Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
I know you all have been waiting to hear about my craft fair Saturday. Well the good news is I did sell some things. I sold $122 worth but my table cost me $30 so that leaves a $92 profit. I will never do this again. When I think of how much I spent on supplies and all the time I spent on all this it makes me ill. About $80 of my sales were from two close friends. I have so much stuff left over it's unbelievable. Here are the items I had for sale and how many I sold:
Children's "Color Me" Cards-Five
Children's "Color Me" Tags-None
Clolthespin Magnets-Four
Marble Magnets-Eight
"Lighthouse" Tile Magnets-Four
"Snowman" Hexagon Tile Magnets-Five
Christmas Gift Tags-None
Individual Greeting Cards-One
Packages of Cards-None
Die-Cut Basket Boxes with small comp. notebook, pen, magnetic shopper list, recipe cards-None
Memocubes with pens-None
Post it Note Holders-None
"Cute As A Bug" Sets(candle, matches, post it notes, yearly planner,pen)-None
Paint Cans-One
"Candle In A Box"-One
Notebooks with pens-Three
Set of Four Tiles-Three
Sorry if I sound so down but I am thankful that I at least made enough money to cover the cost of my table and more. There were some crafters there that didn't sell one thing. I have come to the conclusion that people don't appreciated handcrafted items anymore and stores like Target and the Christmas Tree Stores are their source for buying. I want to thank everyone that has helped me out from this web site. I couldnt' have done it without you. I got all my ideas from here and encourgement. Carol
Oh Carol, I am so sorry to hear that you had so much work with so little return...but to give you a silver lining outlook, you have lots of stuff to use for Christmas gifts! Have a happy day
That's really interesting Carol - thanks for sharing. I'm sorry it didn't go better. I can understand why you're feeling disappointed.
I've been wondering about this. I went to a really big craft fair over the weekend at a local high school just to check it out. I had no idea how big it was until we got there and found we couldn't even find a place to park! :shock: Three gymnasiums and several hallways were filled with crafters - you could hardly move.
So I walked through the whole place and not one crafter was selling cards or anything stamped! (One lady had painted dominoes as a small part of her display.) I thought, "Hmmm, is this an opportunity for me next year, or have all the stampers already figured out that this stuff doesn't sell well?" It costs $150 to get a booth for 2 days and extra if you want electricity.
I think I'll start smaller.
Maybe you can do another show since you already have the inventory?
Julie
Carol,
I'm sorry that you feel that way about your craft fair. I did about that much in sales at my first one and I'll admit that I was happy with that (I had low expectations and the craft fair wasn't well attended). But my second one was a bit different of a story, so I definitely know how you feel. It was a very well attended craft fair, but I only sold $34 worth of stuff. I think that the main reason was that I was back-to-back with a crafter who unfortunately had some very tacky looking crafts (she was really nice though). But people kept thinking that her items were mine and I literally couldn't get people to even look at my table. I too have lots of merchandise left over. I'm trying not to be bummed about it, trying to convince myself that I have an inventory that I can sell at another one later. I've also wondered if customers know what they're looking for at a craft fair and they're not looking for cards because no one has sold them before. Maybe it takes some time to build up interest. Just a guess.
Anyway, try not to be too discouraged. You can always use them as gifts for friends.
Sandra
Sorry you didn't have a better outcome. I did 2 craft fairs last year and vowed they would be my last. They are just too much work. Keri is right, at least you have some nice Christmas presents. I used mine for family, friends, teacher, bus driver & music teacher gifts last year and then saved some of the non-Christmas things as hostess gifts during SAB in January & February.
I forgot to tell you all that you know what did sell well at this craft fair? Food!! My mom said people don't have time to cook or bake anymore so that's probably why the food sold so well. The lady next to me only sold cards (some of them used SU stamps) and she sold two cards the whole time. My daughter said that my stuff was so much nicer than everyone elses. She is so sweet! She bought a notebook and a card. Carol
I had almost the same results. My DD and I worked and worked to make items for the Band Boosters fund raiser. Our table cost us nothing--only 10% of our proceeds. The boosters tried to raise money for their band. People just were not spending. I think the vendors spent more with each other than did anyone else!!!
I too was disappointed--people did not even support their own band kids...
On the bright side, we now have hostess gifts and other gifts; we can shine our light elsewhere!!!
I still like making the items--but one needs to be in a high people volume area. One learns as one goes.....at least we tried!!!
Oh hon, if I was there I would just hug you. In this hurry hurry kind of culture, isn't is just sad that people don't slow down and appreciate art and handwork?
How many times have people said "You should sell your cards!" It is kind of my inside joke with myself now. I imagine myself saying "Oh, would you like to pay $10 for this card?" Because I almost always spend an hour on a card, never have been a fast stamper. But I end up saying, "Oh, I save these for the people I love..."
Try not to be blue. Failure is proof of going for it!
And we fellow stampers would have bought all of your stuff!
I'm so sorry too that things didn't work out as you had hoped - I wish I'd known about your craft fair - I definitely would have been interested in going!
I feel your pain though - I work at a University and at a recent staff luncheon there were a few tables of people selling crafty things (gift baskets, cards, etc.) to raise money for scholarships. I had a little section selling cards I'd made which I'd slaved over for weeks and only a handful of people even came over to our tables! :( They were all only interested in buying 50/50 raffle tickets and didn't care at all about all the work we'd put in. I was so disappointed because there were so many other things I could have been spending time working on (like all my Christmas cards I need to make!) - but, on the bright side I've now got quite a stock of cards for every occasion imaginable!
I am glad you at least made enough to pay for the table...but wish you had made a bunch more.
You can give away the leftovers as gifts.
Another idea...and this works if you are a demonstrator. Sell your items at your workshops! I had some of the leftovers from my craft fair out as samples at a workshop (coasters, compositions books, and magnets). Well, I had several customers ask to buy them! It suprised me, but of course I said yes!!! Some people wanted them as gifts, others wanted them as samples to copy when they try to make their own!!! I hadn't planned to sell them, and probably will not do that on a regular basis, but it was a nice thing to happen!
Carol - so sorry to hear about your experience. I know what you went through. A friend of mine and myself did a craft fair about a year or two ago. We sat there and sat there and sat there! We didn't sell a thing! We had people sign up for our free stamp set and that was it. We never heard from those people again - guess they were just looking for free stuff. What did sell - yarn decorations (not sure what they are called - yarn wrapped around plastic templates - ie: candy canes, wreath, etc). Not my style at all, but I realized that we had stuff that was nicer (IMHO) and not the style of those attending the craft fair.
We decided that would be our last one. I am glad you made a profit (all be it small considering the time and work you invested). It sounds like you have a lot of GREAT gifts!! Definitely use them for gifts for friends, family, teachers, etc. Good luck!
__________________ Karen Madison (6/7/00) & Mackenzie (8/22/04) & Trenton Joshua (3/30/06) My Blog WatercoloredDreams
Carol, I too did a craft fair this weekend. It was a one day event (thank goodness). The table cost $45.00. I sold $35.00 worth of crafted items and another $32.00 worth of old crafting stuff I don't use any more. I think I would feel really bad if the other vendors did well, but from what I could tell by talking to some of them, no one did well. I don't think the sponsors (school) advertised, plus there were two other craft fairs going on in the area at other schools. I am still on the fence about wanting to do this again. But from all the posts I have read it seems that these things don't do well. I have a ton of left over stuff. I think I am going to have my husband take it to his work and let them sell it as a fund raiser for the company Holiday party. We could split the sales 50/50. At least I won't be out all the money I spent. Vicki
Demonstrators are not allowed to sell at workshops. You can't offer to make items for sale at workshops either. Same policy as at a craft fair...you are either there as a demo or as a crafter. Can't do both.
__________________ Sharon Rogers
My Blog: www.stampwithsharonrogers.com Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?
did a craft show at the kids middle school....I only sold things cause i had cheap stuff....I mean beaded pens attached to notecard for $3 and memo cubes with beaded pens for $7. The reason I kept the prices low...was I got the pens during back to school and they were buy one get one pack free...the snowman soup mugs...for $7....not much of a profit margin...but got my name out there...as for cards....no one is interested much...only sold a few..the rest go out for the holidays...
When I think of how much I spent on supplies and all the time I spent on all this it makes me ill.
Carol, I am so sorry you didn't do as well as hoped. I didn't do well either.
Mine was yesterday in a church parking lot. And would you belive that some parishoners (?) walked out of church, got right into thier cars, which were right in front of us, and drove away. Didn't even look!!
Now, it just happened to be the one day it rains in Phoenix (not really, but you know....LOL), but it wasn't a RAIN....we had a few sprinkles, and it was windy at times, but it wasn't that bad. I sold 2 things. One set of Kids Thank You Notes & a snowman soup mug. My entry was only $10.00 Thank Goodness, but my profit was nothing. HOWEVER, I did go into this just to help a friend's church out & everything I made, I made with the knowledge that they will be gifts. LOL
__________________ When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say,
"Jesus, could you get that for me?"
Carol - I'm right there with ya babe. I've been in 2 craft shows. The 1st one I sold 5 cards at $1 a peice and only made $5. The second one I sold my cards in packages but still only made $10.
HUMM....$15 for 2 weekends and lots of prep time!! NOPE NOT WORTH IT!
Maybe there are tooooo many stampers out there....no-one is interested in buying other people's stamped projects!
HOwever....getting stamped projects as gifts is WONDERFULL! Guess you've got a lot of gifts to give!!!!!
Hey there Carol. I'm sorry you did not do as well as you had hoped at your craft fair. I did a 6 hr long craft fair at my church two weeks ago and went home with only $100 after contributing my share ($25 for the table and 10% of my profit). Fortunately, my 96 year old grandma invited me to do a 2 hour craft fair last weekend at her retirement home. It was very small- only 10 crafters. I brought home $160! Go figure. Free, four hours shorter and I brought home more money! I even got to pick my spot and use two tables. I say we all need to check out the craft fairs at retirement homes. Older people appreciate hand made items and many don't drive so they are happy to shop at their home. They loved the magnets and little knick knacks.
I think you need a well established fair. One where the the people are lined up to get in. In the fair has no traffic than of course you're not gunna sell much. Of course those fairs cost more money to get in. Hmmm I don't know the answer...
I am so sorry to hear it didn't go well. I recently did one at a church with a girlfriend and we didn't sell much either. Most of what we sold was sold to other vendors. There was also another SU demonstrator there trying to book parties and she didn't even book one!
After paying the $20 fee for the booth, I figured that we each made about $2.10 an hour. Oh well, now we have over 500 cards to give away for the holidays ?!
I, too, have always had people say I should sell my cards. At least we tried.
I can feel your pain. I have done 2 craft fairs. The first one I sold stuff - hand made color me cards. I think I sold about 15. Very disapointing. :0(
The next fair I went as a Demonstrator, and I enjoyed MUCH better results. I signed up over 35 people for future stamp camps, I booked 5 workshops, and my phone is still ringing for people placing orders.
I had a display board, lots of mini catalogs to hand out, information sheets on hostess benefits, etc. I really worked the crowd, talked to them about SU and I even got a new recruit.
I really want to grow my business, so this worked for me.
Keep your chin up. I know its a lot of work. I hope the next one is more successful for you!
I can feel your pain. I have done 2 craft fairs. The first one I sold stuff - hand made color me cards. I think I sold about 15. Very disapointing. :0(
The next fair I went as a Demonstrator, and I enjoyed MUCH better results. I signed up over 35 people for future stamp camps, I booked 5 workshops, and my phone is still ringing for people placing orders.
I had a display board, lots of mini catalogs to hand out, information sheets on hostess benefits, etc. I really worked the crowd, talked to them about SU and I even got a new recruit.
The EXACT same thing happened to me! I did so much better as a demo at the 2nd fair than as a crafter at the 1st! I also signed up many people for future stamp camps, got 3 bookings and 1 recruit. Chin up, Carol. You learned what will work for you and you can move on from there! I don't know how much leftover stuff you have but it might be a nice idea to donate these gifts to hospitals, retirement homes, battered women's shelters, etc....to give to those who would normally not get any gifts at all. And I know it sounds awful to include this tidbit in the same paragraph when talking about giving from the heart, but it would also be a tax deduction for you. God bless!
I am in Canada and have to say as a crafter and a cardmaker, crafts sell better than cards. I have done woodcrafts at at least 3 local craft sales for years. I organize a major sale and it is well attended, still I only sold 32 cards, I sold tonnes of painted wood. I think it had lots to do with my display, my cards are in an old suit case, I will work on a better display for next year. Because I make my money on my woodcrafts, I don't worry about how little the cards brought in, but if it were just my cards, I am sure I would never make money on them. You will never get paid for your time with your cards.
Don't be too discouraged.
Kelli
I did one last week. Made $173 but that's not a true profit definitely, just the cash I walked away with. I've spent alot more then that on supplies. :-)
What i sold -
5 sets of 4 coasters $12.95
4 note cubes with pen $5.50
12 beaded pens $2.00 (little girls pretty much bought these)
6 tile magnets $1.00
10 marble magnets $1.00
7 ornaments $4.95
12 pocket calendars $2
Sold no wrapping paper, no gift bags, no paint cans.
Cards did NOT sell and that was my main item. I sold maybe one set of xmas cards, and a couple single cards to the lady at the table next to me.
One thing I believe is that I had too much stuff - the table was probably overwhelming to people.
There was a lady there selling only cards and I would love to know if she sold any. I didn't ask.
I have a lot of cards left over and I plan to send them to a couple of the people on here that send them to troops.
I might do it again in the right situation, but I would do the table differently.
I feel for you and all the other demonstrators and/or crafters whom have tried to make it profitable to sell handmade cards or hand stamped projects at a craft fair.
I did a craft fair about 2 years ago, and I thought I did ok. It was a small venue and not well attended, but I sold about 1/2 of my stock. And made my money back on my entry fee and materials. But for the time invested I was not happy w/ myself. It took a ton of time and I got burnt out on stamping.
Then last week I did a booth at a hotel crop and took in over $200 in orders for SU products. Gave out a bag filled w/ mini-catalog, business card, current special flyers, my class calendar, and tons more. Did a couple of make and takes. No one really did them (4-5 people total), but I am using the materials in my next class so all is not lost. I was much happier doing a Demonstrator Booth than a Crafters Table.
The weird thing is that people who looked at my sample basket wanted to know if I had any cards for sell. I wish that were possible, but it is not. So I won one , and lost (?) another. But it was all worth it in the end.
Next year maybe you could set up a demo booth instead. Think positive, and smile.
Wow, I'm really suprised. I was kind of thinking I would do this next year. This site has given me so many wonderful ideas, I was thinking great stuff for a craft show. But now I'm not so sure. Maybe I should just keep to the cards and make all the other really neat stuff for gifts. Has anybody had good results???
Well, the girl that I get my stamps from, told me that she did one craft fair for 2 days and made $40 and then she did another craft fair and made $500.
And I think that's mainly selling cards. She might have a few other things, I'm not sure, but I got the impression she mainly does cards.
I think you just never know the crowd. It's not as if she had different stuff at each fair, it was just not the stuff people wanted at the one fair, but people definitely liked it at a different fair.
It's always a risk - I just think ya better enjoy making the stuff, if you want to commit to doing a craft show, because profit might not be there. :-)
My Craft Fair Result!
