[quote=Raggiemom]I'm thinking about having a booth at a local craft fair in October. It's a 10x10 booth and the price is $50. If I want to borrow their tables, it's $10 per table. My husband thinks $50 is alot for a booth and pointed out I would have to sell quite a bit to make a profit with that
To me, the main thing to look for along even more than cost is what type of items are being sold at the show. I make handbags and am proud of the workmanship and materials that I put into them. The only shows I will participate in DO NOT ALLOW RESALE (sheets/handbags/sunglasses etc. from China or wherever!) First off, it cheapens the whole event - turns it into a flea market - and second, it's hard to compete against something selling for $5 - even if it does fall apart in a few weeks! :-)
My son/DIL and mom have been doing a local monthly market days for about 6 months - we each have different types of 'art' (DIL - silver jewelry, mom-tole painting and me, handbags) so have a booth for each. We purchased canopies and tables once we decided we really liked doing it. We also made a commitment for the whole year at $20/month so very reasonable. They only feature homegrown/handmade items. When we first started, someone said if they made 5X their booth fee, they felt they had a good day. So far, we've exceeded that each time easily. The worst day I had was about $200 but generally make around $500/day and that's about what mom and DIL are doing as well so we're pleased. We're considering a 3 day indoor show that supports our local crisis center but that will be $100/day so still mulling that one over!