hello fellow ribblr beans! if all things go as planned, i’ll have a craft fair with my sister on october 11, and i need some tips. i’ve never done a market with crochet items before, so if you market veterans out there could help me out, i’d be so grateful<3 patterns that sell well, help on setting up the table, what i’ll need, pricing, etc etc. tysm and have a great day!!
I made a mock set up post you can check out!! I recommend making it so people can easily walk into your booth and see everything. I’m really bad at pricing, so I’ll let someone else handle that! The problem is pricing between what it’s worth and what people will pay for it.
For selling well, DEFINITELY have a $5 bin! That’s where I make a ton of my sales. Chickens, frogs, and mushrooms definitely do well
Be sure to have clear signage, and tags! No one likes having to ask for prices.
Make sure to be prepared for the elements! Rain, wind, and sun are your greatest enemies. Have tent weights, tape, and rocks at the ready for when you need them.
Ummm that’s all I can think of now! Get free to dm me with questions
Make as many things as possible! Do small things for cheaper because of kids then medium sizes and a few larger things!
I think @CrochetCutesyCreations made a post about market patterns!
Since its in october i say make some halloween stuff. @RueBriiFiber has a tester call for a pumpkin cat out that i think would sell well
I definitely agree with doing small things you can sell for cheap lots of people don’t want to spend to much but if their child sees a plush they really like for 5$ their parents will probably buy it just cause it’s cheap
tysm mercy, that’s super helpful!!<3
thank you!
oooh yes okay tysm kobra!
thanks!!
that makes sense, thank you!
I dont exactly consider myself a market veteran, but I’ve done my fair share!
First of all, make sure you have enough change. You can never have too much, and there is nothing worse that running out.
Second, have some sort of payment option other than cash. Alot of people have square readers, and just recently I got one and I used it a lot at my markets. You could also accept etransfers, but some people find it annoying to have to do that.
Third, have some sort of ‘show stopper’ peice. This could be a giant amigurumi, or just something really detailed and unique. It will draw attention and even if it doesnt sell, people might walk up because of it and end up buying a smaller item.
Fourth, have small items. I do keychains for $5 as well as small $5 items and those are by far my bestsellers. Some free patterns I use are Loops and knots crochet’s mini axolotl and bee, all from jade’s octo (she has a couple, they are all good), and Stacymakes’ mini tumbler(people love those, they like to get one that matches their own). There are lots more, and since you have a bunch of time you will probably be able to have quite a variety!
Fifth, DO NOT SELL YOURSELF SHORT!! I recommend estimating material cost, and then timing how long it takes to make something and paying yourself at least the minimum wage in your area. I also round to the nearest 10 or 5 and sometimes lower or raise because of how small or big something is. Some people choose to pay themselves less per hour because they consider it a hobby, and if so thats ok, but if you intend to continue doing markets as a business, charging more is probably better because its annoying to raise prices later on. For me personally, I pay myself at least $15 an hour, but it goes all the way up to $25 an hour for some items(and they still sell!).
And finally, table setup. I am a firm beleiver that you do not need lots of display pieces, and even now I just have a keychain stand, 2 tiered stands, and a wood crate i put stuff on top of. I like to place tiny things right up front so that kids can reach them, and bigger things further back because I dont really want kids grabbing them. Always do a mock setup, and you can play around with it then! A funny thing that I like to do is crouch down to the height of a little kid in front of my table, and see what everything looks like. It really makes you notice what things you see first, and what things you can reach, etc.
I hope this helps! If you want more tiny $5-$15 item ideas, I do have lots more, so just ask!
Good luck!
omg thanks so much!! this is really helpful :))
Of course!!! You’ll have to update us on how it goes, wishing you the best of luck <3
Yeah, I did :)