How do you estimate number of potential sales from a new fair?

[falseawareness]

How many items would you sell at a fair you considered good? Can you estimate what your sales would be like based of attendance numbers? Or do people use other methods?

 

[Min]

On 5/25/2024 at 8:27 AM, falseawareness said:

How many items would you sell at a fair you considered good?

I go by sales figures rather than number of items. What I consider a good sale likely won't be what others are okay with and vice versa. It takes a while to dial in prices to what buyers will spend without undercutting yourself.

I never do a market without checking it out first, I go and walk around the venue, see how busy it is, if shoppers are actually buying and carrying bags, how crowded in the vendors are, booth spaces etc. Attendance does matter but the type of venue matters equally. Example would be a music festival where there is also a market area, there may have high attendance but people going to a music festival aren't going there to buy pottery.

Welcome to the forum.

[Roberta12]

@falseawareness what @Min said is spot on.  Best advice I ever received was to visit a market ahead of being a vendor.  You get an overall feel for how the market is organized, what the shopper demographic is, how far you will have to transport your very heavy pots and shelves, all of that, what products other vendors are selling.   I have been a vendor at a Beer festival and a wine festival.  People are there for the entertainment and food and music.  Not to buy pots.

Roberta

[GEP]

On 5/25/2024 at 11:27 AM, falseawareness said:

How many items would you sell at a fair you considered good?

It varies, depending on the size and scope of the show. For a good 1-day show, maybe 50 items. For a good 4-day show, maybe 250.

This answer does not apply to anyone but me. For everybody else, the answer will depend on your experience level.

 

On 5/25/2024 at 11:27 AM, falseawareness said:

Can you estimate what your sales would be like based of attendance numbers? Or do people use other methods?

 No. Attendance does not always correlate with sales. Attendees and serious buyers are not the same. Or sometimes a show will have great attendance, but your work does not fit in, for various reasons.

The “other method” that works is to go back to shows that you have done before. You can estimate your sales based on past sales at the same event. If it’s a quality show, your sales should improve as you continue to do it. For some shows, after several years it might run its course, where you have saturated that market and your sales start to decline. There really isn’t another reliable way to do it. 

I wholly endorse what @Roberta12 said … for shows that you have not done before, it really helps to visit it in person before you apply. You can gain so much insight just by being there and observing everything. 

Edited May 28 by GEP

[Roberta12]

actually it was @GEP who gave that advice!  I have stuck to it, (mostly)  A couple of times I didn't visit a show beforehand, I had regrets!  You might luck out, but it helps to get a feel for the venue just to see if it is a good fit for you.  

r.