Farmers Market Reports

[Vicky_CO]

I know a lot of you have already started your markets, a few will be starting with in the next couple of weeks. Let get this started come here and post how your markets did, good and bad. What is selling, what is not selling and let see if we can see a few trends show up.

[Candybee]

I've been doing two local markets and starting this week will be doing 3. I see that sales have started to improve over last year but there is still the hot summer months to get through. They tend to be the slowest.

I am selling mostly CP soap with a few lip balms and candles leftover from last season. The soap is selling well. I see more herbal, shampoo, and shaving soaps are selling out. Lots of lavender and also citrus blends are a hit. This week I will take some summery scented salt bars and hope those do well.

Looks like my customers are leaning more towards soaps with clay and botanicals along with summery citrus and florals.

[emilyspoppy]

We have been located in a farmer's market in Southern Maryland since 1997. We have one of the larger and, I feel, nicer shops there. The market over the years has been extremely well attended. It began as a venue for Amish sales of produce and livestock. It is regeistered as a National Historic Site.

 

I began attending flea markets with my father as a very young child. I have sold at many locations on the East Coast from New Jersey to Florida. I can honestly say that I feel experienced enough to provide at least a modestly intelligent response to your question. Thus, you have pulled me from "retirement" as a Craft Server poster to offer this reply;

 

Our market is open two days a week. Wednesday and Saturday. The market is not operating on Sunday, as is usual, due to the fact that Amish folks do not sell on Sundays. Even though the market is no longer primarily an Amish market, serious attempts to establish Sunday sales there have failed.

 

Saturday is by far the best day, but Wednesday wasn't too "shabby" before the economy began to fail. From 1997 through about 2005 we could expect Wednesday sales of about $250 to $500 per week, weather dependant. Our shop is permanent and located within a building, but the market loses attendance in inclimate weather, during some holidays or when major events are held outside of our market but in the neighboring area. 

 

For a number of years we could expect Saturday sales as high as $2000 per week. Sales of $1200 were common. I was dissapointed when a Saturday "take" fell below $800. I had retired from my "other" job, but my wife remained employed. I spent the days we were not open devoted to the business. I don't feel the sales reduction we've been experiencing is due to my failure as a businessman or any lack of caring on my part.

 

Beginning about 2005  sales dramatically began to "tank". We didn't notice too much of a loss of attendance, but we did notice more browsing and less purchasing. This was experinced across the market by most if not all venders. slowly, at first, venders began to leave the market. They were quickly replaced by new venders. for years the selling spaces at the market were completely sold out. A waiting list of up to ten years was the rule for a permanent shop . I managed to get the first of our three adjoining shops because I was personally aquainted with the market owner who instructed the manager to offer me the first shop that became available. I acquired two more adjoining shops when "neighbors" threw in the towel for lack of sales or personal issues over the years. Our shops are accesable to us on a 24 hour 7 day a week basis. We can even "stay over" as we have sectioned off an area for our personal use. We have heat/AC, restroom and shower. Kitchen, dining and sleeping areas are present. We have spent a great deal of time "fine-tuning" our operation because it has been convenient for us to devote the time to our business.

 

I did experience some major health issues since opening our shops and I have not been able to be present there as much, but I have continued to work regularly to support the business and provide assistance to my wife who currently manages the shop. We have one employee who serves as a sales clerk. I make all of the candles and soap that we sell. I make or buy all of the jewelry we sell.

 

We do have a small wholesale candle business in addition to our shop, but the store is our primary operation. We sell jewelry, movies, music candles and soaps. We have a bit of an eclectic operation, but because we have three seperate but attached spaces it does make sense. Our operation is not as random as one might think.

 

ALL of our products have been affected by the slow down. Some weeks, however, we do not even sell any soap and/or candles. If it were not for our jewelry operation we would have been forced to shut down by now. We are no longer even opening on Wednesdays because hardly anyone now sell or buy on that day of the week. No customers means no venders and vice versa. As it stands we are now just basically covering our expenses. Without reasonable profits it has become hard to manage to maintain our lifestyle let alone to contimue to develop our business. I am very concerned.

 

Based on my experience I can honestly state that I would not at this time begin a flea market operation that required more than a minimum of committment. I would not consider a lease or expeditures towards infrastructure, fixtures or other things that would require any sort of financial investment.

 

I cannot say that there is no hope of things improving for us, but I honestly do not feel the future will be less than dissapointing or even devastating. I have recently begun considering the disposition of much of our crafting inventory and equipment. eBay appears to be an alternative for a quick resolution for us.

 

I keep hearing my father's voice in my head, however, saying ;

 

"David . . . Remeber . . . You stand a good chance to make money when you buy, but a better chance to lose it when you sell."

 

We may not be typical and thus I am interested in hearing from other experienced flea market dealers.

 

Dave @ Betty's Boutique / Charlotte Hall Country Candles & Soap

[Vicky_CO]

Dave that sound so familiar to me I did have to take it back to hobby mainly because my last child will be off to college soon and I can not maintain by myself. The economy hit me hard. I had to close my store. I still did well at festivals & Farmers Markets. I was having to travel farther and do more shows to maintain what I was making a few years ago.

 

I did make the choice to stop so my son could enjoy being a high school kid and do all the things a kid should do in high school in stead of chasing me around from show to show. I am not saying I will never sell again but I really do not see it happening before my husband retires.

[Lumina]

I have been selling at a local Farmers Market in Orlando FL since 1999.  I still kept my full time job and spent the weekends at two markets.   I had a dream of moving to NC where I thought they really loved crafters and it would be a wonderful experience to live my dream of being a full time candlemaker.... we all know how dreams can go.  We built a cabin in WNC and I quit my job.  Since we have all of our family still in Orlando I was able to come back in the winter time to sell at the FM..  I was so suprised how different the Farmers Markets were in NC.  The 3 that I attended were more interested in farmers than crafters.  In fact after 3 years of being treated like a redheaded step child I quit one market.  Now I am only doing craft shows in WNC and go back to Orlando to vend at the Farmers Market where they really like having me.  It's sad but I make more money in Orlando then I do in NC.  So much for my dreams....It is a bit slower in the Summer here in Orlando but still better than where I was at.  So looking further afield for more craft shows to fill up my year.

 

Cindy

[Darbla]

It's sad but I make more money in Orlando then I do in NC.

There are probably more people in NC who are making soap and candles themselves than there are in Orlando.

 

I helped a friend with her booth (Avon and jewelry) a couple years ago at a local festival.  The sales were so abyssmal I knew I wouldn't be trying to take my hobby to the level of selling.  The only booths that were doing well were the food vendors and the kids' face painting.  All the other vendors were walking around checking out other vendors, and quietly discussing amongst themselves how bad they were all doing.  Majorly disappointing sales that day.  Sad and disheartening.

[SherriLynn]

^{We do one very well established LARGE market.  This is our first year back in a FM setting and we're doing very well with our B&B products, our gourmet foods line and our melties. We don't sell candles due to the outside heat factor.   Farmers markets have become really flat in many places.  Unless its a big or well established market, there are so many markets popping up here and there, every and any day of the week, that markets have become saturated.  Weather is very hard on products.  Dealing with heat, dust, muggy sticky days so dust/dirt to stick on products in the breeze and there's the rain.   Then add the dirty grimy fingers of people walking through markets touching products while they're munching on bratwurst, hot dogs, cotton candy and caramel apples.  Yuck!!!!.  Sales are doing well enough that repackaging some items has been worth it.   We quit doing FM's for a while because of all the "flea market" stuff coming.  More and more markets are becoming ravaged by the "flea marketers" so customers think they can barter for pricing.  I don't barter... LOL!!  Ya wouldn't walk into my storefront and barter..... sheeeesh!!  So far this show has held it's integrity with staying with locally grown produce, baked and canned goods and hand crafted items.  Probably why it's been so successful.  We're picking up more traffic at our storefront with the added sales from the FM.  We put flyers in each bag we sell to promote online and storefront sales.  Especially since our storefront carries many more items than those we typically carry to the FM.} 

Edited July 15, 2014 by SherriLynn