So, here we are! You've decided to join the exciting world of market vendoring. Whether it's farmer's markets or craft shows, you've decided that a life of empty compliments, endless hours of setting up a display and a lot of work for a little money is the life for you. Spectacular! As a market vendoring veteran, I would like to welcome you to our growing community of underappreciated entrepreneurs.
I remember my first market experience: I had spent a day and a half trying to get some products made up, then borrowed a 6' folding table from a friend of mine then showed up at a local farmer's market in June with no canopy or other shelter. I made $25 that day and got rained out in just under 2 hours. I went back the next week with a canopy only to spend 6 hours without a single sale. It would have been nice to know then what I know now, and since I've seen many other vendors make the same mistakes I've been tempted to and so I've decided to offer a bit of advice through this blog to help encourage (and maybe even educate) new vendors.
Today I want to start with something that seems to plague many new craft vendors: expectations of scale.
Odds are that by the time you decide to make a foray into the craft market world you've already been told by family and friends that you should sell some of your stuff. Obviously your mom thinks it's cool, but you've had enough less biased comments (plus you think it's pretty swell yourself) that you've decided to give it a whirl and try to make a bit of extra cash. These are fair expectations in themselves.
However, once you got to the sale, (be it farmer's market, craft sale, whatever) you found that your product didn't sell quite as fast as you had expected. At first you were encouraged by the kind words you received from other vendors and then from customers, but after the first hour you hadn't sold anything. Then a second hour went by. By the halfway point in the sale you still hadn't sold anything, even though dozens, maybe even hundreds, of people had looked over your goods.
At first, you felt a bit depressed, then you started to feel angry at the customers who were't buying your things. You begin to resent the compliments that they give you; after all, if your things are so "cute" and "wonderful" then why don't they want to take some of them home with them? Finally you resent your decision to go to the venue in the first place and the temptation to leave early sets in.
The first time I experienced this I thought maybe it was just me, but it turns out that most vendors experience this, many of them repeatedly.
So how do we deal with this? With a few reality checks:
1. Your product may be great, but it may not be for everyone. Just because you do nice work doesn't mean it's something that I want to buy. I think of it like this: I have the right product, it just needs the right customer.
2. Be realistic with your price. Just because it took 3 hours to make and you value your time at $40/hour doesn't mean anyone in their right mind will necessarily pay $120 for it. Or they might, but you will need to find someone who values that piece more than your price tag.
3. Start with smaller, affordable venues. If you can find a free farmer's market to attend, you may at least get some valuable customer feedback on your product.
4. Keep your prices realistic to your location. Generally it's fair to say that there are some communities that are more affluent than others. If you sell in a wealthier community then you can likely get away with higher prices than in a less wealthy area. If you sell in various locales you may want to consider altering your prices to move more product.
5. Be patient, especially at organised shows. It is the height of inconsideration to register and pay for a show and then to leave early without a good excuse. To clarify, a good excuse is something along the lines of, "I need to go take a loved one to the hospital", or, "I feel ill and need to leave before I vomit all over your lovely craft show". Things like "People aren't meeting my expectations for sales", or, "there's someone else selling something similar to me" aren't really good reasons.
6. Be considerate. Literally, consider. A sale with a great reputation might suffer from poor weather, or a new competing event, or economic hardships. Don't assume (as I've seen people do) that the organisers of the show have done a poor job or that they've somehow duped you into coming to a bad show.
7. Be patient (again). I've never understood the mentality of leaving a show early because it's slow. If a show ends at 9pm and you leave at 7, there are a few things that will happen. You will leave a bad impression with the hosts of the show. You will look immature to most of the other vendors. You will miss other customers who will come in just before the sale is over (and these are often the most serious customers of the day). Once you've hung in there for the first 4-6 hours, you might as well stick it out for the rest of the sale. It's unlikely to get worse.
I realize that may seem like a lot to take in, but I wanted to give an overview of at least a few issues that can plague a new vendor. Hopefully a little bit of advice now can avoid a lot of regret later.
Go make some stuff and enjoy the market!
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