So You Want to Open a Market Booth?

Last March, I opened up a market booth inside of a local craft market, and I’ve been loving it.

I’m not a stranger to selling handcrafted items, both in person and online. I began my little “business” in 2008. Since then, I’ve sold my products at lots of craft festivals, and even inside of an antique store for a time. Between 2010-2015, I also wholesaled my products to boutiques across the United States.

But then, I pulled back. For a while, I didn’t sell anything at all. But a couple of years ago I got the idea to begin making bows from fabric instead of ribbon, and I haven’t looked back.

I was only selling on Etsy when I heard that a new craft market was opening in my community. My husband built the perfect display area for me, and it’s been such a fun hobby to keep it stocked.

Today, I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned through the years. If you’re considering selling in a craft market, maybe this post will be helpful to you.

Know your limits. I was very tempted to rent a larger space, but decided against it since I didn’t want to feel pressured to sell a huge amount of items to make a profit. This booth is more “hobby” than “job” for me, but I don’t want to lose money each month. (And making a profit is very nice, too.) So far, I’ve made a profit each month, which is great. I wasn’t so fortunate when I rented a space inside of an antique store about a decade ago. My bows sell way better than my books, which I knew would be the case going into it. But it’s nice to have a place for both items to be displayed, and for now, I’m keeping it as it is.

Know your market. Doing market research on a site like Etsy is a great way to see what’s selling craft-wise before you rent your booth. If you’re already selling well online, that’s a great sign that your products might sell well in person, too. But sometimes, they don’t! (Ask me how I know.) Keep track of what sells, and what doesn’t, and try to adjust your inventory accordingly. Prices might need to be adjusted sometimes, too. I just removed a lot of bag clips that weren’t selling and replaced them with bows that will hopefully sell better.

Know you’re doing a great job. It’s really easy to play the comparison game when you’re a part of a big market. But the thing is, to a large extent, if one person succeeds, everyone does. If a different booth is featured at the market, guess what? People who come in to view their booth will likely check out yours, too. Have faith in yourself, and don’t view the other vendors as competitors. Remember that you’re doing a great job, and any supposed “failure” is just an opportunity to learn and grow.

It also helps if the owner(s) of the market are kind, helpful, and have integrity. I loved selling my products at Crown Craft Market so much that I decided to enter another, unaffiliated location in May. I left over the summer because the owners raised my rates by over 50% less than three months into my contract. Since they broke the contract, I was able to leave without giving a notice, but I wasted a lot of time, money, and energy there.

But enough about that. This month is exciting because there are several Christmas activities planned at Crown Craft Market!