Discounts and Sales on Retail Crafts
Sunday March 2, 2008
Should crafters have "sales" on their products at craft shows? Many promoters will not allow sales or markdowns on crafts at their events. And for good reason! If you have a show filled with bargain prices and tons of signage declaring the discounts, you will quickly turn a reputable show into a flea market. However if you simply have a few items on clearance that you do not boast of loudly with giant signs, you should be OK with promoters and fellow crafters alike.
Comments
I am the director of a very well-positioned arts & crafts festival. We do not allow sales signs. I personally walk the aisles and check everything out. Sales in our show only lowers the quality of everyone else’s goods. A discrete sign of “Special” or “Just for Your” might serve just as well, and I might accept that. But no “Sale” signs!
There definitely should NEVER be “Sale” signs at any juried/reputable craft/artisan shows. There is no question that they lower the feeling and quality of a show and give it a flea market atmosphere and I would think that 100% of the fine crafters and artists do NOT want to display their work in that kind of arena!!!!!
i am fairly new to the crafts world and have been juried in to a few with my stuff, but, my gosh! you people sound like a bunch of snobs, it’s not like you are in a white collar arena
I understand your evaluation of “snobs” but juried shows tend to accept ONLY those whose work is of top quality in their venue. When you show at one of these events there’s no need to “judge” the standard. There is a need to respect that these ARE higher end shows and do not need to have the standards adjusted down. People tend to attend juried shows with the knowledge that they will generally not find flea-market type items and expect to pay more for for single items. Therefore the quality or your goods must reach a standard of excellence. Blue collar workers spend more money at these events that the so-called white collar workers you refer to.
Another thing about sales is that many crafters out there will drop prices on a Sunday afternoon in hopes of adding a few more bucks to the coffers. As a new crafter this year, I have thought a lot about the pros and cons here. My thinking is that if you lower your prices, it’s really not fair to all the customers who came by and were charged full price. In other situations, I might do it differently. If someone buys many of my pieces, I would consider a 10% discount over 65-70 $$. Because you want to encourage loyalty. On a show that charged admission, I might offer to cover that admission price for the customer. I think any good will you can extend will make for happy and repeat customers.