Why can't I let it go?

[BohemianHollow]

So there's this show that happens every April. It's the biggest show in the area; two days, 250+ vendors, 30,000 people.

CONS:
- The booth fee is $275. (That's well on the higher end for me, I prefer to pay no more than $100 per day for a show.)
- I've done the show the last two years and it went alright. Despite the huge crowds that come through there doesn't seem to be many actual shoppers. Or maybe there's just too many vendors. I averaged only about $700 total for both days after the booth fee. (Generally I like to make about/close to $500 a day for it to be really worth it for me.)
- And now they're making each vendor get their own insurance (which I don't have / have never needed before) and that puts the booth fee up by another $35.
- The parking is atrocious.
- You are set up smack-dab against your neighbors booths.
- Setting up and tear down is a fiasco!
- My assigned booth is next to a non-profit that sets up a huge bulletin board in front of their booth that seriously distracts from mine and causes people to stop in front of my booth.

PROS:
- I make some money that I didn't already have.
- Possible marketing / exposure.

So even though the cons seriously outweigh any pros I can't seem to get this one out of my head!
Do I do a show just to do it? Just so I won't lose a spot? Do I spend that much for the slightest chance of the right person / people finding me? Why can't I let it go?!

Do any of you have shows like this?
What have you done to decide to either continue doing or drop a show that's only ever been decent?

[stringnstone]

We have done shows that were a bit like you describe.... some only once a couple twice just to be sure... we are not reapplying for a big show that was always good for us until this past year and they through open the area to anyone that would pay for a booth... too many vendors of dubious crafts.

As a soap maker insurance is a given but I know several that don't have it and having to have it is a deal breaker with them.

In MHO you aren't making enough money to justify the hassle... I think part of your concern is you don't have anything to take it's place and what money you are making is better than none.

[Former_Member]

Stephan, these are just my personal views, FWIW.

1. $700 after booth expenses is nothing to sneeze at IMO. Sure, it's less than the $500/day that you like to see, but it's $700 more than you started the weekend with. Think of all the vendors that might not have made their booth fee & are in the negative. Those are the types of shows I wouldn't go back to, but if I make decent $ & have fun, I'll go back. BTW, $350/day comes to $122,500 if done everyday, so it's a lot more than the majority of people in the U.S. make every day.

2. Marketing/Exposure, since you've done the show for the last 2 years, there's probably a good chance that you might have some returning customers that will be looking for you. If you're not there, your competition will be - "outta sight, outta mind".

3. Space - if you don't do the show, then you'll lose your space & might not be able to get it back. Any chance of getting a different space away from the non-profit? If you're a returning vendor, you might have a little "pull" with the promoter & might be able to ask for a better spot. A better spot can make all the difference between an OK show & a record setting show, as we learned first hand last year.

4. Insurance - When we first started out, we saw one show that we wanted to do that required insurance but we didn't have it at the time. By the time we got it, it was too late to apply. Being soapers, we gotta have insurance so now we have an annual policy & can go online to print out our insurance certificates to give to the promoter. There are some other insurance companies that offer insurance just for specific events, around $30-$40 or so, so you can probably get insurance to cover you for that show if you need it.

But, ask the promoter, sometimes they'll say "don't worry about it". They put that requirement in the show details to cover themselves but check with the promoter just in case, they might give you a pass.

[GlassyGrace]

I wouldn't think twice about paying $275 for a booth for that show, with 30,000 visitors. I'd do it in an instant. I'd do it for the fun of it. But The net income is a little hard to take. It's good money, and I'd try my darnedest to come up with a new display/booth set up to draw people into my space, that didn't require a lot of extra stuff to haul in. I'd give it one more try, especially since it seems to be calling to you.

[JustMeToo]

I would talk to the organizers about the "huge bulletin board" because it sounds like it's out of their assigned space. If that can be sorted out, or if you can move, then I'd go again. $275 for two days is pretty good for the turnout you mentioned. Try to simplify your setup (since it's only a two day show) so it isn't so much of a fiasco. I take a much lighter load when I do a short show like that, eg. 3 gridwall instead of 12, less tables - or theirs, if they're available! I just bring in enough to fill the space well, and leave more in the van for the second day, or bring more from home for the second day, if the show is local.
Good luck if you decide to do it!

[TWOamDESIGNs]

I have done a lot of shows with $350 or less of sales per day (after booth fee), so this is not an amount I would be unhappy with. Could be better, but could also be a lot worse. So I agree with what's already been said.

I do my share of complaining about craft shows to my husband etc., the heat, the rain, a nasty neighbor and so on. But then I try to remember that most of the year I get to work from home, and compared to people who go to a job they dislike every day, I consider myself lucky.

The calculation under 1. seems a little off, though. We all, I assume, spend more time making our product than selling it, we could never do a show every work day of the year. So every day at a show ideally has to bring in the revenue to cover all your cost, labor etc. that have already been incurred before you get to the show.

Manuela

[BlueTurtleCrafts]

I'd definitely ask about being moved away from the big billboard people :)

They shouldn't keep everyone in the same exact spots each year anyhow (right?) doesn't that make the show seem sort of 'been there done that' for the customers?

[TigersandDragons]

I'm on two minds on this.
1) Shows can go up, this year might be better, and you may meet your goal. But at least contact the organizers and ask them to either move you, move the non-profit, or enforce that the non-profit booth cannot extend beyond their space by putting up that bulletin board.
OR
2) If you want to drop it, drop it, or take a year off. Sounds like you don't enjoy doing this show and it is more work/stress for you than others.
Is the show really that hard to get into, if you ever want to come back?
Do some research and find and book some new show(s) to replace that income.

[stringnstone]

I am back on the "Despite the huge crowds that come through there doesn't seem to be many actual shoppers".

If you really feel the need to do the show this spring ask if you can get another spot as voiced by others. Personally I have a DIL that would not think it's worth it to do again.

As far as moving vendors around a big howl goes up when someone doesn't get their same spot. I sign up early for show just to get my same spot.

Stefan, try and get moved.. do the show once more and if it doesn't get better look for another event or just decide to do the show as a start to the season. love you Mandalas..

[deltamoonsoap]

Well they've given you quite a bit to think about. The only bad thing I can see about getting moved is, the people that DO know you may not be able to find you if you are very far away from your usual spot. It seems that people aren't very resourceful about asking management where you are!

I think, follow your heart, if it's still something you really want to do, despite the good, bad and ugly, go for it! If not, you can use the energy to seek out a different venue. Good luck to you!

[WillowSwitchDesigns]

I have a show like that. The reason I'm attached to mine is all personal. I usually end up making some really great contacts, I have a really great time with the other vendors, and even though the number of attendees is not commesurate with sales it happens early in the year so I can get an idea of how my new products and whatever adjustments I can make for later shows is. I take advantage of huge amounts of people as a test really, and usually end up with some sales from that show later in the year as custom work.

I have found that if you can't quit poking at something you aren't done with it yet...

[stringnstone]

Jennifer,
Good idea about using it as a test market and I like "I have found that if you can't quit poking at something you aren't done with it yet... "

[BohemianHollow]

@ Mike

1. Oh don't get me wrong! I'm usually content with making $700 at a show. It's just that I feel what with such a high booth fee and the amount of people that come, I should be making a lot more. And you touched on something very important; the fun factor. I wouldn't exactly call this one fun. Not horrible, just not fun either. If it was fun then we wouldn't even be having this conversation. :P

2. I'm not too concerned about the exposure. Honestly not a lot of my crowd even goes to that event, as strange as that might sound.

3. Honestly, losing my space isn't a problem for me. I don't mind losing that particular spot, it's nothing special. And it really wouldn't be a problem getting back in next year if I so choose.
I'd love to have some "pull" with the promoters, but I actually don't even know who they are. Which is odd for me, I know pretty much all the other promoters at my other shows by name. Most other vendors there don't really know them either. It's such a huge show I think the promoters just get lost in managing the beast that it is haha!

Those were some really good points that really helped me work through some things concerning this show. I think I'm coming to the realization that I just have a hard time letting go hahaha! Really good idea about contacting someone about the insurance thing though, maybe they will randomly let me pass on it just this once. If I decide to do it, that is haha!

[BohemianHollow]

@ Margaret - It's true that my initial concern was that I didn't have anything to take it's place, but looking at my list of shows I've compiled for this year I actually have 7 or 8 possible shows that can easily replace it. :P It's just the idea that I don't have another show that can replace it on that specific day that's driving me a little crazy. Why? I don't know. I'm just crazy haha! Oh and thanks!

@Carol - Oh it's not the amount of things I bring that makes setting up / tear down crazy, it's the hundreds of cars trying to shove themselves onto tiny roads! :P

@Kathy - I wish they switched up the vendors, but they don't. They really do keep them all in the same spots every year. And yeah, I think that is why there's not many shoppers because they get that "been there, done that" feeling, like you said. :/

@Tigers - I like option number 2, haha! The show really isn't that hard to get in to at all. Which might part of the problem; lots of resell junk there too. And yeah, I've already begun the process of replacing that show. Found 7 or 8 possible shows throughout the year that any one of them could easily replace the income. :)

@Jennifer - Yeah, see, if this show was like yours - if it was fun, if the vendors were nice - that would change the whole thing. But I've never really had a good time at this one. Customers seem a bit strained, vendors seem stressed. Personal connection really changes things doesn't it? As far as me not being able to quit poking at it, maybe my subconscious is telling me that instead of being a vendor I should be a shopper! :D

[Former_Member]

@Stefan, yeah, I know about that can't let it go feeling, especially if you've been doing the show for a few years. I'm going through that now as we've been gradually doing larger & larger fairs & festivals, so now we're looking at stopping some of the smaller shows we've been doing for the last several years.

It's kinda an emotional thing, as we like the promoters, the venues & such, but it takes us just as much work & energy to do the smaller shows & make smaller $ than it does to do the large shows. But, we'll have to cut the cord on the smaller ones as we keep adding larger shows. They were great shows to start out with but now we feel we need to move on a bit.

I've been through the insurance thing & also the Federal Tax ID thing. One large festival we've been wanting to do & finally got in last year, except the show was cancelled due to a hurricane, wanted a Fed Tax ID & insurance. We had the insurance so no problem, but no Fed Tax ID. Spoke with the promoter, she said not to worry about Fed Tax ID & not to worry about the insurance.

Kinda crazy why they would list those as requirements then tell me not to worry about them, but that's why I suggested you speak with the promoter, just to see if they might have some "wiggle" room on the insurance requirement. Never know unless ya ask, lol. But if not, you can always get insurance to cover you for a specific show if you really want to do the show.

[WhimsyBits]

$700 at a one day show - I'd do again in a heart beat
$700 at a two day show - NOPE!

and especially not with all the cons you listed.

I did a two day show a couple years ago where the cost was $150 (great price), its a very popular show even though it's very new but I only made $1000. That same year I made $1000 at a one day show that cost me the same.

I would do that show again in a heart beat if it were a one day show and still cost me $150.

Multi-day shows are just too long for me with not enough return. It's a lot of sitting around and doing almost nothing.

[JustMeToo]

Dawn. If you're sitting around and doing almost nothing, you are at a bad bad show! I've done them too, in the past! Multi day shows are the way to go as far as setup and breakdown, but it has to be a busy show! I love multi day shows because of setting up once, but the ones I do (now) are pretty steady busy with customers - so that's the way to go, if you have any available.

[WhimsyBits]

You are right Carol - the couple 2-day shows I have done were not good shows lol. The one I made about $1000 so that wasn't bad but there was A LOT of dead time. .

The other one I did I maybe made $200, maybe.

And they were both outdoor shows so it was a pain dealing with a tent and stuff like that (thankfully weather was great for both though)

They are both very popular shows but unfortunately just not a good fit for me I guess

And with having a regular full time job I really hate filling up my entire weekend with a show because then I get behind on my regular house work. I like to be one and done!

[BohemianHollow]

@Dawn - I'm right there with you! If I made $700 in one day at that show, and if it was only a one day show, then I'd totally go back!

[BohemianHollow]

@Mike - It really is an emotional thing! Almost like you're bailing out on a friend or something haha! Even with this show that's not so good it still feels wrong somehow. But it's not like the show itself it gonna miss me. Not even the vendors or promoters will miss me at that one.

So, yeah, I've officially decided to let it go and have already found plenty of other shows that can take the place of that income. There's one at the end of this month that I'm gonna try out, see how it goes. :D