Craft Fair Advice needed

[Former_Member]

Hello Team,

For those of you who do Christmas craft fairs, what is a table typically worth in your area and do you find that participating in a fair is financially worth while?

I'm asking because I've been invited to enter a small but well established fair in my area -- very flattering -- but the table fee is high and I don't want to go to all that effort only to walk away with a loss.

I had a less than positive experience at a different fair last year -- one with a much lower entry free, but a bit of a gimmicky affair that didn't bring out my target audience. I've learned some caution from that experience, but don't want to let it scare me away from other good things.

So, do you do Christmas fairs and is it worth while?

Cristal

[Former_Member]

Cristal: I tend to stick to church shows. They aren't very expensive (about $40 for a 10x10 in my area). I did well last year at the shows. I added more this year, so here's hoping.

Best of luck to you!

[sweetiepips]

I do church hall shows too as they are usually less expensive. The best thing to do is check out how well it is promoted, maybe ask other vendors of their experience at this particular fair. Work out how much you would have to sell in physical terms to break even, I always find this very revealing. I do find Christmas fairs more profitable and I think your lovely items should do well around the gift giving season! Good luck Cristal.

[Former_Member]

If the show is geared to my target customer, then I'll usually pay up to $500 per day for a holiday show as I can very easily make 10 - 20X that back in sales.

But if its not geared to my demographic then I probably won't even consider going unless I'm looking for an 'outing' for the day.

[Former_Member]

I haven't found my niche with craft shows yet. There is one that I have done a couple times and it has done well and it worth the money I spent, but the rest weren't worth it. The one that does well is around $150 for three days.

[TheFamilyJewelsWI]

I have found that elementary and high school crafts fairs work for me. I have a lot of kid items and are good sellers. I usually pay $40 for my table.

[BrushStrokeOrnaments]

While I have enjoyed doing craft shows in the past, I no longer do them. I am able to sell my ornaments at a much higher price on Etsy. I've spent anywhere between $50-$100 for a 2 day craft show (mostly high school craft shows).

Many things should go into your decision as to participate. First, do you have sufficient items to sell at a craft show? I notice that you only have 24 items listed in your etsy shop (but maybe you have multiples of each)... You need to have a lot of product so your booth/table doesn't look empty.

Of course you need to examine if you think your target audience will be attending the show....and how many other crafters will be selling similar merchandise and how do your prices stack up to theirs (sometimes you don't really know this until you've already participated one year). How many sales will you need to make just to cover the cost of the entry fee? Is it worth it? Will your sales at a fall/holiday craft show impact your etsy business in any way?

Just you've been asked to join a fair doesn't mean it's right for you. And don't think too much about the fact that you were asked (I'm not being rude and in no way reference your items). I just mean that many times fairs are looking for ways to sell more table/booth space. Your items are lovely, by the way - I'm especially taken with the yellow gold storage basket!

Weigh out the pros and cons. All the best!

[PrairiePrimitives]

I have done craft fairs for more than 40 years. I have had booths that were free and paid as much as $250 for a booth (one-day). The free shows weren't worth it and the $250 show was, imagine that!

Yesterday's booth was $50 and was adjacent to a well-known (47th annual) antique street fair. What was a bit misrepresented to me was that the area I was in (a parking lot off of the main drag) was supposed to be "collectibles." Someone (the guy who rented those spaces out!) used that word generously. Dried floral arrangements, Hot Wheels cars + framed vintage postage stamps, funky "hipster" (?) neckties straight out of the shipping boxes for $9.95 each, essential oils and palm readings, a chiropractor, and me. I made my booth fee back and then some, but that will be going towards getting my truck repaired as it decided to have a hissyfit yesterday morning as I was trying to leave my booth space to go park.

[Former_Member]

Thank you for all the thoughts and advice! Very helpful. I've decided to avoid the craft fair circuit this year, partly because I don't want to invest the time and partly because I'd like to focus my efforts on Etsy this Christmas. It'll be my second Christmas on Etsy. I have big goals and don't want to divide my focus.