Watcha' sellin' ? (And how are you selling it?)

[WV Sawmiller]

   Yeah but did you plug in the critical data info to truly determine what sells - I.e What color sells the best?  (That's okay - we all know the answer. )  

[Old Greenhorn]

I thought you were at a show until at least 8pm tonight?

[WV Sawmiller]

  I went down and set up at 11:00 am. I had a nice spot right at the corner by our town's one red light. I had plenty of space to set up and since I could place my stuff directly from my trailer/truck without having to carry them in/out of a building it was much easier and faster to set up and break down.

    The crowd seemed to be pretty good. It was cold (High about 36 F) but clear. I talked with a lot of people but only sold a few birdhouses and crates. I had one lady at the end of the day who may come look at a bench for her husband. It had already gotten dark and I suggested she come look when she could appreciate the color and such better. I had one lady who bought 3 crates but did not have enough cash for a 4th one (I think she thought I'd throw in another for $5 and I did not). One guy came back and got my card and pointed to a building a couple hundred yards away that they are setting up and sounded like they may want to re-sell some of my items or they may want them to use for their furnishing and set up/display. I told him I also do consignment in some cases. We will see if that pays off.



    I may pick up some more sales and some sawing jobs from this but just based on todays sales it was pretty much a bust. I was going to load up about 6 pm but they were already forming for a parade and I could not get past the band from where I was parked at the courthouse so I just stayed and watched then loaded. I'd have been better jut leaving the benches at home as they re outside the purchase price for most of these customers who were looking for small items. On guy had to give me a check for a $15 birdhouse.

  BTW I counted and see I had taken 22 benches. Probably too many but I did use some to display birdhouses and such.

    I guess I left the flashers on too long and when I got ready to go I had killed my battery so a city cop came over and jumped me off. I had jumper cables so it was not a big delay.

[Old Greenhorn]

That's a boat load of benches Howard! I'd say too much, although I can see it looked good. I try to avoid displaying one product on top of another one. It makes the lower one seem like a prop and not for sale. Maybe consider some 6 foot plastic tables that fold in half? I use 2 of them at shows and they pack easy and are lightweight.
 I have come around to the idea of small space, or difficult shows mean more carefully thinking through the display. I put a few times out of each thing and keep replacements in a crate under the table.
 It's all a crapshoot and you have to figure things out as you go, but putting a ton of work into a low yield show can be disheartening if it happens too often. I've been analyzing my shows this year and trying to decide on a strategy for next year. There are a lot of nuances.