Some Tips On Craft Shows

Finished Creations
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I’ve been doing craft shows since the late 90s. Back then I sold my woodturnings or jewerly boxes with inlayed marquetry and my young daughters sold their artwork on greeting cards (they had better sales than me :grinning_face:). I didn’t do a lot of shows until I retired in 2016 when my wife and I started selling my pottery.

In 2023 there was only 1 person selling anything that used a laser.

In November we did 3 shows and I counted a total of 16 people selling items that where made on a laser. Of those 16 people only one person was selling original work and it was really nice. Since she was next to me I can see her sales was great.

When I had a chance I walked around to see what everyone else is doing and stopped by booths that where selling lasered items. To my eye everyone’s work looked the same and I recognized art was downloaded from Etsy or a similar sites. I could see a lot of work was created using AI, which to me also looks the same. I made a point of talking with as many of the laser vendors I could and most told me their sales where just OK, a few where happy that they at least made back the fee to enter the show. Many where just sitting around looking miserable, hoping someone would come to their booth.

Some points to consider:

  1. Come up with something original and different from everyone else.
  2. Don’t sit around staring at your phone or sitting there with your arms folded looking like you are mad.
  3. Stand and engage with people walking by.
  4. Ask those in your booth what type of things they like to see.
  5. SMILE! I’m amazed at how many vendors look grumpy. (Yes, it hurts my face too!)
  6. You are hurting your sales if you only accept cash.
  7. Accept credit cards. Yes there are other ways to accept payment but just about everyone has a credit card.
  8. Accept credit cards and DON’T charge a fee for using it. I’m more that happy to pay $2.75 for every $100 worth of sales. Many people are put off having to pay extra percentage and will limit the amount they purchase. Credit card fees should be considered a part of doing business and may be tax detectable.
  9. Accept credit cards. Yes Again! People spend more using a card instead of cash. Especially if they don’t pay a fee for using it.

Good Luck!

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Great advice! I followed 95% of it, did two markets and failed miserably at both.

  1. I was too upscale for one (Flea market) and too vanilla (Craft market) for the other. Know your market. Are they looking for something exotic or a bargain?
  2. Have Zelle and Venmo accounts if you do not have a card reader and app.
  3. Unless you are willing to work for 50 cents/hour, seriously rethink doing any of them. I gave my business card to several of the booths and now do only custon on-demand engraving on their products. Still making 50 cents/hour, but I do not have to worry about an inventory.
  4. If there are 16 laser product vendors at the market, find another market. If you create original and quality material, your prices will be too high compared to the others. Select what craft fairs, farmer’s markets, flea markets, and so on, you choose to attend carefully.
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I did 8 shows last year, this year I’ll be doing 7 hopefully another good one comes along.

I vet all shows before considering attending them. Either by visiting them beforehand or word of mouth from other vendors.

From experience I avoid these:

  1. Shows whose main draw is food. (I do like to eat)
  2. Shows that sell alcohol beverages.
  3. Shows that have attractions for children (nothing wrong with kids but parents are more focused on keeping them happy or inline)
  4. Flea markets, church garage sales or anything closely similar.
  5. Shows that have live bands (nothing wrong with bands, I was in one for years). Guests are more interested in listening to them and drinking beer then looking at crafts.

From experience I prefer these:

  1. Shows that only accept crafters and have no resellers.
  2. Organizers that advertise their shows
  3. Juried
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