How to Handle Slow Sales at Craft Fairs

So sales are a bit (or a lot) slow. Here’s some tips to handle it.

This weekend, I was at a market that I paid (for transparency) $200 to be at. Then I had to buy another square reader because for some reason those always go missing right before a market. Adding in some of the shelves I bought…all in I was maybe at $300, not including the supplies I had purchased to make the items.

Somewhere, I had read that when choosing a craft fair, you can roughly expect to make about 10X what you paid in entrance fees. The only other one that I’ve done amazing at has been pretty much exactly that, so I assumed this would be the same but still cut that in half to be conservative.

Worst comes to worst, I make my entry fee back…but I was expecting to make about double what I actually paid. Especially given that it was a two day show where I’d be away from my kids and both my mom and husband would be with them. Had I had to pay for childcare I probably would have made nothing!

When it became clear that the traffic at this show was NOWHERE near what I had been expecting, I was really bummed. But, being determined to not have it be a total wash, here’s some things I did to help the time go by.

Stay Positive

I went into the market determined to not have the experience be a complete wash, even if sales were slower than I wanted them to be. Admittedly, this is much harder to do than to say! I tried to look at it as a little getaway where I could knit, listen to podcasts/audiobooks if it’s slow, and be an independent adult if all else failed.

I also listened to like four episodes of the first season of Gilmore Guys for the fall vibes, so I got a slight bump in serotonin or something, right?

Assess the situation

In some cases, the cause of the slow market is super easy to pinpoint – the weather is awful and no one wants to come outside, or there’s a ton of traffic because of another event going on. Or, is there a football game on TV? The world cup? I don’t think this was the cause of this market but it’s definitely something to check before signing up!

Sometimes, it’s the market itself that just isn’t a good fit.

Before committing to a market…

Check with the organizer to make sure that this is not a multi-level marketing (MLM) inclusive event. If it is, it’s likely not the audience you’re looking for. At the worst event I’ve ever been to, I had exactly ONE sale from a family member of a vendor and was sandwiched between Mary Kay and Scentsy tables. Thankfully I hadn’t paid to be in this one, but I learned my lesson the hard way!
Check with the organizer to see how they are handling duplicate or similar vendors. If they’re allowing all of them indiscriminately, it’s probably best to pass. At the one this weekend they had said that they weren’t allowing duplicates but there was definitely two other vendors selling crochet plushies and one vendor that specialized in alpaca items. Luckily, I was the only one with knit items, but I think I sold only 4 hats!
Talk to other vendors to see how they’re doing – is it just you that’s not doing well (aka this isn’t the right fit for you) or if everyone is in the same boat (this points to more an issue with the marketing, or outside factors).

Rethink Your Strategy:

As you think about your engagement (or lack thereof), ask yourself the following:

Does your pricing need to change? (either lower or higher)
Do you need to engage more with customers? Saying a quick “Good morning!” makes you more approachable than if you sit in the back of your booth.

Are there changes you can make with your setup, either at this market or future markets?
- If everything is just laying flat on the table, I guarantee this is part of your problem.
If there are other vendors who make similar items that appear to be doing better than you, why do you think that is?
- Do they use different materials (a different yarn texture or color scheme)
- Are their prices a lot different in either direction?
- Do they have popular items that you don’t?

Network with Other Vendors:

Be friendly and talk to your neighbors! Ask how they got started, how the show is going for them, if they’ve been there before. Especially when it’s slow, it’s great to learn from and about each other. My neighbor at this event was Casa Blanca Luxuries – they make candles and linen sprays that are clean and smell divine. We bonded over slow sales, true crime, and deciding not to be lawyers after making it through admittedly too much school for that to make sense, ha! (Luckily it worked out, I ducked out before going to law school and she pivoted to get a master’s.)

Since we both sell items with cozy vibes, during a slow part I asked her if she wanted to do a social media collab because, hey, we could both use the engagement, and while we’re here, we might as well get some content made!

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Plan to have a friend or family member visit you

*I’m pretty sure lunch was a write off.*

My lovely mama came to to see me halfway through day 2 and she was able to watch the booth while I browsed other vendor’s stands, did some market research by checking on similar artists’s prices, picked up lunch and coffee for me from the food trucks outside, and brought the mirror that I forgot to get. It’s nice to see a friendly face and even nicer when they help you!

Utilize Social Media:

Collab with other vendors – you’ve got time and a TON of your items are already out and available!
Share about the market on social media before and during the event to encourage more traffic.
Make sure your links are posted and you hand out your business card – even if someone didn’t make a purchase, you can get more exposure.
Sometimes people will look through your things and want a specific pattern but in a different color or a different size. I always give those people my card and encourage them to reach out for custom orders!
Follow other vendors – other small businesses often understand the value of social media engagement and geniune engagement is always valuable!

Bring your yarn:

This one almost seems stupid to say because if you have enough product to sell at a market, it’s likely that you don’t go anywhere without yarn. BUT.

Bring a bunch with you and knit or crochet the patterns that seem popular while you’re there! People love to watch you work and it can draw people in. It also humanizes the products you’re selling and I think it adds a nice touch in a world where we have little to no idea how our clothing is made.

Be kind & find the positive (yes, again)

Even if there are flaws with the show, be kind to the organizers. They are people with feelings too and no one *made* you pay the entrance fee. Like most business things, you took a calculated risk and it turned out to be riskier than you expected.

I know for next year to skip this market, but what I gained was:

a completed kid’s bear hat and two luxury pumpkins to fulfill some Etsy orders
a vendor friend who traded a candle for some pumpkins
collab content that I can use to post on social media this month
an idea of what items are popular as I prep for my December market
time with my mom without kids (sometimes ya just need adult time!)
adorable excited shrieks from my girls when I came home and extra sweet time playing with them
juuuuuust enough funds to be able to place a wholesale order for some fancy schmancy yarn, now to pick colors!
a new appreciation to do more research on a market before signing up!

How to Handle Slow Sales at Craft Fairs

So sales are a bit (or a lot) slow. Here’s some tips to handle it.

Stay Positive