clueless Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Hi everyone! I know I don't post here often but I'm always so busy! Anyways, I up and agreed to setting up a booth this Saturday at a Jamboree event for a child who has cancer. The booth fee goes to his family for medical bills. So great cause! Any who...I'm not at all prepared to do this. I mean at all!! I'm low on jars, I only keep about 3-4 cases on me at a time. To top it all off, I have never ever ran a booth before! So, I know nothing at all about. To say I'm nervous is an understatement. Big time. I have a banner, three, 6ft folding tables and very little product. I figure I will make as many candles as I can and tarts..some soaps and that's about it I thought the Jamboree event was going to be really small and low key. But, it's drawing lots of attention. Am I going to be a laughing stock? What in the world do I do??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JI Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Well, 3-4 cases is still respectable. Lol maybe if you ran out of stock people would order. Good luck at least it is going to a good cause. I display with vertical baskets etc. And a really nice table cloth. Baskets are cheap and look nice. Do you take credit cards? Let us know how sales go. How many hours is it running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OldGlory Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 The trick is to make it look full even if you don't have enough inventory. Maybe you have some crates over which you can drape fabric (like homespun or burlap if you have a country/rustic theme) and put a great looking sign on top. Maybe a basket of pinecones for a fall look. Maybe a big bowl full of scrubbies (whatever you call the nylon netting bath scrubs we use in the shower) with a half a dozen bars of soap on top. You can still make it look full and like a lot of thought went into the presentation without a lot of merchandise. Maybe only use 2 tables carefully placed to achieve maximum impact - and 2 fuller tables will look better than 3 emptier tables. If people are going because they want to support the child with cancer they will be there with open hearts. Embrace the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clueless Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 Thanks so much for the advice. I really really need it. My area will be really brightly colored. My tables will be covered with black cloth and hot pink overlays. My banner is very bright, hot pinks, greens,purples and blues with black. I think making fillers on the table is a wonderful idea and I really wouldn't have thought about doing that. How should I go about accepting orders from people?And I am not set up to accept credit cards yet. I have been using Paypal for years and years and applied for their card reader and was turned down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OldGlory Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 I've not had much luck with taking orders - people get excited in the moment, want a lot of stuff, then never follow through. My only suggestion is to require at least half of the payment at the time of the order. That way if they don't follow through you're not out the cost of the supplies. Surely others have had better luck than I and can offer other suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scifichik Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 You can get set up with Square (a credit card processing service) and can get the reader at Office Max, Walgreens, WalMart, etc. I think it costs under $10, then you sign up for free. You get charged 2.75% per swipe, or a max of $275 month. If you had time, you could go to their website, sign up, and they'd mail the reader for free. https://squareup.com/register Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JI Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I second Old Glory. Don't hold merchandise for anyone for the show unless they have paid. You will get burned.Like Old glory said get half down or full payment for orders. People won't balk at full. I rarely take orders at shows bc I have a lot of inventory. But if I do, they always pay in full. They are used to it bc of internet ordering I think.Take cheques if you can't take credit cards.No free samples (in my opinion), if you are just starting.Don't price too low. Factor in a labour charge. Push the fact that it is made by you locally Sounds silly but it is a selling point. People are always used to seeing distributors they may assume you are.Don't forget sales tax.I think a less cluttered table looks better than a busy one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clueless Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share Posted October 16, 2013 You can get set up with Square (a credit card processing service) and can get the reader at Office Max, Walgreens, WalMart, etc. I think it costs under $10, then you sign up for free. You get charged 2.75% per swipe, or a max of $275 month. If you had time, you could go to their website, sign up, and they'd mail the reader for free. https://squareup.com/registerOkay, so I can go purchase the card reader at Best Buy or Walgreens and then sign up for it online? So, this would enable me to use this weekend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clueless Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share Posted October 16, 2013 I have another question. Do people normally mark their product down when they are selling from vendor booths? My husband is trying to convince that in order to move more product that I should mark my stuff down. Is this a good idea..or not so good idea? I went to our Harvest Homecoming and saw a lady selling her candles for $5.00 a piece. While I would normally be selling mine online for $8.00. So, is your price online different from your booth price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JI Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 (edited) Well I sell mainly wholesale and do fall craft fairs. If my booth fee is high I raise my prices. Imo don't mark down. There are a lot of variables. Maybe that lady is using cheaper jars or fragrance. I sold once at a fair with another chandler who was a few dollars cheaper. Her jars were jellies. Mine weren't. She came to me at end of day and asked me my tricks for selling. Price isn't everything. Take your costs. Multiply by 3. I then tack on an additional 20% to cover other expenses like my insurance, website etc. If fee is high I add another dollar to the price depending on market and clientel. Last time a couple weeks ago I did 8x booth fee. Not stellar but not bad.I don't list an online price, since I am mainly wholesale. My wholesale is cost times 2 plus 20%. What is your jar style, wax weight etc? Edited October 16, 2013 by JI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Node11 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I haven't started selling candles yet but do work shows for my job at an unrelated industry. We typically run "show specials" or give time sensitive coupons (good for one week only) for online purchase incentives. I've been trying to put a lot of thought into the future of my business. I need to find my selling point that would be acceptable as a manufacturer and yet not compete with my retailers. Building in enough GM% to allow for show discounts and wholesale discounts as well is interesting fun.JI is right in that your product or brand may not have to directly compete with every vendor at the show. Quality and materials play a role as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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