1ST Christmas Show.... THUMBS DOWN!!!

[GerberDaisyCrazy]

I was there 12 hours, by myself,(my help got snowed in)(so I gotta vent) and not one fellow vendor ask if they could help or give me a break all day. While I was setting up two women were looking at what I had and, I heard one tell the other, that" she is not going to make any money, becasue her candles are handmade". I hated hearing that, but she didn't lie. I was surrounded by a S**T load of B/S, and they were taking all the money. I was sorely dissapointed. Here I am thinking oh boy, people are going to be in the gift giving mood, if they were they were not looking for handmade candles. I mean the traffic flowed, but the money didn't flow to me . I was so mad, I came home took two asprin,two sleeping pills,and two midol.

*On the upside, the mother and daughter duo that bought at my last craft show, came and bought from me and I only had to go about 10 miles.

Booth $65.00 Day Dec 2 Place Tx. What I made my booth fee.

I was there for 12 hours and out of those 12, I had no sale for 7 of them.

Oh, I forgot to mention the first purchase made was under $30.00 and the lady hands me a $100.00. My head, back and legs still hurt this morning.

UN****INGBELEIVEABLE!!!!!!!!

[dandelion garden]

I'm so sorry, I know how you feel.

I was having a major pity party for myself when the distibutors had people 2 deep at their table and I sat alone for hours straight.

Heard lots of, "ooh, those candles smell nice" as they beelined to the Tupperware table.:embarasse

Guess we need to stick to "handcrafted only" shows, huh?

[Brenda]

So sorry you had such a discouraging day. I find that experience to be disheartening as well.

There really should be shows for "handcrafted only" products!

[VerticallyEnhanced]

I am so sorry you had a rough one. :undecided

and not one fellow vendor ask if they could help or give me a break all day.

I always do my shows alone b/c my hubby has the hard part...watching the three kids. I love it and it gives me lots of time for adult conversation...lol. I have never had anyone ask me if I needed a break, but I make it a point to scope out one nearby booth with more than two people in it and ask them if they would not mind helping me out when I needed a potty break. I have never had anyone say no.

[sharyl55]

I also do shows alone. I always try to make friends with the folks set up on either side of me. I offer to watch their tables if they need a break. I try to take my breaks when it is slow and ask them to watch my tables for me. Works for me. Don't do that many shows and try to only go to those that are for hand made crafts. Good Luck at future shows.

[Scented]

You know I don't remember a lot of help offered if there wasn't chatter back and forth during set up etc. I do remember people amusingly watching us tear down a tent to it's bare bones before offering with tips, but that was all part of losing our virginity. Usually just asking if someone wouldn't mind watching the booth while you ____ will get someone who will agree to do so.

I so know about the no buying phases at this time of the year. Last year ended on a very discouraging note, making only booth.

From that discouragement though, think of what you can do to draw more attention to yourself. At Saturday's show there was a knick knacks/floral shop next to the booth and the woman there was snagging everyone and getting them to sign up for a free poinsetta to be drawn like next weekend. The good thing is sometimes their sights were distracted by things in my booth. It also helped that the woman next to me was gushing about various things in the booth too. Very friendly woman, and you don't get to be next to many of them at shows.

[RobinInOR]

I've had shows like that too - you watch absolute junk fly off the tables near you (anyone want a hand painted velvet coated dragon?) and you sit there with quality stuff. You feel invisible cuz no one even glances your way. You feel like you've got cooties.

It does get better, usually. I used to make a game of it "OK, now what kind of signage or talk do I need to drag these ding dongs into the booth?" It was a contest of wills

[Janette]

We have all had shows that didn't go as we would like them to. The most important thing is to stay positive. If you start to feel sorry for yourself or uptight, the crowd can smell it. Feeling down is like having a force field around your booth. If no one offers to help and you aren't brave enough to ask someone, then take your cash with you and head to the washroom when you have to.

Janette

[Michelle at WW]

Hi,

There will be the occasional (or, as I was feeling lately, regularly) unsuccessful show. The weather sometimes does not cooperate, the venue may not be the best, the mix of vendors is not conducive, or the people may not be interested in parting with their money. Each time I encounter one of those shows, I think about what I could do better. I look at the other displays. Does mine stand out? In a good way? How is my packaging compared to any competitors? I look at the products offered by the vendors: are they handcrafted, bought from wholesalers or are they part of an established franchise (PL, Pampered Chef, Tupperware)?

I learned a lesson a couple of weeks ago about doing proper due diligence before signing up for a show. I only found out a week before that non-handcrafted items would be available. Since I had made a non-refundable deposit, I went anyway. It was a dud, but I saw it as time for me and was prepared. I made my Christmas cards (rubber stamping) and put them on display for sale. I sold more cards than candles that day! Still didn't make booth, but my cards are made - just need to be signed!

Better luck next time!

Michelle

[lpoitras]

I just finished my last show of the season (I did 3 in a row) and each one got a little bit better. None great. I had a small Christmas tree on my table to attract customers and highlight the candles, 2 women actually thought that was what I was selling (duh). They made me laugh. I noticed anything with lights was selling so next year will get plenty of battery powered candles (as we are not allowed to use warmers or open flame) to attract customers, heck I'll wear a lighted necklace if I have to. The day after the show I got a phone call from a customer. I thought, Heck, what is the complaint? but she ordered 4 more wickless and candle warmers and will be picking them up next weekend. I think the thing with shows is that if you look at them (at least these little ones that I go to) as anything more than marketing and a small profit you will be sorely disappointed. I have done 12 this year and this is my first year. At every show the vendors would say how much better the fall shows were, at the fall shows they were saying how much better last year's fall shows were. Needless to say I will be going after wholesale accounts and fundraisers with more energy this year and do probably 3 spring and 3 falls shows at the most. I do enjoy them, though, just wish I could make more $ at them.