, obviously, apply if you only make one-off items that only appear in one shop/selling platform.
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Post by koffipot on Mar 15, 2016 14:29:07 GMT
That looks great Judith, do you mind my asking what your arrangement is? What percentage of the retail price do you get? It's a lovely welcoming space Teri. I get 75% of the retail price and feel that's a very good deal.
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Post by Teri Berry on Mar 15, 2016 19:08:07 GMT
Wow, that is a VERY good deal Judith, I gather 50% or even less is more usual. I would hang on to that one!!
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Post by felicity on Mar 15, 2016 19:16:10 GMT
I had 65% in one place and 70% now in another shop, but was offered 50% once. They vary a lot.
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