Craft Market Tips and Tricks

Submitted by: Maia Stark, Gallery Assistant

As someone who has only recently begun to be a vendor at local craft markets, I scoured the internet for ideas and tips for my first market experience! I was terrified of forgetting something simple but crucial. In this post, I’d like to list some of the valuable advice I’ve discovered!

Tip #1: Emphasize the hand-made quality of your work.

The first time I bought handmade goods online I was struck and charmed by the special touches the merchant had added: a handwritten “thank you!” note, a cute sticker, colourful string around the interior package. It may be worth thinking about some kind of unique wrapping or nice packaging. When customers feel special and take their purchase home in a way that’s markedly different from a typical retail purchase, they remember that experience. Buying local and handmade products is a special moment in a mass produced retail world—help people remember why buying local is great!

Tip #2: Have works that reflect a range of prices.

Though it doesn’t work for every craftsperson, this is a tip that I’m slowly becoming convinced is very useful. Not only does this mean that everyone who attends the market can afford to buy something at your stall, but shoppers tend to look at prices and objects comparatively. When a browser sees something small and simply made for $10.00, and then looks around the table to see a large complex piece for $65.00, and the even more complex, absolutely stunning piece for $200.00, math is happening. The customer will quickly relate and compare the price to the handiwork, size, and labour which is reflected. Shoppers will (hopefully) understand that your prices are not arbitrary numbers, but each price reflects time, experience, skill, and materials. Shoppers new to craft and new to markets may quickly dismiss items as “too expensive.” By finding a way to have a range of prices which reflect the quality and breadth of your skill, you are assuring customers that you are pricing considerately and according to quality.

Tip #3: Price everything visibly.

This seems like a simple act, but this small tip will keep people looking longer. Shy customers or ones that are reluctant to get involved with the merchant right away will leave preemptively if they are faced with the choice of asking “how much is that? … and that? and this one?” Not only should everything be priced but have the price visible. Pricing with stickers on the bottom of pieces is fine, but if you have delicate or large works, customers will hesitate to pick objects up to check the price themselves. If you think that lots of price tags will make for a messy display, try having small signs set up in sections that say “20-30 dollars” or “50 and up,” so that customers know your price range and you get to keep a minimalist display.

Tip #4: Be present.

At my first craft market my feet were killing me. My partner-in-crime and I had to sit down several times. However, while I sat, I noticed that people didn't seem to talk to us as much. Perhaps the height hierarchy made people feel uncomfortable. Perhaps they think “Oh, she’s taking a break, I’ll come back.” There is something about sitting a lot which I think can prevent people from spending time at your table. Similarly, I think that if a vendor looks bored or tired, people are less likely to approach. This makes for an exhausting day, of course. Smiling and interacting all day, for hours, all while trying not to seem to pander for attention! As well, I fully support that if someone wants to be a crabcake, they should be a crabcake without judgement! Sometimes you just need to humor a bad mood and let yourself feel what you feel. Nevertheless, during a craft market a friendly and open atmosphere could easily increase your sales.

Tip #5: Offer different payment options.

Many people just don’t carry cash anymore! This can certainly be frustrating for vendors. Perhaps you or someone else you know has been in the situation when a customer is really excited by your product and then they say,  dunn dunn dunnnnn: “Do you take visa?” Your face falls. You want to say, “Are you kidding? I made my display out of old lumber, nails, and discount gold spray paint. I don’t have a debit/credit machine!” Luckily there have been developments in the last few years— new ways of accepting cards which don’t let credit card companies charge you extraordinary percentages after you spend upwards of $400.00 on a wireless machine! One such new method is “Square Up,” which is a system that only requires an account (free to sign up for), and a small card reader (also free). All that you require is a smart phone with access to the internet. Square Up takes only 2.75% of each swiped sale, and you have free access to their entire digital inventory system which can also help you track your sales. Being able to take credit cards will certainly increase your sales—customers who don’t make the trip to the ATM will be able to buy product from you!

Square Up lets multiple users access inventory and make sales, depositing sales overnight directly into your bank account. Customers can even request an emailed or texted receipt (Squareup).

For more tips and lots of display ideas, check out these other blogs and websites!

Creative Income

Carosello

Festival Net

Catshy Crafts

Stumbles and Stitches

UK Craft Blog

Tips on Pricing Your Craft - Part Two: An Equation for Pricing for Profit

Submitted by: Amanda Bosiak, Former Member Services Coordinator

This is Part Two of our "Tips on Pricing Your Craft" series.  This week looks at Pricing for Profit.

Realistically, how do you place a dollar figure on your work? And how do you make it a profitable figure? Many craft people use a Material Cost + Profit equation that all too often falls way short of the mark. How do you know how much “profit” is enough? And how much of that is really profit? Remember that you have costs related to selling your work that cut into that profit. If you sell your own work at markets, those expenses (booth fees, travel and meals, accommodations and time lost from your studio) all eat into your profit by 30% - 50%. If you sell your work by wholesale or commission, you also lose up to 50% off the retail price.

Well, there is a tried and true method known as “Cost Plus Pricing”. Here is the basic formula:

MATERIALS + WAGE + OVERHEAD = COST

COST X 2 = RETAIL PRICE

Here is a brief breakdown of that formula:

MATERIALS: This is pretty self-explanatory – the cost of materials for each piece.

WAGE: This is the really important part! If you aren't paying yourself a wage, you should really start now! Be reasonable and fair with yourself – start at minimum wage and add to it based on your experience, education etc. You can also think of the wage part of the equation as the minimum profit you will make on each sale – so if you are uncomfortable with working out a wage for yourself, put the minimum profit amount in its place. Now, whether you sell the work yourself, through wholesale or commission, you KNOW that you will profit at least that much!

OVERHEAD: This is the pro-rated amount of your annual utility bills (for studio and office space), packaging and office supplies, equipment and professional fees, etc. Even if you work out of a corner of your basement, living room or garage, you still have overhead.

COST: Now you see the real cost of your work, beyond the cost of materials!

X2 = RETAIL: Now you see what the retail value of your work really is!

After you apply the Cost Plus formula to your work, you will probably still have to do some adjustment for your customer base, competitive advantage, and tiered pricing levels. Adjustments can be made to round figures up or down to more “attractive” price points (amounts ending in 0, 5 or 9 for example: round an item that is $27.86 up to $30 or down to $25) or to allow for consistency in pricing between different sizes of similar products.

In addition, you may find that some products will require the application of “Added Value” strategies. Branding and packaging are two ways to do this. Also, offering “limited edition” work and including support material with your work such as a biography on yourself, and care instructions for your product, all add to the perceived value of your work.

MAKING CHANGES GRADUALLY

If after all this you find that you have in fact been vastly under pricing your work, you will be in a position where you need to decide on a strategy for gradually increasing your prices. Should you find that you have been selling your work for half of what you need to in order to make a profit, it can be difficult to suddenly double all of your prices. It will be a shock to your customers, and a hard thing for you to confidently stand behind.

There are two times of the year when price increases are the easiest to apply, and these tend to fall during craft market and retail sales lulls; that is September (after summer sales, before Christmas sales) and January/February (after Christmas sales, before spring sales). So rather than doubling your prices at one time, try going up roughly 20% in the fall, and another 20% or so in the new year, or the next fall. New customers won’t know the difference, and your regular customers will take it in stride when you apply larger increases slowly over a set period of time.

A FINAL NOTE ON PRICING

Pricing your craft work – for profit and sales – is an ongoing process. Evaluating your prices every year or two should be a part of your business practice. There are a few other things to keep in mind:

Your costs will change (usually becoming higher) and so will your access to the materials you use for your work.

Your customer base will change – regular customer will age and experience income changes over time. New customers will require new products, and lower priced items to introduce them to your work.

The economy is in constant flux, with customers having varying amounts of disposable income from year to year. Even over the course of the year, as noted above, there are ebbs and flows in the annual spending cycle of the typical consumer.

Sometimes, it isn't the price of your work that keeps people from buying it. It could be that you are selling in the wrong markets (craft markets and/or stores/galleries with the wrong customer base). OR, the harder thing to admit to (on your ego and artistic soul), is it could be the product itself is not attractive to consumers, either in style or functionality. Consider your market and your product as you work towards successful sales, and good luck!

Tips on Pricing Your Craft

Submitted by: Amanda Bosiak, Former Member Services Coordinator

This two-part article is a summary of information provided in the SCC’s “Pricing your craft” workshop. The workshop is offered once or twice a year by the SCC in both Saskatoon and Regina. Groups or guilds can also request a presentation of the workshop by emailing scc.memberservices@sasktel.net.

PART ONE

Pricing can be one of the most difficult aspects of a craft artist’s practice. Unlike the creative process, pricing is part of the business side of craft – the side that a) takes time away from the studio and b) forces an artist to consider the worth of their work. Simply put, pricing can be both annoying and scary. It is however, essential to the success of a craft artist’s career. Getting money for your work is one thing – making a profit from your work is an entirely different matter.

In my experience more often than not, craft artists under price their work. This happens for various reasons, but the most common are

• The artist undervalues their own skill and experience: they are too humble to ask what they should be asking for their work
• The artist worries that if they price their work at what it is worth, it will not sell
• The artist has work they feel is similar to items available at big box and chain retail outlets, and they feel that in order to compete they need to have lower prices

Regardless of the reason for under pricing, the end result is the same. For one thing, under pricing because you don’t value your work can also lead to your customers undervaluing your work and you, as a creator. For another, it can mean that you are not making the money (profit) you should be making from your craft business. Under pricing can lead to financial loss. If you are hoping to make a living off of selling your craft, then you simply can’t afford to ask for less than what your product is worth.

As for competing with big box stores and the like – you aren’t. Craft purchasers are a distinct group of consumers, often separate from the group of consumers that frequent discount retailers and chain stores. Yes, there is some cross-over but generally speaking, your customer base is a group of people with discerning taste, who chose to shop locally and shop handmade as often as possible.

It is easy to forget this, because the odd person who comes to your booth at a market and gasps that the price is too high, are the people that stick in your mind. Forget them. They are not a part of your customer base.

Still worried about competing with big retail? Have a look at this mug from Anthropologie for $38 USD.  Or this handwoven scarf from Browns Fashion for $335 CAD.

Once you get over all the reasons (excuses!) you have for under pricing your work, there are a few Golden Rules to keep in mind about pricing.

1. Always stand behind your price: Don’t undervalue yourself or your work by haggling with your customer.
2. NEVER lower the price if an item isn’t selling. Instead you may need to look at ways to Add Value (make it more attractive to the customer). Alternately, you may need to assess the product: the price may not be the reason it isn’t selling. Does the product function in a way that fits your customer’s needs? Does the style speak to your current customer base while also attracting new customers?
3. BE CONSISTENT. Whether you sell your work out of your studio, at a market or in a gift shop or gallery, the price should be the same at all locations. This is a basic professional practice.
4. Provide a quality product! Whether it is a new product, or one you have been selling for years; make it well.

In the second part of this series on pricing, I will introduce you to the Cost Plus method for pricing for profit!  Stay tuned!