What a disappointment!

[piglet33]

I went to my first craft fair today and it was a complete waste of time! It was in a village hall in quite a large village and it had about 14 stalls and lots of people browsing but no one was buying anything! The only stall that took anything was the tombola! At first I thought maybe my cards and boxes and things were too expensive, but they are good quality and cheap compared to others I have spoken to, but even the lady who reduced hers to 25p didn't sell any! I ended up with a loss of £5 and I am really disappointed now.

I have booked to go to another one at a town leisure centre on the 7th of December but am now wondering if it is worth it. This one is £15 per stall. Am I more likely to sell things in a larger venue or will it be too late for cards and boxes by then?

[Autumn Faerie]

Aw that's really tough and no wonder you're so disappointed. I just think it's pot luck how these things go & just because this one was a disaster doesn't mean the next one will be, but obviously it's more of a gamble because of the higher table costs.

I think you'd have to be very unlucky to have another disaster like this & at least you know it wasn't because your stuff isn't any good or too expensive because no-one did well.

[Raffles Bizarre]

aww that's such a shame.
i too made a loss the first time i did a stall, but they have been fine ever since. hopefully you'll do better at this next one. don't let it deter you.

[buffybaskey]

awww hun sorry it didnt go well xx

[Selina]

Don't let it put you off, hopefully the next one will be better for you. Lots of luck for the next one, Selina

[pollyanna-patchwork]

Oh dear - sorry to hear that it didn't go to plan.

My first show was a complete disaster! It cost me £50 (eeek!) and I only took £19.50. I had to man the stall all day (9am to 5.30pm) and had a 7 month old baby to look after too!

See it as an opportunity to get your name out there and I bet you gained lots of valuable experience in terms of setting out your stall, what worked and what didn't etc. So it probably wasn't a complete waste of your time doing the fair.

Onwards and Upwards....

Good Luck next time!

[RainbowStitcher]

Aw that's such a shame.

Don't give up, I'm sure your next fair will go better!


~Jenny~

[piglet33]

Thanks for the kind messages, makes me feel a little better!

Does anyone else sell handmade cards? How much do you sell them for. We priced ours from 95p (very simple) to £2.50 for fimo/decoupage/pop up cards. I didn't think this was expensive and many friends said I was selling myself short but the other stalls there were selling them from 25p to £1 and some weren't too bad. To me this isn't worth doing if you can't make a small profit on anything. Also I was selling my exploding boxes for £3.50 and they are 10cm cubed. Is this about right?

I just want a bit of advice before I try the next one.

[Christine 1]

I know what you mean, i did my first card sale about a month ago & thought did well when i sold 5 of mine plus 2 orders. However went to another sale 2/3 week's later & sold none. That has put me off as well in doing another one but i am going to perserver (if that is spelt right sorry if it isn't) and do 2 more and then if not i am going to give up until the summer & do car boot sales.

Mind you saying that though i went to 2 Christmas fayre's in the past 2 days & both were a load of rubbish. One said 'Christmas Bananza' and it was more like a glorified table top sale with about 3 stalls selling cards but no one wanted to know - just somewhere to get out of the cold i think.

Wish you luck with the next one though, i don't have any hints or tips apart from i was told to 'smile' when people come through oh and have evertying marked up with prices on (which i expect you do) and have them in an order so people don't fumble through them all.

Christine x

[Autumn Faerie]

Thanks for the kind messages, makes me feel a little better!

Does anyone else sell handmade cards? How much do you sell them for. We priced ours from 95p (very simple) to £2.50 for fimo/decoupage/pop up cards. I didn't think this was expensive and many friends said I was selling myself short but the other stalls there were selling them from 25p to £1 and some weren't too bad. To me this isn't worth doing if you can't make a small profit on anything. Also I was selling my exploding boxes for £3.50 and they are 10cm cubed. Is this about right?

I just want a bit of advice before I try the next one.

I think you're underpricing - I sell mine from £1.50 for the simpler ones, up to £3.50 for the more intricate & bigger ones. Just think how long each card takes you to make & the fact it's an individual piece, not a manufactured duplicate. I don't know how anyone can sell handmade cards at 25p and make a profit and I agree with you that you need to make a profit, that's the point of selling them. Don't get me wrong I love making my cards and use them to give to family & friends, but I also want to sell them & make a profit, my business is a business after all.

It's difficult if others are selling for less, but I'd say stick to your guns & if anything put your prices up & if people ask you why they cost more tell them it's because they're handcrafted, good quality cards & unique! So there!

All the best
x

[nattynetty]

I think you're underpricing - I sell mine from £1.50 for the simpler ones, up to £3.50 for the more intricate & bigger ones. Just think how long each card takes you to make & the fact it's an individual piece, not a manufactured duplicate. I don't know how anyone can sell handmade cards at 25p and make a profit and I agree with you that you need to make a profit, that's the point of selling them. Don't get me wrong I love making my cards and use them to give to family & friends, but I also want to sell them & make a profit, my business is a business after all.

It's difficult if others are selling for less, but I'd say stick to your guns & if anything put your prices up & if people ask you why they cost more tell them it's because they're handcrafted, good quality cards & unique! So there!

All the best
x

Agree completely with this, round our way handmade cards sell for between £1.50 and £3.50 depending on the card. I guess it also depends on how affluent the local area is but I'd say your prices are definitely as low as should go...don't even think about going under £1 - have you seen the price of 'normal' cards in Clintons nowadays you're lucky if you find one under £2. As for the lady selling her cards at 25p that makes me quite mad as it devalues the skill that goes into the cards - that's the price you pay for the really tacky cards in our cheapy shop

Also, nearly forgot to say, bummer about your fair but by the sounds of it it was more to do with the people coming in rather than your cards or prices. The only way is up from there

[ChrisCoxon]

Don't give up and don't undersell yourself. I did a craft fair recently and the only person who really sold anything was selling vegetables!!!!!!!!

[Autumn Faerie]

Don't give up and don't undersell yourself. I did a craft fair recently and the only person who really sold anything was selling vegetables!!!!!!!!

Sorry, but that made me chuckle

[craftynclothy]

I too think you're underpricing and think they should start from around the £1.50 mark. IME underpricing is as bad as overpricing goods iykwim.

I think that part of the problem with cards is that more people are making them now - have you thought about making your own bits to go on them and selling those (i.e. selling the embellishments) alongside your cards? I get the impression that they are popular with people who make their own cards for personal use and don't have the time to make every little bit to put on them iyswim. That way you're appealing to card makers as well as card buyers.

[Caroleecrafts]

Sorry the fair did not go well, we have all been there it is more luck than judgement.

I have got my local village on on Saturday only £10, never expect to do well but feel that for 3.5 hours it is a cheap form of advertising and plan to get email and addresses for my relaunch next year.

I think your cards are cheap unfortunatly there are an awful lot of cards out there and it is stiff competition. I have gone down the cheaper route but am now going to spe******e in particular events and personalisation.

Don't give up yet.