5 Ways I Lost Money Trying To Make Sales at Craft Shows
It’s important to make as many sales as you can at a craft show and sell the stock you have. These are ways I lost money when I thought I was doing the right things to make a sale. 1 – Holds This is obviously my most frustrating lesson as I’ve placed it top of…
6 Reasons you Didn’t Make Money at your First Craft Show
As mentioned in this article, you’re doing well if you’ve made enough money to cover your COGS (costs of goods sold) and your booth fee. If you didn’t earn enough revenue to cover those costs, that’s okay; many vendors don’t, but they use the event as a learning experience. If you’re wondering why your sales…
How Much Money Should you Make at your First Craft Show?
A “successful craft show” is different for everyone. So many factors can impact sales and revenue, profits, and potential for after-event-sales depend on what you’re selling. However, this article will help you determine if a craft show was a success for your business. Start by knowing your costs Selling products at craft shows isn’t as simple…
The Surprising Trick to Higher Craft Fair Sales
When I started selling at craft fairs, I made as many types of products as I could. I wanted to have something for everyone. Even when I niched down and focused on selling handbags only, I still offered a lot of selection. But then I discovered how much better my sales were when I cleaned…
What To Do When Craft Fair Sales Don’t Cover Booth Fees
If you spent more on your craft show booth fees than you earned from sales at the event, what can you do? This article shares tips to make the most of every event and help ensure one doesn’t become a waste of your time and money. At the event If you’re selling at an event…
#1 Reason Craft Show Shoppers Undervalue Your Work
When a shopper believes your products should be priced lower than they are, they won’t buy. Or they may ask you for a discount. The key to making sales at craft shows is to get shoppers to think your products’ prices are higher than they are, before ever looking at a price tag. Top Reason:…
3 Ways You Should Be Using Repetition at a Craft Show
Repetition is one of the easiest ways to: create cohesion in your display make a statement with your display make a display look more professional It’s a technique used by major retailers to market to you, draw you into their stores, and encourage you to buy. But it can also be used by small businesses…
The Top Reason Shoppers Complain About A Craft Show
Many things can go wrong with a craft show, but in general, shoppers are understanding of most. But there’s one thing they are most likely to complain about (based on reading hundreds of 1-star reviews from popular craft shows). #1 Complaint: Lack of Creativity Consumers flock to craft shows to find unique items…
Summer Craft Show Display Idea: Ice Cream Cart
This article shares a summer craft fair display following an ice-cream theme. I’m working with bags but a variety of products could be swapped into this display with a few small changes. *This article includes affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read…
Handbag Display Ideas for Craft Fairs
This article shares inspirational photos of handbags displayed on a craft fair table. Most setups use a variety of sizes and styles of bags so you can see the different ways they can be displayed and the different types of fixtures you can use. Hang bags with a kids’ clothing rack For this handbag…
10 Ways to Increase your Craft Show Booth’s Turnover Rate
When I worked in retail, turnover rate referred to staff and how quickly or slowly staff would change over (i.e quit). When I worked at a restaurant, turnover rate referred to how quickly or slowly customers dined. Obviously, the more people you can feed at one table during a shift, the more money you and…
7 Ways to Create Buying Urgency at Craft Shows
Creating urgency at a craft show can encourage more people to buy instead of taking time to think about it. When they need to walk away from your table and think about it, chances are high they’ll get distracted by other vendors and end up spending their money elsewhere. This type of urgency isn’t pushy…
12 Ways to Increase Conversion Rates at Craft Shows
A conversion rate calculates how many people you convert. What exactly you convert them to can vary. At a craft show, the most important conversion rates are: Shopper conversion rate – how many craft show visitors you convert into being your shoppers. Sales conversion rate – how many of your shoppers you convert into customers….
8 Ways to Streamline your Craft Show Checkout Process
A busy craft show table is great. However, having a space full of people can deter other shoppers from stopping. You don’t want to rush shoppers, but it is good to streamline your process so you can move more shoppers and customers through your space in the limited selling hours you have. Nobody wants to…
6 Ways to Politely Decline Trades at Craft Shows
When selling at craft shows, you’ll discover many amazing handmade products. And no doubt, other vendors will love your products too. You may get asked if you want to make a trade. A trade is when you give another vendor one of your products in exchange for one (or more) of theirs. Instead of accepting…
10 Ways to Ensure Craft Shows Give you a Return on Investment
Craft shows typically require you to spend a lot of time and money to prepare for, sell at, and pack up from. So you want to ensure the revenue that event produces, covers all your costs and leaves you with profits. Return on investment tells you whether an investment (anything you spend time and/or money…
5 Hair Accessories to Sew & Sell at Craft Fairs
Hair accessories are a great product to make and sell at craft shows. Good profits – hair accessories tend to require small amounts of material and don’t take long to make. Good for beginners – most patterns are simple to sew. Good price points for crafts shows – the majority of craft show shoppers tend…
Craft Show Displays Using Crates
Crates are a budget-friendly and versatile item to use in craft show displays. I purchased mine at Ikea, but there are many places to buy crates at various price points, sizes, and colors. The following are examples of ways you can incorporate crates into a craft show display. *This article includes affiliate links, meaning I…
10 Ways To Increase Revenue per Square Foot at Craft Shows
Every vendor wants to make as much money as possible at each event. But to increase your revenue, you have to be strategic. It’s not enough to show up with the same products/display/sales strategy and hope for the best. Calculating your revenue per square foot can help you find areas of opportunity. To determine your…
7 Questions to Ask When Starting a Sewing Business
If you want to start a business sewing and selling products, it’s important to consider several aspects of your business to ensure you’re setting yourself up for success. Here are the 6 questions I considered when deciding what type of sewing business to start. 1) What are the barriers to entry? In most locations,…