Is anything selling at craft fairs at the moment?

[rosemarie]

Hi, I am new to this site and am trying to aid my hubby in selling his woodturned goods. He is brilliant with wood but useless at computers!!
We have done a few craft fairs and craft shopping malls but nobody seems to be buying at the moment. The display looks good, prices are low but people just say 'thats lovely' and walk away.

Does anyone have any hints on the best way to find outlets for goods as craft fairs certainly seem to be dead at the moment, certainly around the Kent/Essex area.

[beadsbydesign]

Don't give up...
When I first started selling, I thought that my product wold sell itself. I thought my job was to stand by and wrap up and take the money.
Life is not like that!!!
I learnt by watching other traders that you have to "sell". Selling is an art form in itself. The person who likes your product has to be made to open their wallet.
There are no hard and fast guarantees. You need to engage the person who says they like your product in converstation. Invest time in them, tell them all about the history linked to the piece of wood, The old tree it came from... the way you watched it grow for years until it was perfect. sell the individuality, the artisitic insight and make the person feel that they would be missing out by walking away.
Good luck...
I'd be interested to hear other peoples selling techniques!

[stillscrapping]

Excellent advice there. I visit the occasional craft fayre and a lot of the sellers look so fed up and bored it puts you off buying.

Julie

[Jjay]

Hi there,
I have not sold at craft fairs yet but have you thought of opening a shop on ebay? I struggled for months to sell my cards and then as a last resort turned to ebay. I sold more in 1 month than I had in the 6 previous! You open the market to a lot of buyers, and it's fairly staight forward to use. You have nothing to loose trying a couple of listings. If you get stuck have a look at my shop. Hope this may help.
Jen
www.stores.ebay.co.uk/House-of-Jjay

[scrappyqueen]

Hi, I would suggest you try and set yourselves up with a web site - I've just learned about www.freewebs.com and its a great site and it doesnt cost you a penny to get it done. I managed to set up my website in just two hours - its taken longer to get it out on the web but you can put it on this site and others similar and try and get your products seen. Even if you know nothing about computers, freewebs makes it easy. Good luck! Check out my site to give you an idea - www.ukcustomscrapbooks.com

[Fran]

Hi and welcome,

Selling your product is hard but rewarding work. It's true that it won't sell it's self and that you have to talk the game by that I mean encourage your potential customer to engage in conversation in how it's made, where it's eliments have come from etc..................show your passion and the customer will follow.

It will take time learning to strike the right balance as to when and who to approach with customers, by all means welcome everyone with a 'good morning' , 'nice day' that's always a good start to communications and take it from there.

Personally, when I see someone sitting reading a book/paper it gives the impression that they are either employed or can't be bothered to interact. It's different when a crafter is sitting to work and is showing the public how things are made............that's a big draw/bonus for buyers.

Good luck and keep the smile.

[gentle_giant]

We've done a few craft shows recently and the first one was so bad i had to post on here the day after just to vent some steam!!

Since them we have another one which was just incredible. We had a terrific location right in the entrance (a good start), we had a great stall, a busy display but not too busy and we had good weather(the most important factor). However, no matter how well you think your doing there will ALWAYS and i mean ALWAYS be people that just walk on by, they might say "thats nice" "how lovely" "ill come back and get that" . You just need to forget them andwork the ones that seem to love you products.

Also, find a craft show that fits with your target market age group.Theres no point in selling handmade ipod cases to 85 year old pensioners (no disrespect to 85 year old pensioners). All youll get is the "thats fantastic" comment as they walk on by!

Ust my 2ps worth.

gentle_giant

[Southend Fringe]

I just had a stall at a fair on Saturday and people are buying, but I think they're buying more things which have a use rather than a solely decorative purpose. With a lot of people tightening their belts I think they need an 'excuse' to treat themselves.

[mark.sallai]

Mmm not an easy one but it sounds like he is very talented with his wood turning we sell Semi retired Bobs work (ex Jersey Wood Turners) in our craft section at the Harbour Gallery Jersey on a commision Base He is also very talented But The Market has slowed down quite a bit I hear rumours that people are starting to spend money again - so The point is there is nothing wrong with what and where you sell your loverly work :D

Mark of little island of Jersey

[woodtattoos]

This post was dated over 3 years ago... I wonder how they did? :)

[indri]

(welcome) to the forum :) I can't help with the craft fair query though.

[sparkysdad]

This post was dated over 3 years ago... I wonder how they did? :)

that was a "neat" and inoffensive "dont you folk ever read the dates before you post?" Si :D..

[sparkysdad]

This post was dated over 3 years ago... I wonder how they did? :)

Seems RoseMarie the silver surfer set up a website in Feb 2007.. and not a cheep from her and hubby since.. :)

http://www.craftsforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1282

[bandmad]

I managed to sell some cards at a 3 day craft fair over this weekend but today was very slow. I'm looking for ideas of how to sell too. I have tried searching for craft fairs on the web but ones that sound really good cost about £200 for a stall for 2 days- a bit beyond me! Any good ideas?

[sparkysdad]

I managed to sell some cards at a 3 day craft fair over this weekend but today was very slow. I'm looking for ideas of how to sell too. I have tried searching for craft fairs on the web but ones that sound really good cost about £200 for a stall for 2 days- a bit beyond me! Any good ideas?

Hello bandmad, if you use the search function you will find a few threads people posted to recently on how to sell cards other than through craft fairs - which are either expensive, or often oversubscribed by card makers - organisers like to limit the number of people selling each type of craft, so there is a good spread of products for customers to see.