Applying To Craft Fairs
Working out fees and costs when applying to craft fairs
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The first thing you want to do when considering applying to craft fairs to sell your arts or crafts, is to find the good ones. I know that's an obvious statement, but it's not always so obvious which craft fairs are actually good or bad.
Apart from checking the internet, check your local media too, and ask your local town hall. When you find craft fairs in your area, do an internet search using their names to see if you can find any comments by fellow crafters, or ask about them at some craft forums. It would be great if you could find a complimentary artist or crafter who has attended craft fairs in your area, so that you can find out more about how successful they are.
Craft Fair Fees
Craft fairs and markets charge in different ways, for example...
Commission
This
can be anywhere from 10% to 35% of your total sales. This usually suits
crafters with lower sales on smaller items, and it eliminates the need
for an initial fee outlay, but they are difficult to find.
Fee
Booth
fees range anywhere from $10 to $1,500. You will need to decide what
you can afford as a fee, but it's advisable not to go over around $250
if you're just starting with craft fairs. Once you have more experience
of how well your products sell, how much stock you can afford to make
before the show, and so on, then you can consider paying higher fees
for bigger and better shows.
Fee & Commission
This
is quite a scary combination, especially if the fee is high to begin
with. You need to be sure that you will sell enough to walk away with a
decent profit.
Stock Costs
How much stock should you produce for a craft fair? There are generally two "rules" you can follow...
1% to 3%
This
assumes that 1% to 3% of the total show attendees will buy a product
from you. It's a simple calculation once you know the expected
attendance figures.
7x
This
method assumes you would make 7 times your entry fee. For
example, if a show charges a $100 entry fee, you should take $700 worth
of product.
Don't be disappointed if you don't do as much as the above two examples, you'll get better with experience!
Related Costs
Your costs don't stop there, however. You also need to factor in...
- Travel and/or accommodation costs if the show isn't local
- Advertising in show brochure
- Business cards and/or flyers or other handouts
- Food and drink
- Booth decoration
- Packaging
- and so on.
Figuring Your Profit Margin
Keeping good records will help you to determine which craft fairs are the most successful for you and your products, and will help you determine which ones you should return to the following year.
Be sure to keep track of all your expenses, no matter how insignificant something may seem at the time, so that you can accurately calculate your profits from the craft fairs you attend.
Click here for a worksheet you can use to figure your profit margin.
Craft Show Success Secrets
Specific
advice to make money by selling your crafts at craft shows. Do you want
to know how to turn your hobby into a business? Are you interested in
selling your crafts at craft shows? Or do you just want to make a
little bit of ‘fun money’ for the crafts you make?
Natalie Goyette provides you with craft show tips that will get you
well on your way to successfully selling your goods, covering more than
thirty relevant topics to get you started. You
could be reading it 30 seconds from now!