1. Signage, signage, signage. People don’t pick a thing up and look for the tag. At least not in this venue/sort of venue. It’s like they’d like to know the price before they decide whether to like it or not, rather than deciding they like it and then having to decide if they’ll pay for it. With the exception of the kids, of course, who automatically love the most expensive thing on the table and never can talk mom and dad into shelling out for it.
2. Fewer choices are sometimes better. No matter what size I’ve made dishcloths, I’ve had Goldilocks issues with them. Too big, too small…so I’ve been offering different sizes, since preferences seem to vary widely. As far as I can tell, though, this just seemed to confuse people. Even if they take the thing home and decide they’d like ’em bigger or smaller, when they’re shopping for it? Just give ’em one size, already. Any more is too much.
3. My big seller? A simple bookthong, made with fancy buttons and pretty crochet thread. Under $5 seemed to be the pricepoint of choice for the kids. Well, except if they were buying the Beanie Babies and Webkinz from the gentleman behind me. LOL. He did great business. I got the impression that he’s a known local source for that sort of thing, but it may have been the “(local) Farmer’s Market” hat he was sporting that made me think that. Well, that and the excellent displays. 😀
4. School fair? Closer to flea market than to handmade extravaganza. A high-class flea market, though. It was maybe half handmade, with the balance being whatever businesses the moms were involved in…tupperware and that sort of thing. Which is NOT a bad thing if you love catalogs and dreaming as much as I do. Unless you’re one of the ones trying to sell it. *wry smile* I mean, I don’t have any money just now either…
5. People are not yet in the mood to spend, I don’t think. I got plenty of lookers and plenty of compliments, but most of the folks who stood there clearly on the edge of a purchase wound up walking away. I wonder if some of that is my utter lack of ability as a salesperson, but from what I could see around me it looked like nobody was doing all that much better. Also, most of what I had was stocking-stuffer-ish, and it really *is* early for that sort of thing, I think.
6. If you’re going to do this sort of event, expect to lose the table fee. I only came out $15 down, so I was pretty damned happy. If I’d made it back, I’d have been over the moon. If I’d made nothing but bookmarks-under-$5, I might have made it back, lol.
7. It may have been a bust for me profit-wise, but watching people shop was incredibly instructive. Also, getting all of what I’d made for it out and physically handling the pieces gave me a different perspective on them, and gave me some marketing ideas.
8. “What I’ve Crocheted” probably isn’t a very good theme for a shop/display/whatever. Again with the too many choices thing. Narrower focus seems to equal happier shoppers. Given that creatively I am all over the place, this observation? Needs serious thought. Can you hear the gears turning in my head?
Next up? Christmas presents. And some fun stuff. I worked on the Monster for hours yesterday. Fun crochet! Who’d’ve thunk it? LOL. Also? Photographing all of the stuff I made for the show to put in the shop. Maybe. Depending on the resolution of the dishcloth dilemma. And, looking out the window at the gloom, to the construction of a lightbox…
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