Answering Questions Rant....

[HeavenScentU]

Hi All, At my craft show this past weekend I had a few rude ladies come over to my booth and try to pick my brain. I think these women need to learn manners and am wondering how other candle people are handling these situations if any... First lady came up and asked where I get my waxes. Where I get my jars, blah blah blah.... My DIL looked at me like what is going on... I told the lady if I told everyone where I bought my stuff than I would be out of business.. But this lady wouldn't stop. So I started asking her questions. Like why? Than she said one word Candlewealth. I spoke up and said I don't want to go into candlewealth. I told her, I have never heard anything good about them. She walked right out of my booth. She didn't even look back.. The second lady came up to me and asked me to explain the difference between Salt City and my candles. I looked at her and said I have never compared my candles or even burned them so I can't really say anything but my candles are less expensive and I offer soy and paraffin.. Otherwise I really can't say much. But she wanted more.. I told her my hubbys grandmother grew up with the lady that started the company but that is all I know. I don't know what this lady wanted from me, but she wasn't going to hear me bash companies... Than the third lady made hp soap and wanted to go in business with me and match my scents to her and vise versa. She wanted to know my FO suppliers and threw out some company names that I didn't recognize. I didn't give out any info. and just gave her my card to contact me and we could discuss this further. The fourth lady walked up and started taking pictures with her camera. I was busy so I didn't see her until I saw flashes of light and looked up and saw this lady taking pictures. Before I had a chance to say anything she ran away. I looked at my hubby and we both stood there stunned. Even if I ran up to this lady I couldn't do anything. So I let it go. Than I saw her going thru other booths and taking pics. and running out of them. I just shook my head... What a b&**h!! She has to take other peoples art work and try and replicate them or whatever... That really sucks....Well other than that my weekend was great and made lots of money....so on them.....

[OFCILynn]

Oh My Gosh! That was very rude! Maybe you can post a sign on your booth/table that says "No Photographs Allowed Without Permission".

Im glad you stuck to your guns!

[funkymonkey66]

This is one of the reasons why I stopped doing shows. I used to love them until I ran into the type of people just like you just did. Rude people taking pictures, jerks asking you for your secrets etc and people that were more interested in chatting and taking up space than buying.

I always made great money at shows, but when the price of gas went up I saw a huge difference in what I brought home compared to years past. Just not worth it to me anymore.

[Jane42]

Good Grief, you had them all that day!! I GUESS I would try to take it as a compliment - your products are so well made and displayed, everyone wants to copy them...but I can see that it would be quite annoying. Unfortunately, I haven't been doing this long enough to be ready for these questions, especially from people I know, I start to BLURT out my suppliers. Hopefully, this season, I will learn to keep my mouth SHUT! One of my co-workers husbands makes pillars and wanted to know who all my suppliers were. Since she is "high on the totem pole" at work, I just started telling them where they could buy their wax, fragrances, etc. He now buys it all from Michaels.

Fortunately, he makes pillars and we don't, but that is our next step after we get the darn soy down....lol

I also told him about a show coming up and he is going to be there. It will be interesting...

[kandlekrazy]

So sorry to hear that your show was filled with nosey people! I've started making up cards with this website on it and when people ask too many in-depth questions, I hand them a card and tell them that the show is not the place to discuss it and they can go to this forum and ask away!!! I think we should only have to answer questions about our products to customers and the people running the show. JMO!!

[dahaak]

Most of the show we do have signs prohibiting cameras from customers. Crafters may take photos of their own booths prior to the show opening ONLY. All others are asked to leave. The only problem nopw is the blasted cell/cameras, easily hidden and quick w/o flash.

[Laura]

wow, quite a few buggers, eh?!

i was at a local festival yesterday where a lady was selling soy candles filled to the very top. i smelled a few, and couldn't smell anything...i watched the booth for over an hour as we talked with other people there...not once did i see anyone come to the booth even out of curiosity. when i did, the lady never greeted me or even got out of her chair....what always peeves me is those that think their product will sell itself while they sit back and read, or knit away; acting as if you aren't there.

[Stella1952]

Many folks do not have a sense of ethics when it comes to arts & crafts. The games people play is astonishing, isn't it? I think it would be a good idea to report the "flasher papparazzi" to the show organizers. Most are pretty strict about that, but a sign wouldn't hurt either! And I don't just mean by YOUR setup - there should be signs near all the entrances telling folks NO PHOTOS, PLEASE! Of course with camera phones, etc. it's kinda hard to prevent folks from doing what they please...:rolleyes2 And just as devil's advocate, some are probably quite harmless in a "fair use" sort of way - I have seen many photos from various shows where someone shared their favorite exhibits with others who could not attend. I can also see how fledgling artists might see something to which they would like to aspire in their own work and are taking photographic notes for themselves. What makes the difference in how I feel as an exhibitor is whether or not the people ASKED permission first. Same with information: there are folks who ask questions that you don't mind speaking with because they come about it from an honest angle. The weasels are the ones that grate on nerves...

FWIW, I think you showed restraint and class - plenty of folks might have been tempted to run the woman down and haul her by the ear to the nearest security person!:highfive:

I'm glad you were happy with your sales - at least you didn't get burned in that regard!!

[HeavenScentU]

I know I should feel flattered that someone wants to take pics. but it would have been polite of her to ask. I am over it, but I will be prepared next time. I will make up cards, post signs and whatever else I can think of to prevent people wasting my time... But I think there will always be one or two that will disregard them... I know why I downsized to 3 shows a year. Wholesale is still better I only have to deal with people that like my stuff and are willing to pay for it.

[PurpleHippie]

I think you handled that very well. I have had run ends with these CW and MB people. JMO but that is my main problem with them is this rude behavior and pushy attitude at craft fairs. We had one stand near the booth with one of their candles and try and stop people before they reach our area:mad: I have never understood if it is the type of people those companies are attracting or if it is the companies themselves that are training and encouraging that behavior. I won't answer the question concerning where I get my supplies. You can't walk into McDonalds and ask how to make the secret sauce, or call Yank-- and ask what wax, wicks, FO they use to make their candles. So why would someone have the nerve to think they could do that to anyone else? It's rude and I think that makes the companies they are representing look very bad.

As for the photos, I hope this doesn't happen to you but...I had someone do that once and the lady purchased one of my candles. She was also asking alot of where do you get this and that. TWO MONTHS later she had a booth at a local market, her set up was like mine and she even used the same colors for her signs and table decorations. Her labels were in the same font and color and almost identical to mine. We had a very unique item used in as a centerpiece on a holiday decorated table. Guess what she had used in her booth! Now I may be wrong but two months is hardly enough time to accurately test all of your candle products and be ready to sell to the public! No, I wasn't flattered at all!

[Fire and Ice]

So sorry to hear that your show was filled with nosey people! I've started making up cards with this website on it and when people ask too many in-depth questions, I hand them a card and tell them that the show is not the place to discuss it and they can go to this forum and ask away!!! I think we should only have to answer questions about our products to customers and the people running the show. JMO!!

I say one sentence! "Learn to do your own research and stop asking me questions I have no intentions of answering!"

I hate it too because it happens all of the time. So one thing I will tell them is that they need thousands of dollars to begin with! That will quickly shut them up and they will leave me alone! If it doesn't I tell them they need liablity insurance as well. Thewy most certainly leave after that!:lipsrseal

I had a lady from Candle wealth ask me if I learned to make my wonderful soy candles from their program? I laughed and "NO!" I told her I learned how to make candles the RIGHT way and not the dangerous easy way they claim! She immediately turned on her heels and left in a huff!

Fire

[Scented]

Oh well get used to this and other stuff lol if you keep doing shows!

Let's see, what I'd tell you is that you just stay as vague as possible or just tell the woman, it's a secret that I can't divulge if they want to know where you get everything.

For the one asking for comparison -- 10:1 it was her trying to find a less expensive candle ... and you? Well I'd get busy testing against other companies so you could answer those questions ... OR ... learn to talk up your candles. I don't think she was looking for you to bash them, honestly.

Now for the picture taker, at all times have some way of interrupting them. We had one photog in our booth and we just interrupted his picture taking by asking him what he was taking a picture of. Granted he didn't run from the booth, because he was taking a picture of his wife sniffing the candles and even offered to show us the digitals. He apologized, but just wanted pictures of his wife. We've never had another come and snap shots.

I probably would have reported the person to the organizer and asked for that person to be removed. You probably would have others back you up too.

On the note about making money ... be thankful for what you did. It's more appealing It's great that you had a good show!

Oh, for the woman who wants to pair/team with you ... that becomes your decision, but there are ways around that too. "I'm sure you make lovely soaps, but we're not considering taking on another partner at this time." or some such.

[Cissy]

If I can't casually ignore, change the subject, or pretend I didn't hear them, I give these "weasels" (as Stella appropriately called them), one or more of the following answers:

"I can't give you a crash course in five minutes. It takes hundreds of hours of research and testing to learn to make a safe, quality candle.

OR...

I don't give out my trade secrets or I'd have to kill you.

OR...

It gets very expensive finding the right products for a good quality candle, so you need to be prepared to spend and lose a lot of money getting started.

OR...

Another one I picked up from this board was "I teach candlemaking classes for a fee of $500.00. I'll be happy to sign you up for classes".

It doesn't bother me quite as much now as when I first started doing shows, when these people asked nosey questions. These are usually the ones who waste a lot of your time, but will never spend a dime. (Those are the ones I don't want to sell to anyway). You will get used to it a little, the longer you do this. Some are more irritating than others. I prefer the more direct questions, although rude and ignorant. The sneaky ones are the most irritating. The worst of all, though, are so-called friends you give free samples to and the next thing you know, they are trying to copy you.

I even had a lady recently who had the nerve to call me at 10:30 PM (blocking her phone #) and asking unusal, suspicious questions about my products. Some will even ask you for a list of your fragrances with no intentions of buying, just so they can try to copy your fragrances. They have no idea how the same name FO can smell so different from each supplier. They'll learn this the hard, expensive way. It's unbelievable what length some people will go to sometimes to pump you for information.

You will just have to try to get used to it. If you have good products people like, then they want to copy you. I suppose we should take it as a compliment, but it's difficult to think of it that way when these people remind you of greedy weasels.

[suzanneg]

Heaven Scent - You do have legal rights on someone coming in your booth/property and taking pictures with out your permission!

I am going thru a law suit right now on this! A long story but here is the short version, a friend (who started out as a loyal customer) wanted to buy from me wholesale (she made gift baskets) and we made a contract. I told she would have to take her own pictures of my products if she wanted to put them on her website. Well she snuck in and took the pictures with out me even knowing it! Well to say we are not friends anymore. She did other stuff to me too!

But when someone comes in and asks me where I get my supplies, I tell them do a search on google! They come in all the time in my shoppe and I just say as few words as possible!

[suzanneg]

I think you handled that very well. I have had run ends with these CW and MB people. JMO but that is my main problem with them is this rude behavior and pushy attitude at craft fairs. We had one stand near the booth with one of their candles and try and stop people before they reach our area:mad: I have never understood if it is the type of people those companies are attracting or if it is the companies themselves that are training and encouraging that behavior. I won't answer the question concerning where I get my supplies. You can't walk into McDonalds and ask how to make the secret sauce, or call Yank-- and ask what wax, wicks, FO they use to make their candles. So why would someone have the nerve to think they could do that to anyone else? It's rude and I think that makes the companies they are representing look very bad.

As for the photos, I hope this doesn't happen to you but...I had someone do that once and the lady purchased one of my candles. She was also asking alot of where do you get this and that. TWO MONTHS later she had a booth at a local market, her set up was like mine and she even used the same colors for her signs and table decorations. Her labels were in the same font and color and almost identical to mine. We had a very unique item used in as a centerpiece on a holiday decorated table. Guess what she had used in her booth! Now I may be wrong but two months is hardly enough time to accurately test all of your candle products and be ready to sell to the public! No, I wasn't flattered at all!

The so-called candle-maker at the maeket place where I have my shoppe, she is across the aisle from me, (I like the term "Weasel") saw that I was selling my keepsake jars (cause I had quit making candles). Well the following weekend she has quite a few candles in the same jar!!! When I found palm wax ....I took my jars out and brought them home well she wasn't too happy to see my entire wall full of candles and wax melts, firestarters and 8 oz, jelly jars mason jars and roly poly containers too! LOL

But every time I remodel my shoppe, she did the exact same thing with hers!! She would send her customers and friends over to my shoppe and pump me full of questions! Not once did I bash her or her so-called candles (sorry but she doesn't hand-pour her stuff)

So I get it all the time!!! LOL

My answer to these rude know-it-alls is "Jesus"! that is my supplier and secret!!!!

[ILikeWaxMelts]

Here's a new answer for you all to use...

"I'll answer those questions for a fee of $250 per question."

[PurpleHippie]

I'll answer those questions for a fee of $250 per question

.

That's a good one! I don't know why these type of problems seem to happen more with handcrafted/craft show businesses? I honestly don't think these people would ever dream of asking these type of questions at a major retail store. I think you were very wise to not get into bashing or making negative comments concerning the product you were asked about. I think it is very unprofessional when that happens and totally unnecessary. Answering just like you did with a comment like "I am not familiar with ____ products but I can tell ______ about mine" is so much more professional.

You handled the situation well, just take pride in making the best products that you can and be prepared for the next group of weasels headed your way. After a while you will be able to find the humor in those pathetic people.

[deidra]

I just wanted to let you know that it happens with all crafters. I work with mainley wood, just started making melters. my second craft show I did, some lady came up and bought a lot of my things , I was at the time very excited. She had told me about another craft show to go too and set up at. I thought she was being nice and helpful. My friend and I went to the show a couple weeks later just to check it out. as we were walking around I stopped at a booth and looked at my friend and said "That is my snowman then kept looking and found my skies"I couldnt believe it. My friend went up and asked the lady there if she made these and she said yes..... that really p--sed! Me off. I didnt know what to say, I am very quiet. I looked at her , she recongnized me and turned her head. I wish I knew what to say.

Isnt it sad that people do this. I would never think of doing something like that.I like to be original, I hate to have the same thing as everyone else.

I need help with what to say as well when people ask to many questions. and buy your things and say they make it. When I put all the time in making them. and to top it off she was selling it double of what she bought it for.

[Bernadette]

Let me tell you it happens on the internet too! I've had a website for over 5 years now...the only place I sell. I get it all the time. "I only want to make them for myself and family, I would never be your competition." Oh yeah? Well only selling on the internet, worldwide, makes everyone my competition, and like the rest of you, I've spent thousands of hours and $s developing the products I sell. When I tell them that is proprietary, I don't know what it is...probably that they don't have to look at you face to face and think you can't find out who they are, but I've been called a nasty bitch, I must be really conceded(?)thinking my products are so great they can't be duplicated, and an outright jerk!! Amazing...It comes from anywhere, and it's always someone looking for an easy buck, I swear.