Inventory and Establishing Prices

Now that you are planning for your craft show or other market, you must decide what you want to bring. If you have been to shows before, it will be easier because you know what will sell the most and what may not sell at all. For first timers this can be more difficult, especially if you make a variety of products. You have a lot of work ahead of you preparing for the show, and you want to make the most of your time. The best way to decide what to bring is to get opinions from your family and friends on the items they may most likely purchase. Another way is to go to one of the many message boards and chat rooms for crafters and make a poll. This can be very helpful, especially since you only have so much space to put everything.

When you set up at shows you want to have a variety of items, but you also want to have enough of each to meet demand. Depending on how large the market is that you are attending, you will want to bring a few of every item that you plan to sell, but bring along some extras of the more popular items. For your first time, it is mostly trial and error. Just bring as much of a variety as you can. When you set up and start selling at the show, record every purchase and a description in a notebook or memo pad. This is valuable information to have for your next show, and you will know which best sellers to bring with you and maybe what not to bring.

Once you figure out what inventory you would like to bring to your show, there is another important factor. What will your prices be? How do you set your prices? Will you be selling wholesale or to the individual consumer? Sometimes these can be tough decisions to make because every market is different, therefore the customers will also be different.

If the show where you want to set up is regularly open, you may want to make a visit before you actually set up there. Walk around and see what kinds of items other vendors are selling. Check their prices and get an idea of what the most popular items are. This can also be helpful in choosing your inventory to bring.

Another thing to think about is how much it actually costs you to make each item. If you talk to seasoned crafters, most of them have a rule of thumb for setting their prices. The important thing is that you must make your prices competitive, but you must also take into account other expenses that you have and the cost of your labor. Labor is very important, because you may spend a lot of time making your items. Even if it is a very low cost to you to make your items, it may also be very labor intensive depending on what you make. In addition, you must take into account your other expenses such as booth rent, gasoline and mileage to travel to your show, etc. It is important to keep track of everything so that you can come up with a good price for your products and still make a profit.

Once you establish your inventory and prices, it is time to plan your booth! If you have many items to sell, it is very important to make the most of the space that you are given. Read on to find out more tips and tricks!