Just did my first fair!

[MagickPatchworks]

Just got back from my first vendor event! I am so excited that I HAD to share!
Every year my university does a Weihnachtsmarkt, which is a German Christmas/winter market. I went as a vendor because another club offered me about 2 feet of their table space. It wasn't much, but I was able to display a ton of my smaller items.
Let me first say, I am SO glad that I had an Etsy card reader. It made things a breeze, and I would have lost two of my biggest sales if I did not have it.
Let me also say, I am so glad I had this opportunity. My family is in a hard spot so we cant do Christmas this year. I made 7 sales, which gave me enough money to buy/make the important people in my life small gifts. That means so much to me.
I am so speechless right now. I expected to not make much because most of the people were college students. I am blown away. I don't know what to say. I feel like I am on some sort of high that I am slowly coming down from.
This also makes me want to do other fairs. There is another coming up in April, but the fee (if I pay by February 12th) will be 90 dollars (that includes 2 tables for a full day at an event which draws over 5k people in a day). I don't know if I will have that by then, and I don't know if I will make enough money to make the event "worth it". What do you guys think?

[Former_Member]

That sounds amazing! I think you should go for it! Just make sure you have plenty of opportunity to make that $90 back and then some. Maybe you could split the space with another vendor? You'll never know till you try, but it sounds like you had a positive experience this time so it's worth a shot IMO

[shinypennyshop]

So glad you had a great experience! I like Kathryn's idea to share the space. You might also try to work your way up to a bigger event like that by doing some fairs in between - there have to be some going on in your area between now and April.

[StuckOnSilver]

So happy for you, Kaela! Definitely go for it! You'll get ideas for more merchandise, too. You can also trade with other crafters. Good luck!

[MagickPatchworks]

I am really tempted to do it. If I got nearly 100 dollars from a fair with around 300 people, I can only imagine what I can get from this event with 5k. Of course, there is no guarantee that it will happen and I will have to build up stock again. My concern is I don't want to get there and JUST pay back what I spent on the fair, you know? Plus, a third of the money I earn practically doesn't exist to me. It gets fed straight into another bank account where it will stay until I have to pay back student loans. I will have to think about it a bit, but now that I know from this event that I CAN do well, I am way more tempted to give it a try.
Sharing the space with someone else isn't too bad of an idea. There are a few other student Etsy sellers on campus, so that may be a good move. I will let you guys know what is going on!