GurulePrescott285
About the only thing I appreciate much more than generating my bead jewelry at home is selling my bead jewelry at local craft shows and fairs! I've attended hundreds of craft shows and partipated in fair quantity myself. I am constantly dismayed, nevertheless, to see gorgeous jewelry and pieces that don't sell at shows merely due to the fact the artisan forgot some extremely standard guidelines of operating at craft shows.
Here are some of the useful pieces of suggestions and ideas I can offer to the beginner bead jewelry artist and any person else who is just beginning out selling to craft shows:
1. Know Your Audience: Attempt to get a sense of what sort of crowd you are going to encounter at your upcoming craft show and cater your inventory to that crowd. Whilst going to the show every year is the finest way to find out this, there are other approaches you can use. Is the town exactly where the craft show becoming held largely upper class or middle class? You may want to adjust your pricing accordingly. Are the buyers going to be young children or older folks? If the craft show is near or in a school I virtually always bring along a few "Kid Displays" exactly where I location all my little plastic bead jewelry. I've had far more than one particular youngster drag her parents over to my table to see the pieces I place out particularly for them. If you are going to be showing in or around a nursing home you could want to think about shifting your inventory. Older consumers adore beaded eyeglass chains, bracelets with huge, simple clasps and "smoother" beads that aren't sharp on when laying against bare skin.
two. Use Business Cards: Each time I sell a piece of jewelry at a craft show I package it in a neat tiny bag with my company card inside. I do this because even though I currently sold a piece of jewelry, I frequently have people contacting me weeks, months and even years later to see if they can order the exact same or related pieces for buddies and relatives. I also list my web site on the cards to individuals can browse and by my products in the comfort of their personal residence!
three. Be Flexible with Pricing: This also goes back to knowing your audience. I typically do not put value tags on any of my pieces. This way men and women require to ask about pricing and I can adjust my cost up and down a couple of dollars on the fly, based on the sort of audience, the size of the crowd and whether or not I genuinely want to sell the piece. And, yes, my rates sometimes adjust all through the day. Some people come to craft shows expecting to haggle, so it is often wise to quote a price tag a handful of dollars more than you might normally ask so you have some bargaining room. Although you might be uncomfortable with this at 1st, I locate it to be quite useful. I can not inform how you many pieces I've sold only after speaking with the customer and chatting about the price. One particular of my preferred approaches is to sell a pair of earrings with a beaded bracelet for only a couple of dollars a lot more. The client likes acquiring a "bundled" deal and I like selling two pieces and producing a small added profit.
four. Accept Checks and Credit Cards: Cash is naturally preferred, but checks are straightforward to accept. In all my years of going to craft shows I've in no way been cheated by someone bouncing checks. Several men and women bring money to craft shows, but sometimes there are just so several great things that by the time the individual gets to your booth she could not have something left! Credit Cards are a tiny trickier. If you happen to be going to verify the credit card then you'll need to have an electric supply and a telephone connection of some sort. A lot of folks, myself included, will frequently just use a manual credit card swiper with carbon paper. No electrical power is necessary, you just enter the numbers into your personal computer or electronic machine when you get house. To accept credit cards you are going to almost certainly want a merchants account and I've identified that most local banks can aid you out or point you in the appropriate path. It genuinely is not very pricey to do. I set up my 1st account and bought my manual swiper and carbons for less than $50.
Selling your bead jewelry at craft shows is an amazingly fulfilling knowledge and a excellent ego booster, not to mention a entertaining way to make some extra cash. Following these simple guidelines will aid you sell a lot more jewelry and have enjoyable at the identical time! hearing aids hearing aids hearing aids
