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 kind of overhead. However, since things aren't really selling on artfire, I figure it's worth a shot to try and sell some things. Is $50 a reasonable price for the space and is it worth it to pay for their tables? I don't have any tables of my own but a friend says she has a couple which fold in the middle that I could borrow. I'm just trying to think of how much of a pain it will be to carry everything in.

Thanks for your suggestions! :)

That is about the going price I pay and I do pay for a table for $10 I use to take my tables but it was really a hastle.Good Luck

I think it depends on what you're selling, and are there any "hot" items that might turn you a quick profit. And, are they doing a lot of advertising, so there'll be lots of foot traffic. The more traffic there is, the better your sales will be. Also, location of your booth; do you get to choose?

There is quite a bit of foot traffic at the show, I've attended it the last few years as a customer. This would be my first show. There is a fair amount of advertising. But no, I don't get to select my booth. They assign them. I can make a request but not sure what to request.

That is a lot cheaper than it is here...

In Wisconsin, it is nearly a hundred dollars now, just for the space.

Out here it can be well over a $100 per day and close/over $1000 for a few that run for long weekends :D:D:D

That is about the going rate in my small commuinty. My daughter tried craft shows for a while, she SOMETIMES made her booth rent and she shared the booth with a friend. Good luck.

Do you know anyone who could share the space/cost with you? That's what I'd try to do...good luck...Naomi
:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Oh, I have enough stuff for the booth. They do have people to help unload supposedly. I'm leaning towards doing it :)

We have a craft show at Christmas and booths are $40. in an air conditioned building. Seems like tables are $10. Beats having to put some up.

That is not a bad price at all- but is the show a new one, or have they had it before? Do they have a good turnout?

The show has been around for several years and they generally have a good turnout. Since it's at the local High School, it's air-conditioned. They have the cafeteria open for lunch and bring it around to you I believe.

Consider it a learning experience.
You may need someone to man the booth for personal breaks. If you're lucky your neighbor will be willing to do so. If not...
Have food/snacks you can eat that can be picked up & put down if you're interrupted.
Keep good records in case a there's a tax person wondering the hall.

just a note on craft shows - if someone comes around while you are selling at a show and hands you a flyer about THEIR show coming up - I would stay away. IMO when they have to solicit crafters to fill their show, that means they do not have crafters coming back year after year, in other words, a dud.

A successful show does not have to go actively looking for crafters.

$50 sounds reasonable if they get a lot of people, and you have small items that you think will sell reasonably well. Think of it as a learning experience. Good luck!

It breaks my heart for some great folks who do quality work and still don't necessarily turn a profit at craft shows. I've heard of some going in and sharing a booth for starters to help cushion the expense. Hope it goes well for you.

Sounds like a good price to me. We just signed up for one and the fee is $65 for that size.

My friend and I do the Christmas shoe outside of DC AND It's $295. We always make around $1000. Per show with just lap quilts, no biggies, and wall quilts.

If the show is established, if the advertising is good, if it has been well attended in previous years than it will probably be worth it. $50 is not unreasonable.

If this is a good craft show, and there are vendor openings, it's probably because some people just can't afford the $50 fee so if you are able to get in, it may be a really good opportunity for you.

I haven't done a craft fair in years, but things to consider.
Have pricing figured out for multiple purchases. If you have lap quilts for sale at $80 each (just grabbed a number out of my head) then if they buy two, make it $75 each.

Dress up your tables. Have nice tablecloths, and skirt the tables so that you can store boxes, etc. under them. Use an artificial Christmas tree to display ornaments or small items. Get lattice at the Home Depot to make a display "wall" for your booth.

MOST IMPORTANT!! Chat, laugh and HAVE FUN!! Craft fairs can be a blast!! :)

Good luck to you if you try it!

I have to agree with Charlee. Also, I had a friend help me with mine, but she didn't want to shut up! I tried getting her to talk to the people walking by, but she didn't get the hint. This year I am going by myself!

It's 100 here! Also expected to donate a door prize.

it really depends on...location, venue, and what you are planning to sell-
we have a couple pretty large craft shows around the holidays===that are quite costly to participate in---but the up side is they tend to have between 6000=10000 people go through- so chances are---you will make money-
i've seen others that only had a handful of people show up- and no one really made any money-
is it a show you have visited? could you possibly talk to a couple people who have done it in the past to find out if they get the customers & sales?
$50 is probably in the (going) price range- but how much will you have to sell in order to make any money?
before commiting you should really find out about the venue = try to find out how much traffic it gets- what kind of advertising do they do....and how many people are trying to sell the same things as you? sometimes if you are trying to compete with someone who has a following (they've done this show for a number of years and people go looking for them) you could find that you get passed by.
lots of research == but if you think it is worth it - go for it and give it a try- worst case scenerio is - your out $50 but you will learn alot.

It's been a few years, but some are really profitable and some barely make your expenses. Make your tablecover white or a light color--not a print. Have something to display your items--a 10 foot table isn't very long, especially if your items are large. You don't want to have them so crowded that people can't see the items. Having someone to share the cost is a good idea, but that shrinks your space to 5 ft. We did a show once--Christmas--and they had 3 shows very close together. Admission was $$ or cans of food for a food bank. We thought it would be a very successful show. Barely made the cost of the table. You just never know. Good luck.
Sue

I think it totally depends on the show. I used to do about ten shows a year that were affiliated with a big Harvest Festival organization. We sold Christmas ornaments. We also did lots of local ones. The Harvest ones ran about 6-800 depending on the size and location. The locals we did were all well over 200. The more money you pay, the more advertizing they are supposed to do or more established, all that sort of thing.

When I first started we easily did a minimum of ten times the price of the booth. But that went down a lot over time. It got to the point where you were lucky to make booth fees and overhead. Which is why I am not doing them anymore.

I do want to start up again with other stuff besides ornaments. But the cost of business licenses and tax stuff is daunting.

This is good advice - it is much easier for a potential buyer to approach a single person behind the booth than to break into a conversation between 2 or more. Remember to smile and say Hi to everyone - just to get them to stop and look at your stuff can be half the battle.

That sounds reasonable to me. There are a few in our area that charge upwards of $100 (and more). I agree with PTquilts it is a learning experience and you'll never know if you don't try. It might be fun.

Re: soliciting for a show. Maybe your products are different enough that they'd give another dimension to the show--not the same old same old. Or the show is only a couple of years old and they're trying to expand it. It wouldn't hurt to get in on the ground floor.

My mom and I tried selling at craft shows a few years ago. It was very hard work (mostly in the winter and freezing cold out waiting for the doors to open). The tables back then were up to $40.00 for a very small space. We quit selling because of the price of the tables and all the work. We are happier giving to charity. We think it is ridiculous for 40 to 50 dollars for a table. We now let other people have our table...LOL

$50 is a steal! The craft fairs we have here in town charge $350 and you get nothing but the space.

We have a local fair here and tables are 300.00 for a three day weekend.
I looked up this information after seeing pillowcases selling for 25.00 per pillowcase...then I saw why they were so expensive.

The price of a booth at a big show is so high because of the liabilty insurance if someone gets hurt. I do better selling at a flea market then shows. The cost is more reasonable.

Ok, y'all made up MY mind. I've mentioned several times in other posts about our up coming honey festival our town puts on every year. My friend and I have been playing with the idea of getting a booth this year. It is $40 for an 8 x 10 area. I thought that was high, till my dh reminded me that the cost would be split between my friend and I, lol.

Thank you so much for all the suggestions and advice. I've decided to get a space and rent 2 tables. The show is October 15 and I'll let you all know how it goes.

Since you’re selling on ArtFire, you might want to consider your Craft Show booth space costs as advertising costs, and promote your ArtFire listings while at the show. While sometimes shows can be a lot of work for little income, the exposure of your items can be worth a lot. It allows folks to see what craft items you have available, and that they can get them at other times, not just at the Craft Show. Even the shoppers that don’t buy from your booth learn what items you have, and you might make additional ArtFire sales in the future. Provide a small handout to help them find you on ArtFire (or Etsy, or eBay, or at your B&M Shop).

We work a Craft Show every once in a while just to remind people that we have more than just fabric and notions at our shop, including finished craft items. If it’s a show that benefits a community organization, so much the better, we’re helping our community as well.

CD in Oklahoma

Our 1 1/2 quilt show, booths are $200. So, $50 is a bargain, and everybody like a bargain.

One other thing....if you can have some work with you...ESPECIALLY if you can incorporate a vintage sewing machine, it will make folks stop and talk to you. A treadle or a handcrank will draw a crowd. Just don't forget to stop working to answer their questions and chat with them! :)

I wondered about the taxes on items we sell. I am not sure where to look for information that I can understand. Any suggestions/info???? Thank you.