Saturday, June 6, 2009

Weekly Craft Show: Part Four

By Rick Amorey

You will inevitably have to deal with the other sellers as often as setting up shop if you are in the habit of attending weekly craft shows. If you want to establish a relationship with everyone, then a little helpfulness, courteousness, and general amiability will go a long way. Personally, I try to lend a hand when other vendors are putting up their tents. It assures me that they will do the same, in turn.

The first and most important rule of inter-vendor relationships is that you must never steal their customers. Your pals beside you are trying to make money too, you know. Before calling out a potential customer's attention, make sure that he or she is neither looking at their booth nor walking over to it first. Even if you caused that customer to buy from you instead, you will have caused your neighbor a potential sale, too. This is bad karma at its finest. So catch the attention of the viewers, but don't do so at the expense of your friends.

It's a good thing to think about giving away vendor discounts early on. It's a usual courtesy to give a reduced price to fellow sellers; and they will of course offer you a reduced price as well. But don't drop it down to the cost either. A small percentage will already do nicely. And do remember to be consistent by offering all vendors the same discount.

However, a lot of sellers will not opt for the discount, though. Don't be surprised when someone asks you about this. Give it some thought, as it will benefit you either way. This sort of trade will get you the items you want without the matter of money changing hands. As long as you find something on their display to your fancy, and there is no money involved, then by all means, go for it.

Bottom line, it is important that one supports sellers whenever possible. As a rule of thumb, try to buy something from your peers at least once a week. Set aside a small amount of your profits so you can buy from the other sellers. Not all sellers will be amiable, though. There may be people who would thing your effort at friendliness may be a sort of conspiracy. But, these things just happen.

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