Buy/Sell at Shows
Sunday November 25, 2007
If the event is large enough and has tons of foot traffic, you might just find out that you can still make a pretty good
showing at an event that allows buy and sell. However, there are very few shows where buy and sell works well in conjunction
with handmade crafts. Competing with cheap imported products is a race to the bottom that crafters cannot afford to win.
While a large event may generate sales for any type of product, crafters are best suited to handmade-only shows.
Comments
I agree that buy/sell and handcrafted items should not be at the same event.
Now, how do we get promoters to understand that a craft event should be for crafts, arts and handmade items?
How do promoters enforce this policy when exhibitors lie on the applications?
How do you respond when you get to an ‘all handcrafted event’ only to discover the exhibitor next to you is selling cheap knock off purses?
In a perfect world this wouldn’t happen, but it does. And it happens all to frequently. It takes the cooperation of the promoter and the exhibitor to have a truly hand-crafted event.
I agree. Look for juried shows where you actually have to submit pictures of your product(s). One show I did even wanted a picture of the item as you made it. Good luck!