Craft fair

[southernhorizons]

I used to do a few craft fairs when I was a kid, but I don't do them any more because of the tax rules in NY state. My experience is that they are hit or miss, some people do well, and others don't. It's hard to know whether to price high or low; if the price is too high, people can't afford to buy the items, but if it is too low, they'll think the quality is poor. So you have to have a price that is middle of the road, even if it means you don't make much profit after you figure in all the work that goes into them.
I don't know if this is still true, but it used to be that people who had a lot of lower priced items, did better than those who had less items but more expensive ones. Especially if they had items that no one else had. Jewelry is too common, there are certain to be a lot of different sellers there with jewelry. At some sales there are a lot of wood crafts, which is what I do, but then sometimes there aren't many. I never really noticed greeting cards, but I think that would be a pretty good niche. Also, I think that nowadays people tend to go to craft fairs to get ideas, rather than to actually shop. So you have to have a product or technique that not many people are interested in making themselves.
I'd say your best bet is to price your cards about what standard cards would be at Walmart, so that people feel they are getting a bargain by buying homemade cards at mass produced prices. As long as you have enough product so that you can make back your costs, you should do pretty good. but of course it all depends on what kind of mood the shoppers are in.

[sgluckadoo]

I used to do a few craft fairs when I was a kid, but I don't do them any more because of the tax rules in NY state. My experience is that they are hit or miss, some people do well, and others don't. It's hard to know whether to price high or low; if the price is too high, people can't afford to buy the items, but if it is too low, they'll think the quality is poor. So you have to have a price that is middle of the road, even if it means you don't make much profit after you figure in all the work that goes into them.
I don't know if this is still true, but it used to be that people who had a lot of lower priced items, did better than those who had less items but more expensive ones. Especially if they had items that no one else had. Jewelry is too common, there are certain to be a lot of different sellers there with jewelry. At some sales there are a lot of wood crafts, which is what I do, but then sometimes there aren't many. I never really noticed greeting cards, but I think that would be a pretty good niche. Also, I think that nowadays people tend to go to craft fairs to get ideas, rather than to actually shop. So you have to have a product or technique that not many people are interested in making themselves.
I'd say your best bet is to price your cards about what standard cards would be at Walmart, so that people feel they are getting a bargain by buying homemade cards at mass produced prices. As long as you have enough product so that you can make back your costs, you should do pretty good. but of course it all depends on what kind of mood the shoppers are in.

Well put!

[queensurvey]

sometimes it's better not to set a price and to see how much a customer would offer for your hand-made craft, reality is it's better to sell it than to bring it home!