Craft Fair Selling 101

Now that I've officially sold at my first craft fair ever, I thought I'd share with you all what I learned from setting up my own booth, looking at the other vendors' booths, and feedback from shoppers and vendors. Several of you commented that you are either getting ready to sell at your first craft fair or would like to, but haven't had the courage yet. Hopefully my experience might help those of you who are embarking on your own journey...and those of you who are still thinking about it.

Here's a shot of my booth.

1) Know your audience. Don't expect to sell hairbows to a men's club or baby stuff to a bunch of baby boomers. This will also help you decide what craft fairs to participate in.

2) Make your display stand out. If your booth is appealing, people will come in to shop. Think outside the box for unique ways to display your items.

I used my fabric rack to display burp cloths. It showed them off nicely and added some height to the booth.

I clothes pinned my binky bags to a trellis that I put into a pot.

I used a plate rack to roll up and display baby blankies.

I used an enamel bucket to display more burp cloths.

3) Keep your booth organized. If people can't "see" your stuff or tell how much it costs, they'll move on.

This is an outdoor trellis that I spray painted and used to hang my items, keeping them better organized.

I used an old tool caddy to display binky bags and a spray painted Goodwill frame with all of my prices listed.

4) Make friends with the other vendors. Use this opportunity to network with the other vendors. It's a great time to share information about other craft shows and resources.

The booth next to mine was a children's clothing booth so we were able to share a lot of resources.

5) Smile and say "hello" to the shoppers. I read somewhere (I'm sorry but I don't remember where so I can't give proper credit) that if you smile, it makes it harder for people to keep walking past your booth.

6) Make sure to have business cards handy. A lot of people will take a card and check out your items at a later date.

My business card holder and price list.

7) Put items together to give people some gift ideas. You can always separate the items if someone doesn't want to buy the "set".

Here I've put matching binky bags and burp cloths together for a nice baby gift.

8) Wear an apron to keep money and other miscellaneous items in. If you're so inclined, you can make one using my craft vendor apron tutorial. I kept money in one side (make sure to have change for your shoppers) and my cell phone, pen and paper in the other pocket.

My craft vendor apron worked out perfectly, and my mom wore a regular
cooking apron with pockets.

Eventhough I didn't sell out, I had such a great time, met some great vendors and gained some experience for my next craft fair...which is in a week!

For those of you that have sold at craft fairs, antique markets, flea markets, please share any other advice that you've picked up along the way. We can always learn from each other!