Recessionary Pricing

I’m turning next weekend’s arts/crafts show into a social and financial experiment. I’m going to lower my prices and see what happens. This is anathema to many artists who worry about being justly compensated for their time and talent, but challenging economic times call for new approaches.

Thanks to a lot of downtime in the past few months, my inventory has become huge, so I really need to move a lot of products. I’m willing to sacrifice price for volume. I will still make a profit on each sale, not a huge profit, but a profit nonetheless. And I’d rather make a small profit than carry home and store a huge inventory.

Since I got rid of my merchant account late last year in a fit of anger and frustration about the ever-increasing bank fees, I can risk making a little less money on each transaction knowing I don’t have to pay the bank for the “privilege” of accepting credit cards. Of course, that could back-fire on me if people aren’t carrying around cash or checks, but I’m willing to take the risk at this upcoming show to learn how much of a difference in makes in this economy.

I have artist friends who have never taken credit/debit cards and seem to do just fine. They’ve built a following of repeat customers who know what form of payment to make. I have other friends who pay steep fees to be able to take Visa, Master Card, even American Express and Diner’s Club (does anyone really use a Diner’s Club card anymore?). They are terrified of any potential sale walking away because the buyer can’t use plastic to pay for a $3 bracelet.

Those friends are equally terrified of having checks bounce. In the nearly 10 years that I’ve been selling my textile art at shows throughout the West and on the East Coast, I’ve never received a bad check. I trust my customers to make a valid payment just as they trust me to make a quality product.

So we’ll see how next weekend’s show in Grand Lake goes and what effect the economy has on sales and types of payment. Not taking credit cards may mean I miss a few higher-end impulse purchases, but I’m hoping the lower prices will make up for it. I’ll post my observations, for better or worse, in the week after the show.

Show Time!

What’s the perfect length of an arts/crafts show?

Are one-day shows worth the effort spending hours setting up and breaking down only to be selling for a single day? Or are they a good opportunity to test a market? Does it make a difference if they’re close to home or father away? Does sleeping in your own bed make a one-day show more acceptable than having to stay in a hotel?

Conversely, are three-day shows too long? Are sales on that third day worth the extra time? Are they acceptable for long holiday weekends but not otherwise?

I ask all of this because a new show is being started here and the organizers are debating whether, because it’s new, it should just be one day.

I’m not sure what the answer is. I’m planning to commit to the new show no matter how many days it runs because it’s nearby, in a great outdoors location that attracts a lot of tourists and planned for a weekend when I have no other commitments. But I know several artists, particularly those with heavy products such as pottery, who say they will never do a one-day event.

I do think three-day shows are torture. By the middle of the third day artists are ready to just go home. Everyone’s tired and sales usually are minimal. The last time I did a three-day show over Memorial Day weekend I swore I’d never do one again. I haven’t.

And what hours should a show keep? Does keeping booths open until 8pm make much of a difference in sales? It hasn’t for me. The music at an event may be attracting people in the evening, but it’s usually a crowd looking for entertainment, not art.

I think shows that wait until 10am to open are losing a lot of sales. Those early birds are usually the ones who want to shop, not just look around. I like those that open at 9 (and I still seem to make sales at 8 while I’m setting up or reorganizing).

As for closing times, 6pm seems fine for the show’s first day, but an earlier close on the last day helps artists from out of town who are anxious to get on the road. They’ll leave anyway -- who wants a show where people are breaking down hours early, an act that often chases customers away from the whole show.

I don’t envy show organizers trying to figure out the best operations and logistics for their location, their artists, their customers. It’s not as easy as some people may think.