Ever Just Leave A Craft Show?

[Candybee]

Before it even started! That's exactly what I did this morning.

Last weekend I was invited to do a craft show for today. Since it was so close to the date I decided to go ahead and send in my application on Wed but not my check. (Thank gawd!) I noticed there wasn't any ph # to contact the promoter so I couldn't call and ask questions.

So I get up at 5:00 o'clock, shower, pack a lunch, load the car, and off I go. When I get there I immediately get lost on some little country road. Reason, no craft show sign!! Also, the community center where it was held was in the middle of nowhere miles off the state road. I finally find the place and go in and its some kind of rinky dink tiny town show they want $30 bucks for a table. No way! I've done plenty of shows in this area and this one should have been $5 or $10 for a table maybe $15 tops.

Reason I am worried is I don't mind paying good money for a show-- but sometimes you look at the surroundings and in this case it looked like a tumbleweed town. No signs, off the beaton path, means no customers.

I jumped back in my car and headed home very disappointed. Yes I know some of these small shows can pull in good money and I have done that. But they had customers. Big dif.

A month ago I did a show just like this one and there were virtually no customers. Was not going to get burnt again today. I have never walked out on a show before until today and I have been doing shows going on 6 years now-- small and big.

[blacktieaffair]

I've never walked out before one started but I sure have been at a bunch I wished by 10am I could leave LOL

Since you've done shows in that area before, and got lost because of crappy directions and no sign showing the way to the show... I think you did the right thing.

Sometimes, it's just not worth any more of your time and effort and to me, this sounds like a prime example. Im VERY sorry this happened to you, especially after having gotten up/dress/packed/loaded and then lost only to find what sounds like a distaster waiting to happen I hope the rest of your Saturday gets a LOT better!!!:awww:

Edited : Oooooooooooooo by the way , maybe this will help .......... Im letting a TP set up right now in that Birthday Cake from Aztec ....

o m G it's about to run me out of the HOUSE ! I've already done a very strong lavender, a hot fudge brownie ( o that was a total bomb. not the scent, the squigglies I tried to put on it so Dear Son now gets a really UGLY choco brownie for his room lol ) and this Birthday Cake has overridden them all, and:shocked2::shocked2:its strong, and smells sooooooooooo good !

Edited December 17, 2011 by blacktieaffair

[Darbla]

I sat with a friend in her booth at a craft sale/fall festival a few months ago. We wasted about 10 hours, our gas, all our effort, and she made pitifully few sales there. And it was actually a HUGE affair. Besides all the sales booths, there were several little girl beauty contests all day, and at least one Purtiest Rooster contest. There were tons of booths of fancy home decor, gorgeous Autumn decorations, some Christmas stuff already, antiques and bric-a-brac, bunches of those big floofy mesh wreathes everybody is making now, even a Scentsy booth.

NOBODY in the craft booths was selling much of anything and there were droves and droves of customers filing by. The only things that were selling were $6 feathers in hair, $5 face painting for kids, and the food. Several of the food vendors sold completely out. The lady with the stunning home decor across from our booth (my friend sells Avon and jewelry that she makes) told us that was a waste of a good day. Other vendors were walking around asking each other if anybody was selling, because they were so stunned about it (vendors walk around at every sale checking how everyone else is doing, but usually not with such obvious incredulity on their faces and in their voices). The old couple running the antiques tent next to us said they lost a lot of money, because it cost way more for them to make the long trip over there than they even came close to making back. It was a really large show put on by a well-known and respected organization that drew lots of crafters and sellers from miles around, but it was a total flop for them. Nobody could understand it because of the number of customers who were there, and just weren't buying. Like I said, the only ones making money were food, feathers, and face-painting, and the host organization who made a killing on the booth fees they charged ($90 and I know there were well over 100 booths).

I looked at all this going on, and that's when it hit home with me that I might as well get my head out of the clouds about this hobby developing into any kind of business for me.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Darbla

[blacktieaffair]

If you've thought seriously into making this a business, don't give up because of that craft show. By and large, craft shows have been "down" for most people for the past couple of years. Thanks to our lovely economy and the fact that there are more and more people out there every day that do what we do. Used to, you didnt find THAT many who did all "this" and now , at a lot of shows, you are going up against sometimes 5 other people doing pretty much the same thing. When I started out, I wanted to do internet and craft shows. That changed in a H U R R Y . Internet : honestly it takes too much in my opinion to try to get customers to see you/find you/shop with you when they can't touch/see/smell... and I dont have the money it sometimes takes to get your page towards the top of a search.... You'd have to beat me to go to a craft show now. I just dont do well enough at them to warrant the stress, money, time, hurting myself overworking and loading/unpacking/setting up of stuff. I refocused on putting my products into stores that range from grandma and grandpa country stores to higher end salons, cabin rental businesses, wedding chapels, and real estate offices are a virtually untapped gold mine now that people are starting to buy houses again. ( Gift baskets from agent to purchaser.. good profit margin ).

Regroup, don't give up, and think as far outside the box as you can get!

[Darbla]

Regroup, don't give up, and think as far outside the box as you can get!

I may regroup to feathers and face painting. LOLOLOL!

[ChandlerWicks]

Woo Hoo! Thanks!!!!

I've never walked out before one started but I sure have been at a bunch I wished by 10am I could leave LOL

Since you've done shows in that area before, and got lost because of crappy directions and no sign showing the way to the show... I think you did the right thing.

Sometimes, it's just not worth any more of your time and effort and to me, this sounds like a prime example. Im VERY sorry this happened to you, especially after having gotten up/dress/packed/loaded and then lost only to find what sounds like a distaster waiting to happen I hope the rest of your Saturday gets a LOT better!!!:awww:

Edited : Oooooooooooooo by the way , maybe this will help .......... Im letting a TP set up right now in that Birthday Cake from Aztec ....

o m G it's about to run me out of the HOUSE ! I've already done a very strong lavender, a hot fudge brownie ( o that was a total bomb. not the scent, the squigglies I tried to put on it so Dear Son now gets a really UGLY choco brownie for his room lol ) and this Birthday Cake has overridden them all, and:shocked2::shocked2:its strong, and smells sooooooooooo good !

[Kitn]

I have left one 3 hours after the start, not 1 customer came through.

[carol k]

I have packed up early at one. No customers.

[Judy, USMC]

I usually stuck around ... and made table rent by selling to other vendors. That's happened maybe 3 times in the past 12 years. Now I'll investigate and get at least some feedback from other vendors before I send in an app.

[deb426]

I went to one in a VFW one time and nobody came. But I sold to every other vendor there because there was nothing else to do. But nothing irritates me more than to go to a show and find out there are no signs. I mean, come on! If you take my money, at least get out there and put up a few signs.

[blacktieaffair]

I mean, come on! If you take my money, at least get out there and put up a few signs.

We all know its hard enough lately to sell to customers, but it DOES help if there's customers to sell to !

[PAgirl89]

I've never left a show but I have had second thoughts about doing it once I'm there and all set up. I had a short notice show a couple weekends ago and really didn't know anything about the venue until I got there, come to find out the space held 10 vendors, all handmade crafters, and I was the only one who was selling candles/soap. The show was held in a small town, the local fire company and I'm thinking that this show isn't going to draw the people since it was a last minute show, but by the end of the day, it was the best show I had in sales all year. Tables were $10 for an 8ft table, and I had booked 2 tables, the organizer had put me at the entrance so I was the first vendor they saw when walking in. It was a really good show for me and I will definitely be attending the organizer's next show at this venue.

On the flip side, I had a show last weekend at a local community & recreation center that barely paid the table rent. It was a pretty large show, but crafters were mixed in with other vendors selling yard sale/flea market items. I was told when I spoke with the organizer that the crafters would have their own section and would be away from the flea market/yard sale vendors, which I thought would be okay, cause crafts bring a different type of person than flea market or yard sale. I was so glad when that day was over, it just wasn't the type of show I need to do again. I really wanted to do the show because it was a local show, less than 5 miles from my house but it just didn't prove beneficial for me in the end.