Getting ready for my first market! 😁

[DucksRCute]

Hi everyone!

I’m getting ready to sell my crochet items at my first local market this summer, and I’d love to hear any advice from people with more experience.

I’ll be selling things like plushies, keychains, and other handmade items. I’m trying to make sure I’m as prepared as possible, so I have a few questions:

What are some things you wish you knew before your first market?
What crochet items tend to sell the best?
Any display or booth setup tips?
Do you recommend taking cash, cards, or both?
How much inventory should I bring?
Any mistakes I should avoid?

I’d also love to hear any general tips or lessons you’ve learned from selling at markets. Thank you so much in advance—I really appreciate any advice!

[autisticcrochet]

Hello! I would recommend taking both forms of payment. Yes bring lots of back up so your display doesn’t look empty, but keep it behind your table so it’s not too crowded and elevate some plushies on shelves or other things. I also found that small plushed sell the best(try to find no sew patterns), those are all all of my tips. good luck!

[peachyxtulips]

hello! i’m doing my first market as well, and i don’t have any advice. but i would like to link this post incase you haven’t seen it yet. i found it very helpful!

edit: the post didn’t show up before, but here it is lol @DucksRCute

Compilation of Market Posts

Hi everyone! I’ve seen a lot of people asking for advice about markets so I thought I’d compile all the Ribblr posts that I’ve bookmarked over time, into one resource. If anyone would like me to remove their information from this topic, please let me know. All credit goes to the original creators of these posts. Item Ideas Popular Less Common Seasonal Advice General Display Custom Orders Pricing Supplies Packaging Inventory Motivation Customer Interaction Market Experiences Also Co…

[hippohook]

Good luck!

[CakeGirl42]

Ngl, I came here bc of the goose. hehehehe…

Note that all my prices are in USD

I’ve only gone to 1 market, and I’ll be doing another one in about a week, but here are some tips I binged learned along the way <3

Bring at least 1 ‘wow’ piece. It should be large enough for people to see from far away, and it will draw people into your booth

I don’t take card personally, but I take venmo and zelle because they have no tansaction fee <3

Personal bestsellers + things that sell out for most vendors

Unless stated, these patterns are free. <3

Mushie pops - Cable and Canvas YT (people love these)

Baby frogs - Lercomi Instagram (these are really small, and suishy)

Mini bees - Bee Link (ribblr) (So smoll, I like to make these with brown stripes instead of black, it’s just cuter <3)

Loaf Kitties $$$ - Annie Caraway Art (this is just such a cute pattern, and sells out really quick, highly recommend!) If you don’t want to pay for it, there is a similar pattern on youtube, highly recommend! <3

Personal “wow” factor:

Crochet by genna YT Strawberry turtle

Odds and ends (Super cute):

Baby geese - Silly Goose ribblr

Capybaras (I’m in the process of making a mini pattern <3)

Axolotls - I’m making a pattern for it, but there are many other great patterns on ribblr, and allegedly, purple (or is it blue) axolotls sell out due to minecraft? xD

Mini turtles - Use @ SugarSTUDIO’s 10 in 1 bundle, it is super cute! <3

Honestly, try something the market hasn’t seen before, it does really well! I kind of just make whatever, and it usually sells <3

Displays:

I got these displays off of temu and they work great!

I am unable to access the link, but here is a picture of it! <3

This was found on amazon, and my guess is they got it from temu <3

I crocheted a leaf vine and I will use it to hang off my tent <3

That’s kind of it, but some display tips are:

• Try to get your items eye level. Apparently it’s a psychological thing, and makes people want to buy it more (???)
• I like to go with wood displays, it feels nicer + more elegant
• CLOTH TABLECOVER - It looks so much nicer than a plastic one, and makes your booth feel more “expensive” (?)

You will usually sell 50-80% of stuff, so I just use Excel to keep track of my inventory, and the price, and I’ll divide my total inventory ($) by 2 to see about how much I’ll earn lol

General tips:

• Bring a friend with you to help set up + watch your booth + yap when the market is slow
• Make a lot of $5-10 items, sometimes I’ll even go towards $15. Kids don’t usually have a lot to spend, so I kind of feel bad when they aren’t allowed to get anything and cry <3
• Make an individual price sign for multiple items, people hate asking <3
• Tag individual items with the price
• Keep an inventory sheet with the price, amount, and NAME of the plushie, and have a colum to keep track of sales, and to refer back to when someone asks the price <3
• Crochet at the market, it shows people that YOU made the items <3
• I will usually offer free keychains if you want one because some people don’t and it makes your booth more interactive
• Arrive at least 1 hr before the event starts to set up. You don’t want to be that vendor who is still setting up when the event begins.
• When in doubt **BRING TAPE - **I like to bring some tape (Clear, 1+2 sided) just in case you want to decorate <3
• People are usually super nice at a market, so don’t stress about it! People will understand! (And also people are usually as stressed as you are talking to each other xD)
• Price accordingly: Don’t under/over price your items! The lowest priced items are my baby birbs at $5. If the plushie took you a long time, don’t be scared to make it more expensive! A lot of color changes? Price it up! But make sure the price seems like a fair one, or else people won’t buy it.
• Bring change! Bring a LOT of spare $1, $5, a little bit of $10s, and maybe 1 or 2 $20s. Also make sure you wash your hands after touching money!
• Prep whatever! Try to make a list and focus on it! (mostly for smaller items, bees, frogs, birbs, ect.) I will try to make 5-6 of them, but I will get burnt out really fast, so smaller items can be rewarding! If I no longer want to make something, I will make a new pattern, and try to relax! Also, I may be wrong, but most of the time, only the smaller plushies actually sell xD. So instead of making a ton of large items, make a few larger sized items, and the rest should be small!
• If you have been making things without breaks for like 3 hrs. (I’m talking to you! xD) Go outside and touch grass for 30 min.
• Market prep at least a week before your market!
• Mock up your setup 1 day before the market

Edits:

• Bring a wagon to pull your stuff!

That’s kind of it, and I’ll add more once I think of it, but good luck at your market! <3

[nuggiemaster]

gl for the market! here are my tips!

~ usually smaller items like keychains or mini plushies sell better than the larger, pricier ones

~ i recommend to take both forms of payment as you never know what the customer wants to pay in

~ you should always bring more inventory than you think you will need.

[eddiexxx]

@DucksRCute

What are some things you wish you knew before your first market?
What crochet items tend to sell the best?
Any display or booth setup tips?
Do you recommend taking cash, cards, or both?
How much inventory should I bring?
Any mistakes I should avoid?

1 ~ to not stress!! I stressed so much i had to get a silent whistle necklace to calm me down. also, don’t under sell your stuff too, but obvi don’t make it too expensive
2 ~ axolotls, cats, seals, birds
3 ~ don’t pack it too much or too little, and make it kinda set up like a semi circle if yk what i mean
like dis

i like to use these lil wooden circles and some kitchen stands too lol
4 ~ do both, but say prefer cash because there is like a tax or smt on the card machines
5 ~ as much as you want! I sell mainly small £3 - £15 items and I usually have around £600 - £700 worth of stuff
6 ~ don’t give in to your friends nagging you for discounts!!!