Help with perspective please

[LauriesGiftsBiz]

I've been doing local fall / holiday craft shows for several years now. I need help regarding the money spent on booth fees. Around here, typical booth space is probably 8' x 8'. The largest (and most expensive) show I do only offers 6' x 8' spaces-- we're really crammed in there like sardines. (I can't fit my stuff into just one space anyway-- I have grid wall panels and a slant arm display rack that takes up a lot of room...) I'm trying to decide whether it's smart for me to continue doing shows or not. For a show with high booth rental fees, I usually make only 2x my table fee. It's like I'm selling my stuff for half price once I take out the darn fees. We're definitely feeling the effects of the bad economy here where I live so I actually even mark my prices below what I sell things for online. I do sell things at these shows, but show sales are about 1/2 of what they were 5 years ago. Is it worth it??? How do you decide what to do? I would really appreciate any advice I could get on this topic. I actually should have decided this already since the applications for these larger shows should have been sent in already if I want to get in for this coming season. I've seen that it has been recommended to shoot for 10x your booth fee to make your show successful. I sure don't come close to that. Does that mean I'm crazy to spend all the time, money, and energy on craft shows at all???

[janeeroberti]

I totally relate. I just paid my taxes and wasted a lot of money on shows last year (expensive booths and traveling expenses to boot).

I know some people say 10x, but I think most of us are satisfied w/ much less--I'm happy w/5 x show fee or $1,000/day, whichev is higher. Shows get points for driving traffic to my Etsy site, too. I've had some loyal customers that found me at shows.

[CopperLeafStudios]

I was in the same boat. I took a good, hard look at what I brought in, not just in terms of sales, but also residual sales and commissions -- and did a lot of cutting back for 2012. The difficult part for me was quantifying the sales beyond the show dates -- I've been tracking zip codes to see if people who pick up my card purchase later, but it gets hard to tell how they found me. But I did get a lot of newsletter sign-ups from shows, and those often lead to sales. And I get a lot of commission work from people who hold on to a biz card for like two or three years. Those large pieces can be several thousand dollars, so it was a difficult decision to let the shows go.

My compromise was to hold on to my two best shows, and take another look at things next year. I think there are other ways to get commission work that are less costly -- shows had basically become a form of marketing for me, and there are less expensive ways to do that. So now I'm putting more emphasis into online & print marketing -- magazine and blog features, that sort of thing -- to make up the difference. Like I said, I'll look at the numbers next year and see how effective it was. But I think it was probably the right move for me.

[Former_Member]

have you considered either A. purchasing another space - I do this at events, and for some reason, the more frontage space I have, the better I seem to do...

or B. travelling somewhere else to attend better shows?

[ColoradoMorning]

I wouldn't stop doing all shows...maybe select the best ones to continue doing and try to find new shows with good reputations. Also, you said that you did fall/holiday shows....are there any outdoor summer shows in your area? Typically, those shows offer 10x10 ft. spaces.

I can see your items doing really well at food-themed shows (cherry festivals, cook-offs, events held in conjunction with county fairs, etc.). If you use vintage materials or vintage-themed materials, you might even do well at antique shows.

I definitely believe that your items have potential to bring in 10x your booth fee...they're so cute and classy. And they lend themselves well to coordinating with countless themes, everything from poodles to John Deere tractors to weddings to sporting events.

[LauriesGiftsBiz]

Thanks for the encouraging words! I just spent some time looking around about 10 pages worth of this team members' shops (not 10 shops, but really every shop on 10 out of the 49 pages of team members), and I was beginning to think that maybe what I sell (aprons & purses mostly) was just too BIG for craft shows.

@ ColoradoMorning, thanks for helping me to think outside the box. I really feel like my stuff has "potential" too-- I just haven't found the right way to get my shop found yet. I keep working at it every day. Fingers crossed that I will have a "light bulb moment" soon-- before I drive myself crazy!!! :)

By the way, I made a team treasury while I was browsing through the team shops. Lots of beautiful things being made by members of this team!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQ0Mjc2NjR8MjcyMDExMzU3Nw/is-it-aqua-is-it-turquoise

[Former_Member]

I would think as long as you're seeing some measure of sales and exposure and enjoying the shows, you should continue. This is my first spring season and even though sales haven't been where I would like, I'm getting my name out there, meeting great people, and loving the whole show thing.

It may be a matter of finding the right shows where your items fit in and finding your customers. But I think even shows that seem to be bad can have potential for you. And I'm waiting for the economy to turn around, hoping people start buying again. Love your aprons!

[GlassyGrace]

The shows I do here tend to run at about $100 for a 10 wide x 8 deep space. But two of my shows is $100 for a 10 x 5 ft space and I always pay an extra $10 for electric. But I have fine-tuned my shows to where I only do the best ones where I sell the most. My most expensive booth is $200, but it is 20 ft wide and is a 4 day show.

When I first started doing that 4 day show, I had a 10x10 space. It was nice, I did well, but after a couple years there the person next to me did not show up and the director asked me to spread out into 2 spaces. Luckily I had some extra tables in the truck. I had my most fantastic show and sales ever that weekend. We decided it was the extra real estate that helped me. So, maybe you want to consider spreading out into 2 spaces.

I've noticed that sales have gone down at most shows over the past couple years, but not by so much that I would stop doing them. I did find that creating some new items that could be sold at a profit for $10 or less is a great help to increasing total profit. I always try to have a few new items each year to keep people interested in coming back to my booth. I get a lot of repeat customers.

I don't think you are crazy to continue to do shows if you like to do shows. But if I were you, I'd think about extending my show area. I'm lucky that my daughter lives in the southern part of the state, so I do shows down there, as well as in my own area. So if you could find a way to try some well known shows out of your local area, it might help. You never know what is going to happen at a show and what it will lead to. I once was commissioned to do a large quilt that I was able to charge $1,000 for and all because I was sitting at a show with my little 20 inch quilts on my table. Shows are fun.