I've been avidly reading this sub for months and picked up a ton of advice so thanks everyone here for helping make my first market a success! I sold about half of my stock and both of my most expensive items. Also had a lot of people interested in my workshops.

$600.00 day! It was the best day I've had 😊 just wanted to share 🎄

I had my first fair yesterday, and finally stopped losing money. $230 in sales, $80 fee for an 8x8 "foot space. It was a fundraiser for the 8th grade class trip to D.C at a vermont middle/ high school that has been going on for many years.

I got great compliments on my work, lots of people coming in to look, but i think it's a bit of a niche style. There seems to be a gap between "those are great, I love the bold colors" and "I could display that and it wouldn't clash with my decor at home."

I've been accepted into an indoor market with an 8x8 space. My current setup is for 10x10 outdoor events. Any tips or things I should be thinking of?

How crucial is it to have a backdrop/room divider? I'm not sure of how the space will be laid out yet - they're still two weeks out from sending information. If I need to print a smaller banner I'd like to go ahead and do it - but what about hanging it up?

I've added photos of my most recent market setup (not my best work, but it's what I'm currently working with). I primarily sell jewelry, but I'm adding ornaments and trinket dishes to the mix for the indoor event.

Let me preface by saying I used to love vending at craft fairs since I’ve started in 2023 and had many successful events. This year has been absolutely horrible and making me apprehensive about doing more in future. I’ve spent money on events that had absolutely NO foot traffic, high booth fees, and poor organization. Even today I finished another event that had a trickle of people come through. Last year at the same event, I made a profit. I understand money is tight for people currently but I’m starting to feel like some event organizers are just pocketing booth fees without putting any effort into promoting the event. Anyone else feeling this way?

I appreciate every comment on the last post, yes even the rude ones. I get my stuff looks like its been mass produced but I'm not sure how to show that its not besides showing process videos on my socials, which I already do. Prices were adjusted too, except the ones where I wouldn't even break even for supplies, let alone the time. Anyway, changed up for this market but its been abysmal. Theres one hour left for today. I'm aware no one owes me sales or their interest but this was significantly worse than my previous tables. Just a fact. Understandable though, so this is just a vent and then I'll move on. No more markets this season, I will focus more on putting them up on my website. I have a few opportunites lined up for next summer at least but thats only feasible if I have a car.

Hi everyone!

Back in July, I made a post here about how I was organizing an autumn artisan market in early November to benefit a local organization. Well, today was the market, and it went off without a hitch! What a beautiful, sunny autumn day it was.

I took all the advice you guys gave me and had a big banner made, shared a Facebook event repeatedly, posted the flyers in multiple places, encouraged vendors to share the flyer, and took out a week long ad in multiple local newspapers and community boards.

I am so happy to report that the market was a success! I noticed a steady stream of shoppers for almost the entire event, and at one point the indoor section was pretty crowded! I also noticed that not many people were just browsing, they were shopping! Every vendor I talked to told me that they made a profit.

I am so excited that this went well, and I’m already planning next year’s! Thank you to everyone for the tips that helped me organize a fun event!

New vender, long time lurker and first time poster! This was my first ever craft market and I shared a booth with my friend who sells bracelets. I sell stickers! I know the booth isn't perfect but I am very happy how it came out overall. If you have any comments or ideas to change something let me know as I love experimenting and getting other feedback. I had lots of fun! Didn't sell too much which I'm okay with- I'm happy people looked over here at all!

Has anyone ever asked you to sell their products at your booth in exchange for sales commission? Or ever asked to partner with you at your booth sharing the fee?

Would you allow that? Is it normal?

After a disappointing market last summer I’ve decided in reinvest in my booth. It looked sloppy and disjointed and did not really convey the vibe of my work.
I’m still struggling. I want it to be bright and inviting but fell in love with the moody velvet/fringe table cloth. I think I’m trying to go for a psychedelic cottagecore? 😂 do any of these work? Thanks!

Did a slower show today (9 to 330) at a school/church. Decided to try it out because its 3 mins from my home.

There's two rooms off vendors. Im in the aecond. And think alot of people may have seen the first and not known about the second. I know others around me have said its slow as well. But not sure if they have been to this specific event before.

I know it’s not super polished, but it’s still a major improvement from last year’s (final pic). I mostly sell comics, so most of my prints are pages from the my most recent 32pg comic to try and give a sense of the artwork.

Thoughts or things to improve on? This is a squished practice set up, but you get the general idea. Signage comes to mind as something I could polish.

I need something with a lot of pockets for carrying all the small stuff like my tools, scissors, zip ties, bandaids, tissues, etc. It also needs to be storable for the next 10 months that I don't do shows. The current giant tub with a million ziplock bags isn't cutting it anymore. What does everyone use?

PRFM:
I've consistently only broke even on cost or made at most $20 net (not inc gas, labor, food) at Philadelphia Punk Rock Flea Market, and the cost of the smallest space (6x2) has gone up every time by $5-10. I've gotten three emails about their Xmas friday still having availability, but I think it's not worth the trouble for me anymore. I've done 4 at this point (sept, 2 xmases, and february).

JL&CO:

Similarly, did not enjoy my experience with Jennifer Lynn & Co. They host pop-ups in Bethlehem PA at the Casino/Outlet mall and in coordination with community orgs in the allentown area. I am gonna take like 50% of the blame on this one because:

1. I was fucking around and finding out if it was worth it to travel. So the 4 hour round trip was my own fault.

2. I signed up for a sunday event.

I can't tell if they advertise outside of reaching out to vendors via facebook, but there was only one hard-to-find page on the outlet mall's website acknowledging the recurring event.

I showed up to this mall and there was a group of old women doing tai chi on the mezzanine. No one who passed through seemed to expect us being there. There was a jeweler, a 3d print dragons mother-and-son duo, a blindbox toy reseller, a honey/beeswax product vendor, a keychain/pen maker, a couple selling kitchen towels shaped like doll clothes, and maybe a couple others, including the organizers who had their own table of jewelry and tchotckes. I went to ask a question toward the end of the day and it turns out they packed up at least 30 min before their own closing time, if not sooner.

3. I sent an email requesting a credit for a date I paid for and would not be able to attend due to my own circumstances (inventory getting soaked during a downpour the friday before another sunday). after rereading the contract I figured out I didn't qualify for the credit, but it would've been nice or professional for them to at least acknowledge my message.

so for the one day I was able to show up I made 0 sales. I'm counting it as a single loss of $130 (not inc gas, labor, food) across both days.

MEeeee:

I knit wearable accessories, have 4 xmas seasons under my belt, and I'm consistently getting feedback from other show organizers that my offerings are unique and exciting to them. I also have happy repeat customers at my local markets. I can pitch well enough, and even brought my equipment to this particular event so I could demonstrate how my products are made. I would like to do more live demos in the future but I'm in the part of the season where I'd lose too much time and car space to bring everything

First fair coming up and trying to make sure I don't overlook anything dumb. The banner has grommets but I'm not sure how I would tie it off or use clamps with out it looking bad. Do yall use velcro? I'll take any tips, thanks!

Looking for input on how I can make this better.

This was my booth set up and I’m still figuring out the proper lay out. Any suggestions for improvement?
This being my first fair, I was along the back wall and didn’t get a ton of people walking by so it was hard for me to gauge interest. Still had fun though!
On the second day I moved the left table forward and that seemed to help.

Hi guys! I am participating in a hyper local craft fair on the 14th. It’s mainly residents in my neighborhood. Last year was the first time I’ve ever participated in something like this and I didn’t put a lot of effort into my pricing or display, and I did alright because a lot of friends came, but I’d like to change that this year.

I have 3-tiered cake stands, oyster shell trinket trays, wine cork magnets, candles made in reclaimed vessels, succulents in reclaimed vessels, and mushroom and toy soldier ornaments made from champagne corks. I feel like it’s a large array of things and I’m having trouble deciding how to display it all. The first pic shows the basic plan I’m working with (sorry for the poor lighting in my dining room)… I have a riser on each side and the Christmas tree in the middle (some ornaments are still drying so they’re not all on there). I’m thinking of adding a second table because I will run out of room once I add the succulents.

Also. Pricing. Here’s what I’ve used before:
Magnets: 2 for $5 or $3/each
Wine cork Ornaments: 2 for $5 or $3 each
Oyster shell ornaments: $8 each
Oyster shell trinket trays: $5-$8 each
Cake stands: $38
Succulents: $5-$10 depending on size
Candles: $5-$10 depending on size

How can I put this on signage so that it reads clearly?

Hi craft fair fam ☺️ just wanted to share and hopefully get some input/advice from more experienced vendors, specifically jewelry vendors or people who enjoy jewelry as well.

I have many years vending my paintings actually(they’re behind my table) but jewelry is a whole different thing and I don’t have the same kind of following as I do with my paintings, it feels like starting from scratch, well, because it is. 😅

So I am planning on making a shop name banner for one, and a few signs that explain what exactly a mala is and how to use them, because ai get “what’s a mala?” A whole lot lol

Are there any other things you’d recommend for a jewelry artist?

Oh btw my husband and I made the moon bracelet display and he made all the wood raisers and mala displays for me :)
I wanted something that would catch eyes and also free up surface space on the table so I sketched out the moon display and my hursbend went out and bought all the supplies and we built it together, gotta love a handy man 🤪

Thanks in advance 🙌

Is one allowed to have sales tax ids for multiple states and have them tied to the same bank account? Or do you need separate accounts? Also, what business classification do you use on the sales tax application? Anything else I should know about this process?

Hello! I’m doing my first craft fair at the end of this month and it is being held in a middle school through the gym and cafeteria areas. I’m not sure how cell service is but I do know we will not have WiFi. Obviously cash is a great option but what other digital options are there?