How did shows go this weekend??

[Extra Special Touch Gifts]

Hi everyone!

I have just done a two day show at Rufford Park.... had a terrible weekend and hadn't even covered costs!

I spoke to a lot of other stall holders there, who also hadn't had a good time.

The strange thing is... we have done two small village shows in the last few weeks and done really well... and this weekend was a far bigger show and was far busier.... but not many sales!!!???

[silvermaid]

I think sometimes it depends on whether there is an entrance fee. A village show is usually free and so people tend to spend. They are also held in aid of the school and people feel they are supporting the school by buying from the stalls. When people go to larger shows that charge an entrance fee -which is often quite expensive for a family - they are a lot more cautious about spending more.
Another factor is that because it is a bigger show they will hang on to their money in case they find something else on another stall in a different section that they like better and then don't come back. In the smaller shows if they see something they like they can quickly check the other stalls and are more likely to come back.

Melanie

[Cuckoos Nest]

We've just come back from a fair at Tissington in Derbyshire, really well organised (thanks Denise) with genuine 'proper' craft stalls and free tea and coffee available to stallholders all day - much appreciated.

It was well advertised with signs all the way from Ashbourne.

Unfortunately the weather was dire and as Tissington is very much a tourist village the weather has a big effect. There were more visitors to the fair today (rainy) than yesterday, but they weren't spending much. You wonder if they just wanted to get out of the rain.

It's just the way the cookie crumbles. An organiser can do their very best, but the one thing they can't do is make people buy. There are so many variables.

If the organiser does their bit, and we as exhibitors make our stalls as attractive as possible, then the results should come - but unfortunately they don't always.

The one thing I would say is the bulk of our profit this weekend has come from small items of under £5, and talking to other stallholders they found the same. Stalls that sold only expensive stuff did virtually nothing. We're finding that in the current climate we're more likely to sell lots of small stuff rather than the bigger items.

Here's to the next one folks!

[Phoenixjewellery]

I did one of the Highland Games Shows in Scotland on Saturday. I covered the cost of the stall and made a few pounds extra but it was a lot of work for little reward!