Craft shows - are they worth it?

[Doug B]

I am set to participate in a big craft show in Ruidoso, NM on Memorial Day Weekend. Big deal there, and the start of the horse racing season. I have been looking forward to doing this show since last October when we did the last Ruidoso craft show of the season.

Then reality hit me when I had to make all the arrangements...

$80.00 fee for the craft show
$89.00/night was the cheapest motel I could find for the weekend and all the places require a 3 night minimum for that weekend. With taxes, it is over $300.00 for the 3 nights. Dang! I gotta sell a lot of pens to cover that expense! I am hoping to do as well as last October, but if I don't...

Last October I went up early on a Saturday and so only had one night of motel expense, but this time that cost will triple. All of a sudden LOML is asking some tough questions like - Is this going to be worth doing? Too late! I'm committed to both the craft show and the motel. No refunds on either one at this point. I may be just doing this to break even, but that is not what I intended to do. I had hoped to do a little better than breaking even, but I have to do better than last time for that to happen. That is very possible to happen since this is going to be a big 3 day weekend, but it might not.

This has all made me wonder if out of town craft shows are even worth doing? Without the motel cost, I'm sure it would be a worthwhile show, but that $300.00 Motel expense is going to make it hard to come out ahead on this one.

Makes me wonder why so many folks are still willing to do the craft show thing...there are going to be a lot of vendors at this one and I doubt that very many are going to be locals.

I had thought I could make a little extra cash by doing the craft shows after I retired, but it is really looking like it will just help pay for my turning addiction ;D That is still worth doing, but not what I had hoped for.

Any thoughts?

[sdb777]

Maybe it's time to think about a pop-up camper or something....

We bought one a few years back for camping/fishing trips that we take during the summer. Fees for cabins beside a coldwater trout stream are pretty outrageous.....but the camping spots with electrical----better.
The camper has probably already paid for itself twice, as we fish a lot(use to until my my back thing this year, we still haven't been).

All you can do at this point is cross those fingers and sell your butt off(well, maybe not your butt...you might end up worse off)! But your works speak for themshelves, and hopefully you will be really busy and come home with no product, just cash!



Scott (wishing you the best at the show) B

[Ruffnek]

Me and Boodrow did a show in the Houston area a couple of years ago and I barely broke even because of the motel expense. That one was not worth it to me.

At the Canton First Monday Trades Days a lot of the vendors have a travel trailer right outside their booth, especially those booths under the pavilions. There's a travel trailer park within walking distance that is always full, too.

I think that's the only way to go if doing a regular craft show circuit...drive or tow your own accommodations. The key word there is "regular." If you only do a few shows a year, then neither paying for a motel or buying the gas to pull a camper is gonna be cost effective. But, if you are serious about generating some real income, then you are probably looking at a show every week during the spring and fall season. In that case, a camper would be a good investment.

Again, I'll refer you to the IAP "Marketing and Shows" forum. Lots of those guys make their living doing craft shows. There's a bunch of valuable information there about how they go about it.

[art3427]

I was wondering about the same issue this morning. Can I make some pocket money with my hobby? I perused several sites where folks sell over the internet. I noticed that the prices on similar items often had wide ranges. My gut is that some are making a killing while others are loosing their shirt. There are 2-3 major craft shows in my area each year. The usual fees apply for me except I could stay home at night. Any advice on which way I should go - internet marketing or craft shows - would be appreciated.

art

[Stretch]

Well you asked for my thoughts. So here they are in order. ;D

1. You should have bought my house in Ruidoso when I was selling it. Then you would have a workshop there and wouldn't be renting a hotel room. ;D

2. You should have checked on hotels in Tularosa or Alamogordo. The drive really isn't all that bad especially when it can take longer to get from one side of Ruidoso to the other when the town is full of tourists.

3. While you're there you should check on finding a shop that will sell your stuff on consignment. Then you'll have a presence there year round. I can tell you that your pine cone turnings and your turnings from native New Mexican woods will probably sell like hotcakes if you find the right shop, especially if you throw in some turquoise here and there. I mean your stuff beats the hell out of all those stupid chain saw bears they sell there.

[Doug B]

LMAO! Yes, I wish I could have bought your house with a shop when you moved Stretch, but that was not possible. I've been telling LOML that we need to move to Ruidoso but she is not willing to move away from the 2 year old grandson and now there is another one coming in August, so that just is not going to happen.

I have lots of relatives in Alamogordo, but that is only half way to Ruidoso from where I live. I could do that, but we kinda like staying in Ruidoso.

When we win the lottery, there will not be a problem. ;D

I'm thinking that doing "away" craft shows is OK if you only have to spring for one night in a motel, but everywhere we checked required 3 night minimum for the Memorial Day weekend.

A camper would be great, but I have absolutely no room to park one right now. I need to trade my boat for a camper I guess, but that is going to be hard to do - that is my dream boat and took me many years to be able to buy it. I suppose it would pay off in the long run, but man I could stay at a motel lots of times for what it would cost to buy a camper. Nothing is ever easy, is it? ;D

Thanks for all the replies guys...I am committed to this upcoming craft show, but I'm taking a serious look at when and where to do them.

Oh yes, almost forgot, I have looked into the consignment thing and the shops need a lot of markup on the product. I understand that, but there is no way I can sell my stuff to them for that price. The one thing I know for sure is that I need to market my goods myself.

[boodrow]

Doug IMHOP I would not sink that kinda money in doin a show. With the cost of fuel , eatin out the whole time ur there ur lookin prob at 500 +. Got to sell lots o chit at a high price to make that up. But playin the stock market shows I dont know chit. ;D
Boodrow

[sachbvn]

I can't reply all if like to right now, but I don't think of do a show thy required a nights stay at a hotel or anything. If you had a pop up camper or something, that be a different story. Best of luck to you friend!


Zac

[Stretch]

May 15, 2010 0:16:47 GMT -6 Doug B said:

LMAO! Yes, I wish I could have bought your house with a shop when you moved Stretch, but that was not possible. I've been telling LOML that we need to move to Ruidoso but she is not willing to move away from the 2 year old grandson and now there is another one coming in August, so that just is not going to happen.

The thing your wife needs to understand is that when you live in a place like Ruidoso, all of a sudden all your relatives really love you and visit you all the time. When we lived there we always had people coming for a visit even when they had to drive 12 hours. Now the drive to visit us is much shorter, but suddenly they just don't have the time to drive so far.

[sawduster]

May 16, 2010 12:33:23 GMT -6 Stretch said:

May 15, 2010 0:16:47 GMT -6 Doug B said:

LMAO! Yes, I wish I could have bought your house with a shop when you moved Stretch, but that was not possible. I've been telling LOML that we need to move to Ruidoso but she is not willing to move away from the 2 year old grandson and now there is another one coming in August, so that just is not going to happen.

The thing your wife needs to understand is that when you live in a place like Ruidoso, all of a sudden all your relatives really love you and visit you all the time. When we lived there we always had people coming for a visit even when they had to drive 12 hours. Now the drive to visit us is much shorter, but suddenly they just don't have the time to drive so far.

Don't get me wrong, but that sounds like an argument against living in Ruidoso or someplace similar. I do like folks coming to visit, and we've got a guest bedroom for just that purpose. But I also like my privacy, and having folks there all of the time would be wearisome.

BTW: My brother-in-law and his wife will be visiting us tonight. Long as he don't start his Noah's Arc preaching to me, we'll be alright.

Far as the minimum stay requirement, this is a very special weekend coming up, Memorial Day and the beginning of the horse racing season and lots of vacation spots will require minimum stays so that they stay fully occupied.

[Doug B]

Yeah Jerry, Memorial Day weekend is a very special time in Ruidoso. I hope that means lots of customers willing to buy my turnings.

I am going with the intention of having fun and nothing more. Whatever happens, happens and I will have no regrets. And, I will never know unless I give it a try. Someday down the road I may be able to make a decent profit at these craft shows. This is just another situation for me to experience and learn from.

In the future I'm going to be a little more careful in what I commit to.