soyscentibility Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Hi everybody, I'm freaking out and need help / advice. I am doing my first craft fair in a couple of weeks and need advice on the quantity of candles i should have on hand to sell. The fair is 2 days, Sat/Sun 8-4p and I'm told they get about 2500-3000 in the two days.Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abigtroutt Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Predicting is the hardest part of the sales aspect. My only advice is bring more then you think you will need. If you dont have it you can't sell it. It is hard to guess the buying trend of a market. Are you the only candle person there? 3000 people is a small event but if the fair is in a particular area a smaller buying crowd is better then a larger crowd thats just looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleasureridgecandles Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 I agree with the previous poster... if you don't have it you can't sell it. You can always take more the 2nd day if need be. How many different scents will you have? It never fails as I always try to scale it down somewhat on the number of scents I take that one of the scents that I don't bring (due to slow sales on that particular scent) is the one everyone wants. You can never predict the type of people you will get (whether they are bakery lovers, floral lovers etc) so make sure you have a variety of different scents that surely everyone that wants to buy will have some that they like to pick from. Generally on the 2 day events Sunday is usually the slower of the two in my experience anyway. Make sure you have plenty of bags, business cards, a calculator, cash box or register and some coffee beans. They are great to clean the nose of all the sniffers when they smell so many scents they start to smell the same. Don't forget your positive attitude and your smile Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatlinPM Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Like everyone else said, definitely bring more than you think you need. I have gone to some craft shows that I didn't think would do well and have sold out, and other times I think a show will do well, and it ends up being slow. It's always better to be safe than sorry later. Another word of advice is to make sure to bring plenty of change, I'm always running out of change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I think it's kind of funny that the request was 'how much should I take' and the answers were 'more than you think you'll need'. Wow. I've seen a couple of formulas for guesstimating how much but the easiest was based on booth fee. Booth fee should be 15% of sales. So if your booth fee is $25 you should hope to sell $167. It is just a guesstimate. I had 6 scents and took 12 of each to my first show. I sold 4, I think. (but it was a free show so it's all good!) I have had shows where I don't sell a single pillar and shows where they don't even look at the jars. Just keep track of what sells and what people ask about. Keep your notes and next year you will be more prepared for that show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abigtroutt Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I think it's kind of funny that the request was 'how much should I take' and the answers were 'more than you think you'll need'. Wow. I've seen a couple of formulas for guesstimating how much but the easiest was based on booth fee. Booth fee should be 15% of sales. So if your booth fee is $25 you should hope to sell $167. It is just a guesstimate. I had 6 scents and took 12 of each to my first show. I sold 4, I think. (but it was a free show so it's all good!) I have had shows where I don't sell a single pillar and shows where they don't even look at the jars. Just keep track of what sells and what people ask about. Keep your notes and next year you will be more prepared for that show.Here is the problem, I've had fee's of $25 and sold over $500.00 and others shows with higher fee's where I sold less then $100? Its just hard to predict. I always take way more then I need and always hope for the $1500 dollar day.... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandlekrazy Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Another factor is, if you don't sell them at the fair, do you have another way of selling them? You don't want candles sitting for a year taking up precious space (for wax and new oils of course! LOL). First shows at a particular event are always difficult, even if you've done 50 in other areas...can never predict. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuminousBoutique Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I agree with both views. You cant sell what you dont bring, but you also dont want to have a ton of overstock laying around. Personally, for most shows I will have at least 12 of each scent. If I have some overstock from a prior show, I call that scent a "SHOW SPECIAL!" and discount slightly. Works like a charm most of the time. I generally choose 8-12 scents to carry per show. I try and do some seasonal stuff but I have found the standards always do well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackbenimble Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Hey guys! Sorry to hijack this posting but it's on the same topic...kinda. Well, I'm doing a fall show in about a month and I am taking mostly fall/Xmas candle scents but I'm also taking some of my spring and summer scents because as the saying goes, "If you don't have it you can't sell it" or "the one you don't bring is the one someone will want.". So do you find that you sell a few spring/summer candles even in fall/winter or do you just not even bother because you know your market? I'm thinking of just taking a chance and having them. If anything I'm stocked up for next spring. Haha! :-) thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandlekrazy Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) Most likely you will sell a little of the Spring & Summer scents. I have to carry Sweet Pea wherever I go...I don't even like it. And in summer I have to carry Hansel & Gretel's house and Christmas Tree (renamed Evergreen) because they ask for it. Depends on your area and buyers though. Good luck with the shows ladies, hope you all sell out! Edited September 7, 2011 by kandlekrazy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAgirl89 Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 I have a show coming up in November, and it's my first time at this particular show, so I emailed the organizer and asked her how many people she was expecting. She replied to me and told me she's expecting 200 to 300 people. I'm kinda stressing out over here, thinking I need a couple cases of candles for this fall show, and if those numbers are a fairly accurate assessment, then I don't need as much as I thought I did. BUT, I agree, if you don't have it, you can't sell it, so I'll probably still end up overstuffing my SUV with product and in the end, drag it all back home again. Since I make both candles & B&B products, I'll be taking a little bit of both to the show. I did find out that Scentsy has booked a spot. It sounds like it's going to be a small show (65 spots / 36 spots taken), hopefully I do well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abigtroutt Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Here is another selling tip. Always try to put the product in their hands. Oh you have to smell this and hand them the candle or product of your choice. Its always harder for them to put it down and they just can't walk away as easy....lol. Tip two and three... Always look at your customers eyes and read their lips for what they are saying. Most of the time the customer will say the fragrance they like to a friend or to them self... then hand them the candle.....lolIts like a sport and its fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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