How to sell your crafts at craft shows

Do your research.

 Not all craft shows are created equally so you want to make sure you ask around to get suggestions from other vendors and inquire with the organizer of the craft show. Some questions you may want to ask are:

• Is this an annual craft show and if so, what's the traffic generally like? It's always nice to know that a craft show has a proven track record, there's less risk for you this way.


• Is this a juried event? Although these can be more difficult to get into, they work in your favor and they generally only accept one or two vendors in each category. This means you wont be competing with multiple vendors selling the same items as you. If it isn't a juried event, make sure you ask them the other type of vendors are participating, look for a good variety.


• How do you advertise the event? If they don't have a good answer for you, you may want to consider choosing a different craft show. A lot of effort goes into creating a successful event so you should make sure they've set up social media accounts for the craft show and have plans to either advertise it or get some media coverage.


• How much is a table? Craft shows can cost anywhere from $25 to $500 and up for the bigger shows. Consider the price of your items and how many you'll need to sell to cover the cost for the show and make a profit. If a table or booth is out of your price range but you really want to participate in the event, ask if they offer half tables or booths that you could share with another vendor.

Make sure you're prepared. Once you've chosen a craft sale to be a part of, you'll want to leave yourself enough time to get ready for it. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Start with your end goal and work backwards. How much money would you like to make at the craft show to cover your costs and make a nice profit? Once you have that number, figure out how many of your products you would need to sell to reach that goal and then get started.


• If this is your first craft show, you'll need to consider how you're going to display your products. You'll have limited space so you'll need to get creative when thinking of ways to optimize it.


• Make sure you ask what's included with your space. You may be responsible for bringing things such as a tablecloth and chairs.


• Leave enough time to tag and price all your products, create signage for your table and pack them up for transportation. You want to make it easy for people to shop your table and recognize who you are.


• Make sure you have all the necessities; bags, business cards, cash to make change, food, water, something to keep track of your sales and an emergency kit to make any last minute fixes.

Enjoy the day and try to find some time to walk around and meet some of the other vendors either before or after the show.

Erin is the founder of Made Urban http://www.madeurban.com/ an online marketplace for buying and selling handmade goods locally.