Decline in Sales???????????

[Charley]

I'm a bit concerned with my sales and would like to know how everyone is doing at Craft Fairs this fall? What I'm mainly interested in is the sales of container candles, wickless candles and other wax products! I've noticed that my sales have been down quite a bit this fall compared to previous years. It's almost like people aren't even interested in handcrafted candles anymore! Could it be the economy or could it be the competition from all the discount stores, dollar stores or big company home parties? I'm really stumped to say the least. This year my sales are up in my CP. It's like everyone wants handcrafted soap and no candles. I've noticed a decline is Craft Fairs in the past, a lot of lookers and not a lot of buyers:( Your opinions, Thanks....

[HayCreekCandles]

So far we have done better this year.

[kforbs126]

I don't think it's the economy as it's picked up in the recent years. It could be the flood of candles and melts in stores now that are cheaper than most handmade products. I hope things pick up for you.

[jackbenimble]

So far for me sales have been good. I've only done one show so far this fall and my candles out-sold my clams and had many returning customers from the last year repurchasing. My next show is this weekend so I'll update you after this next one. One thing I typically have experienced is that you have to go to shows where people have money. Also festivals that don't specifically focus on handmade crafts I tend to not do well at. JMO and it may just be in my area that is is the case. Hope sales get better for you! Good luck :-)

[cmzaha]

I'm a bit concerned with my sales and would like to know how everyone is doing at Craft Fairs this fall? What I'm mainly interested in is the sales of container candles, wickless candles and other wax products! I've noticed that my sales have been down quite a bit this fall compared to previous years. It's almost like people aren't even interested in handcrafted candles anymore! Could it be the economy or could it be the competition from all the discount stores, dollar stores or big company home parties? I'm really stumped to say the least. This year my sales are up in my CP. It's like everyone wants handcrafted soap and no candles. I've noticed a decline is Craft Fairs in the past, a lot of lookers and not a lot of buyers:( Your opinions, Thanks....

I have been selling B&B products including cp and mp soap for 5 yrs at farmer markets and we have seen a big decrease this year. Unlike many, I really do believe a lot has to do with economic issues. I just lost several regular customers at one of my markets, from a City of Hope layoff. People are still losing jobs. There is a lot of distrust and un-rest these days in our gov. All of the vendors, even food vendors, are down in sales this year. One of my markets has been going for 20 yrs and he is down 35% in vendors, we used to be 3 accross down the street for 3 blocks, now setup is mostly 2 deep down the middle of the street, and he used to have a waiting list. Some of the former vendors I have spoken with just did not want to tie up their money anymore to make product. We have seen a decrease on our website of 30% this mostly stemming from regular customers that have lost jobs. It is really frightening for my daughter since she relies on her site for income. After losing our asphalt company her husband never found another job (but that is another story).

[Charley]

Thank you everyone for your comments! I agree as far as the economy being at fault but I definitely think with the market being drenched with a lessor grade of candles from WalMart, Target and Dollar Stores has really taken a bite out of us little guys. The average person doesn't understand the concept of a quality made candle. I too closed down my website due to the drop in sales about a year ago so don't really know yet where this will end up? I'm going to have to really think this one out and see what happens with the rest of my Art Fairs this year???????????????

[Dolphin146]

I did my first show last weekend and it was a small show. I brought with me 1 oz melts incense and soaps. My best seller was the incense. Go figure. But sales were very bad. People were looking more than buying. I am booked with shows until Christmas. I hope the other ones are better.

[SliverOfWax]

I have a permanent store at a historic Antique Market type place. Sales all year have been horrible. It's picked up a bit this month, but overall, it's so bad I'm considering closing in January. I don't want to completely close; I have to do something with myself and have to be making something, so I'll be somewhere. But my store is now a hobby instead of a business, and that's not what I want. So I'm planning on either moving to a smaller, cheaper store where I am (if one becomes available), or completely moving to a different, cheaper location.

I've been in business so long and I'm so damned old myself, lol, that, believe it or not, a lot of my regular customers are dying off. Others are moving away. And lately, business hasn't been good enough to be racking up new, repeat customers to take the place of those leaving. So I'm stuck going nowhere.

[Charley]

Yep, I'm with you Sliver Sad after all these years.................

[Ravens]

Could be wrong, but I think a lot has to do with places like Dollar Tree, Walmart, etc. Yes, many people say they would support American-made, locally-made products, but the majority will get sucked in by the ridiculously low price found at the box stores.

I've seen large container candles at Walmart selling for $5, clamshells for under $2. Who can possibly compete with that. I can't :undecided

[moonshine]

I am not a big seller - I haven't really tried, I have a website and at our main companies office I have a small display- most of my sales are friends and family and the landscape contractors that come in and we sell Christmas trees and I get a lot sales at that time with those customers- but this month I have noticed a lot of people coming in specifically for candles which is good as it got me a wholesale account in a store in our downtown and I just received a call from a lady that runs a boutique on Mackinac Island that wants to start carrying them as well....not sure if it will pan out yet because my wholesale is not cheap- I cannot make candles and sell them in comparison to the big chain stores- my wholesale is more expensive than a Walmart candle retail-and the shipping to a island might not make it worth it for them - I just recalculated everything and it costs me $4 a candle to make 8 ounce square mason jars with soy- I do my own labels, buy wicks in bulk but the fragrance oil and wax is killing me in shipping with the rates going way up and I have to cost my material buying one thing at a time because when I order that's usually how it happens...ran out of one wax but not the other- need jars but no oils or vice versa and I really hate when filling an order needing only one fragrance and adding more to justify shipping just costs more anyway and then I end up not using it

I got off point here in regards to big candle companies...I always have one of somebody else's "junk" burning next to one of mine so when people do come in to buy I can show them what they get in comparison...and they are always shocked and truly didnt know what a good candle is / if you can show them a poorly burning candle that has hardly any scent it makes the sale when they see yours- the cost is justified- they actually can smell them without black soot and torch flames

[PAgirl89]

Could be wrong, but I think a lot has to do with places like Dollar Tree, Walmart, etc. Yes, many people say they would support American-made, locally-made products, but the majority will get sucked in by the ridiculously low price found at the box stores.

I've seen large container candles at Walmart selling for $5, clamshells for under $2. Who can possibly compete with that. I can't :undecided

I've seen those prices for candles from crafters at local craft shows. I cannot compete with that either and I have done better in sales this year with selling goat's milk soap than with candles & wax products. I've also found this season that the craft shows have turned into VENDOR shows and handmade craft shows are few & far between. I've done better with sales at out of the norm shows, like community festivals and doggie fests. We'll see how the Fall craft shows do now till December.

[TallTayl]

The craft show market has changed steadily over the past 5 years. I watched numbers closely and stopped doing the ones that have declined. i keep one or two that are still very worth while and changed focus to normally ignored venues.

Craft show patrons in my area want sparkly wood and metal stuff on a stick. There is still plenty of money to be made in candles and beauty products, you just need to choose a different market and find a niche. The type of customer i cater toward does not attend craft shows.

One WS customer of mine on the East Coast makes $7k a month reselling things that people like me make for her. Her business is growing exponentially.

Another B&B maker friend i split pallet orders with caters to a crowd nobody on this or any other board would give the time a day to, yet she will be topping 6 figures this year and takes several months a year off.

[Charley]

Could be wrong, but I think a lot has to do with places like Dollar Tree, Walmart, etc. Yes, many people say they would support American-made, locally-made products, but the majority will get sucked in by the ridiculously low price found at the box stores.

I've seen large container candles at Walmart selling for $5, clamshells for under $2. Who can possibly compete with that. I can't :undecided

My exact words to my friend yesterday

[Candybee]

Sales have been declining for a couple of years or more. I keep looking at my sales reports for the end of the sales year and I can see that sales have dropped substantially since 2010 on. My sales are 60% less than they were back then. That is a huge drop in overall sales. I closed my website, merchant account, and candle business last year. This past January I reopened as a soap biz but I don't have all the services I used to have and that hurts business too but I can no longer afford to produce both candles and soap and maintain the services I used to have.

I still have some good sales from repeat customers. But from one craft show to another its more hit or miss as far as sales go. From what I have seen it is definitely the economy. I have been to large shows where the attendance hasn't dropped and the numbers are huge. But the majority are now looking at stuff and that impulse buying is largely gone. People are very frugal with their money and you can't blame them.

I don't know if all the candles and melts on the market have really made that much of an impact but I could be wrong. From what I am seeing at craft shows the candlemakers that used to crowd shows have almost disappeared as well. For example the last one I did should have had about 6-8 candlemaker booths set up. There was 2 plus the small candle display I had. I now make seasonal candles only for the fall and holidays but thats it. Even with the the few candle makers there candle sales were definitely slow.

On the other hand I am selling a lot of soap and getting more wholesale accounts. I am actually having a problem making soap fast enough. So soap sales are up but then I am now a soap company so it should be that way. But the overall sales are not what they used to be a few years ago.

But I am optomistic that they will start getting better but not for another year or two. Like someone else mentioned, there is still way too much unemployment so people everywhere are not spending the way they used to. Plus, the financial climate is still uncertain and people tend to save during times like these instead of spending on anything except the necessities and the occasional gift or craft item.

Edited October 22, 2013 by Candybee

[SliverOfWax]

Cheap Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree type candles have been around for years, as have crappy home made candles. Back when I was doing craft shows, there were always vendors there trying to sell crap candles with crooked wicks in used canning jars, with no rhyme or reason applied to how they were made. Just garbage.

I don't know what's out there now, but about 3 or 4 years ago, the local oil company from which I bought wax told me they were not going to sell wax any longer because I was the only local candlemaker left standing. All their old wax customers were going out of business. I would imagine now, craft shows are full of Scentsy type, made in China stuff. They've always been evident at indiscriminate craft shows, but these days, I doubt there is much of anything 'crafty' at craft shows. Even juried shows were letting in mass produced junk a few years back. It's probably almost all junk now. I should go to one just to see. And point and laugh, lol.

Unfortunately, things are much, much different than they were 10 years ago. There was a time I thought the downward spiral was temporary. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like things aren't going to get better any time soon. I didn't expect the recession to last this long.

[JI]

At a show I did a couple weeks back sales were down 20% from previous year. We have a lot of govt here and there was a shut down. Not sure of that had something to do with it. I did another show this month and sales were ok but not great. $25 booth fee and I sold $200 in 6 hrs. Tons of old people there bc it was a church sponsored fair and ladies in their 70s are tough to sell to. I have a fair I am doing this weekend. Two days, only $50. Near my house. It is another churchy one and they will have food rides etc. This is the first time they will be having vendors. Apparently they attract thousands. It could be good or not. Not sure. I guess I will be happy to sell $500 or so at minimum.

[Lorelei]

My sales are down this year but I've had less time to promote too. Also went into Bed Bath and Beyond and they had a 4'x8' display of melts and warmers right at the front door when you walk in. I've never ever seen so many melts and burners in one place. I did buy a burner (they sucked me in with a ceramic mid-century drip glaze) and LOVE it. I didn't buy melts, some smelled horrible. The clean scents smelled strong and good. I think this will really spark interest for some people away from the S-word. Maybe we'll have some sales after the holidays....hope hope?

[SherriLynn]

We haven't seen a decline....The large show we do in early September our sales were up by $300 from the past 2 years of shows Our fundraisers are up and our storefront is up in sales (our 3rd year on main street).

We do one large show first weekend in September,,, then none until the end of October. We've learned from past years that September - mid October just aren't good selling shows for us. Customers are getting children set in school with band instruments, clothing, supplies, sports equipment, sports bus passes, etc and the extra money isn't there. We'll try selling at a show twice and if our sales expectations aren't met, we dump the show. We've been on the road since 1999 and have a set list of shows that are super sellers.

We are booked solid from the end of Oct - mid Dec with juried/handcrafted shows only. We stick with these shows because it's where the "money" is for our products. We do not take part in any vendor/commercial shows cause you can buy that stuff anywhere, the shows are usually low in attendance and don't meet our sales expectations. There are also 3 major consignment boutiques our products are at during the months of Nov and Dec.

We're geared up for "silly" season.... already have some corporate gift baskets on order from customers for delivery Dec. 10.

[JI]

So I did a show on Sat/Sun. It was a church fall carnivak with hay rides and vendors. Two day event only $50. It was the first year they were having vendors and they wanted vendors bc people had been requesting them over years. I was a little concerned bc of carnival but they assured me that they get like 30,000 people etc.

I set up Sat morning. Carnival was in one area near road. Food was in the back and we were on the side lot adjacent to carnival. Traffic was horrible. In one day I literally sold $50. It was pathetic. Vendors were so frustrated. People were there to spend money on carnival rides and food. I sold $50 by 3 pm and packed up. They tried to talk me into coming on Sunday but I didn't go. I have never had such a horrible showing.

Reminder to self: never do a show where you are competing with carnival. Oh and I would say there were no more than 500-800 people tops at the carnival on Sat. I would say thst maybe 30 people walked by my booth in 6 hrs. Even the decorate your own pumpkin lady ($3/pop) hardly had any business.

I feel i shoukd have listened to my gut. But the only reason i did it was the large amount of supposed people attending the carnival. What a joke.

Edited October 29, 2013 by JI

[jackbenimble]

I'm so very sorry to hear about your recent show. That is what I have found in those types of shows is that the patrons usually spend their money on rides/games and not vendors.

So I just did a show this past weekend at a private school. Big sized show I would say. Booth fee was $250 for the nice carpeted inside spot, which I payed for. We did very, very well and sales were up 30% from last year. This show is nothing but handmade crafts and they even charge a small admission fee and it's always packed.

[Dana]

Some good news here....had a show last weekend and sales were up 50% from last year!

[SliverOfWax]

I never did shows with entertainment. People are there to be amused and let kids run loose. Not my type of venue. Sorry it didn't work for you, but not surprised. Live and learn, I guess.

[JI]

Yes I should have known better. Live and learn, lol. Now I am trying to decide between two shows in a couple weeks.

One is an outdoor show with a $30 booth fee, one day event. Last year at this one I sold $300.

The second show is a churchy fall fest, no rides at all. Just crafters. Non juried though so tupperware will no doubt be there. It is only $20. But it is in a small wealthy community and the church is on the main street. Fair is inside though.

I am leaning toward the outdoor one again. What do you all think?

[jackbenimble]

Yes I should have known better. Live and learn, lol. Now I am trying to decide between two shows in a couple weeks.

One is an outdoor show with a $30 booth fee, one day event. Last year at this one I sold $300.

The second show is a churchy fall fest, no rides at all. Just crafters. Non juried though so tupperware will no doubt be there. It is only $20. But it is in a small wealthy community and the church is on the main street. Fair is inside though.

I am leaning toward the outdoor one again. What do you all think?

My personal opinion- I think you would see a big difference at doing juried shows only. Are there any shows that have a booth fee that is around $100? I'm not saying that the more expensive the booth fee the better you will do but what experience I have that's worked for me. Even my worst show that I don't do anymore I made 6x my booth fee.

If you had to choose go with the outdoor show. You may get repeat business and you have done well there in the past. I HTH you. Good luck! Let's us know what happens :-)