I need advice on quantity to prepare

[KristaY]

Hi All!
I've been reading through all the great craft show threads, especially on booth display. You guys really have some terrific advice plus great pics and links. I appreciate reading your opinions.
I'm planning to sell at our annual county fair this September. It's a 4 day event that brings in approx. 30,000 people. This will be my first big outing so I want to make a memorable impact.
As far as I know I'm the only CP soaper in my area. There's one other lady that does MP and not many shows. I also do shower gel and lotions. My question is how much should I bring?
Right now I have 20 batches of CP soap in various stages of cure (most are 5 lbs each). These range from 100% natural made with EO's, to fun and colorful made with FO's, and spa bars made with salts from around the world. I plan to focus on fall and holiday products too as our fair is in Sept so I don't want to miss the holiday gift boat. I'll add the shower gel and lotion in the various coordinating scents and make gift baskets.
My business name is "Joy of the Earth" and my tag is "Genesis 1:12" which tells the story of creation on the 3rd day when God created all the plants. I plan to use strong greens over brown in my display and possibly a touch of yellow. I'm still working on the details of how I want to set up my 10' x 10' area.
So if I end up with approx. 30 to 40 different types of soap, gel and lotion, is that going to be too much? Not enough? I don't want to overwhelm the public but I don't want to appear like I have little inventory. I'm making myself nervous and crazy thinking about it!
Thank you anyone and everyone that can direct me in the right path!

 

[pamielynn]

30-40 sounds like a lot to me. I would focus on more of each type, say more bars and bottles of 20 scents rather than 40. If you bring 40 different scents, I would rotate them throughout the event. Overchoice can be a problem for some people and they'll just walk away because they can't make a decision. Or you could have a sign that says something like: "We also carry such and such scents", so you don't have to have them ALL out on the table, but people know you have it.

 

[KristaY]

Thank you Pamielynn! Great advice. I really like the idea of the sign saying other scents are available. I was thinking of putting out a few fruity and keeping other fruity behind the scenes, putting out a few masculine, a few floral, etc. Then if the inventory of a type runs low, I can restock with the others. As my individual scent signs are mini chalkboards, it would be easy to change the scent name. Thank you for your input!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

It's very good advice. Think about having only very different soap on display - So if these 40 are 10 different recipes with 4 different scent combos, then just have 10 types on display, but mix up the scents. The sign will also encourage interaction with you, especially if you are in a position where they can easily talk with you.

 

[Susie]

10 x 10 should give you room for 3 tables, right? One down each side, and one across the back?

That is a LOT of space guys. She could easily show 30 products if they are grouped correctly, and are not all soaps.

I would group the products thus: I would put the "fun" stuff on the front end of one side table with the soaps and the coordinating scented products, and the masculine stuff on the front end of the other side table. Range the other products between them. I.E.: Let's say you have lemongrass scented soap, lotion, lip balm, etc. You put the lotion bottles in the back, the soap in the center and the lip balm in a low container in the front.(I would have grabbed one of each, and gone to pay the lady.)

I hated having to go look for the lotion scented like the soap somewhere else. Busy soap booths are difficult to move through, and I would skip buying lotion or lip balm if I had to go looking. Think about offering gift bags or baskets with grouped products. I would happily have bought those if I could have just grabbed one bag and not had to keep looking.

I even thought if I ever sell my soap and stuff that I would offer a "gift baskets made while you shop" service. It would probably mean a second person there that can do that while you sell.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

There is another post talking about how too much choice actually resulted in less sales of jams. It's something to bear in mind - having everything all laid out in front of people could overwhelm them

 

[pamielynn]

There is another post talking about how too much choice actually resulted in less sales of jams. It's something to bear in mind - having everything all laid out in front of people could overwhelm them

I personally find this to be true, especially if there are a lot of different "types" of products. Same on websites. I tend not to shop at websites that offer too many different types of things (Amazon and Target, notwithstanding - I'm talking about small, handcrafted types of websites).

I think overchoice happens quite frequently at big, busy shows, where people are bouncing from booth to booth.

 

[navigator9]

I did read somewhere that if you do offer many choices, try to group like ones together, under a label, like "Floral", "Earthy", "Citrus", as this reduces the overload on customers, choice wise.

 

[pamielynn]

The psychology of "retailing" is exhausting.

 

[KristaY]

10 x 10 should give you room for 3 tables, right? One down each side, and one across the back?

That is a LOT of space guys. She could easily show 30 products if they are grouped correctly, and are not all soaps.

I would group the products thus: I would put the "fun" stuff on the front end of one side table with the soaps and the coordinating scented products, and the masculine stuff on the front end of the other side table. Range the other products between them. I.E.: Let's say you have lemongrass scented soap, lotion, lip balm, etc. You put the lotion bottles in the back, the soap in the center and the lip balm in a low container in the front.(I would have grabbed one of each, and gone to pay the lady.)

I hated having to go look for the lotion scented like the soap somewhere else. Busy soap booths are difficult to move through, and I would skip buying lotion or lip balm if I had to go looking. Think about offering gift bags or baskets with grouped products. I would happily have bought those if I could have just grabbed one bag and not had to keep looking.

I even thought if I ever sell my soap and stuff that I would offer a "gift baskets made while you shop" service. It would probably mean a second person there that can do that while you sell.

I definitely have room for 3 tables but plan to only use 2 - down one side and the back. The other side I'm going to use a verticle display either a ladder or book case type shelf to add interest to the visual appeal. I may end up putting the verticle at the back and tables on either side if I feel there might be a problem with it's stability. Especially since there are many small children that attend with family. I'll be in the booth the whole time so will be easily accessible for interaction with fair-goers. Any opinions of this style of display?

Thanks everyone for the input. Gives me a lot to consider!

 

[Susie]

I did read somewhere that if you do offer many choices, try to group like ones together, under a label, like "Floral", "Earthy", "Citrus", as this reduces the overload on customers, choice wise.

That is exactly what I had in mind! Thank you for clarifying that!

 

[shunt2011]

I generally have 3 tables with my products on them. I have two 3 tier shevles and each shelf will hold 15 scents/4 of each. So, I do carry 30 fragrances not including my man scents/products. I have a metal 3 shelf stand that I put all my men's products on, generally my soaps on the first two shelves then my aftershave and shave soaps on the bottom. I think it's good to have a large selection from my personal experience as you never know what will sell and what won't. I've found it changes from show to show and market to market.

 

[Spice]

I generally have 3 tables with my products on them. I have two 3 tier shevles and each shelf will hold 15 scents/4 of each. So, I do carry 30 fragrances not including my man scents/products. I have a metal 3 shelf stand that I put all my men's products on, generally my soaps on the first two shelves then my aftershave and shave soaps on the bottom. I think it's good to have a large selection from my personal experience as you never know what will sell and what won't. I've found it changes from show to show and market to market.

What are your man scents/products?

 

[cmzaha]

I get 8 4' tables in my 10x10 booth by having the tables stacked at two levels. Nope, we are not the least bit cramped and have 2 tall chairs from Ikea so we sit at eye level with the customers. Then I have covered boards that make levels for my soaps. I always have 30-40 different soaps at my 3 weekly markets, my batches are 14 bars, and much during the holiday markets. I don't much agree with the less is more theory, the last thing you want to do is run out. My lotions scubs etc go on one set of tables in the front of the booth, soap go on the other 2 tables across the front on 5 levels and our specialty soaps go on a table that runs along one side of the booth. I did forget to mention I have at least one open side at all my markets. My crochet hats go on 2 stacked tables at the back. Variety is the key and I get some very surprised people when they ask for something they just know I will not have and I do!

 

[navigator9]

The psychology of "retailing" is exhausting.

LOL, yes it is! And I'm not sure how much of it is just personal opinion. I've read everything from, "Put your tables at the very front of your tent because customers don't like to have to "enter" a space, because then they feel committed to buy something." And "Arrange your tables in an inverted V shape, because if you put one across the back and one on each side, people will feel "trapped" by the angles." I've also heard it advised to fill your table to the brim because people like to see abundance, and I've heard just the opposite, because people don't like clutter. I've also read that you shouldn't sit. Well, I'm 64, and I'm gonna sit. Then I read that if you're going to sit, it should be at eye level with the customers, so I got a tall director's chair, and I'm short, so my feet didn't touch the ground and I was miserable, so I'm back to my regular old folding chair. I didn't find that the tall chair made a bit of difference. I think you can make yourself crazy with this kind of stuff.

Basically, I think if your display should be neat and clean and look professional and that's half the battle. Smile, be friendly to everyone who walks by, and of course, I think color draws people in, and some way to display your business name for all to see is always a good idea. But don't get so crazy that you don't enjoy it. Try something, if it works, great....if it doesn't, try something else next time. But remember to have fun!

 

[KristaY]

Basically, I think if your display should be neat and clean and look professional and that's half the battle. Smile, be friendly to everyone who walks by, and of course, I think color draws people in, and some way to display your business name for all to see is always a good idea. But don't get so crazy that you don't enjoy it. Try something, if it works, great....if it doesn't, try something else next time. But remember to have fun!

Thanks for reminding me to keep it fun, Navigator9! I know I will when it comes to the fair itself but at the moment I'm making myself a bit crazy worrying about the details. I need to take a couple of steps back, calm down, then focus again. I'll get there and all will be well. :-D

Thank you everyone for your advice!

 

[navigator9]

Thanks for reminding me to keep it fun, Navigator9! I know I will when it comes to the fair itself but at the moment I'm making myself a bit crazy worrying about the details. I need to take a couple of steps back, calm down, then focus again. I'll get there and all will be well. :-D

Thank you everyone for your advice!

Krista, I actually love to do craft fairs. Packing and setting up/breaking down are another story, but the fair itself is fun for me. I was really worried the first time I did one. I thought maybe all the other vendors would have been doing this for a long time and not welcome newcomers like me. I couldn't have been more wrong. Vendors are a very friendly bunch. I really love the atmosphere early in the morning, setting everything up, walking around to see what everyone else has to offer. Some vendors like to barter, and you can end up with some really nice stuff. But regardless of all the details about your display, a great smile does more to attract customers than anything else. Your first fair is as much a learning experience as anything else. Take notes, because you think you'll remember everything, but you won't. I've been doing craft fairs for years and I'm still learning. You're going to be just fine! :-D

 

[KristaY]

Thank you for the encouragement, Navigator9! It's MUCH appreciated

 

[Shalisk]

Ever been to a resturant, and the menu was 1000 pages long?

Avoid that. I never eat at those places, after I went to culinary school for two years, I learned how to 'trim' find what works, stick with that.
Dont forget your lavender

 

[cmzaha]

30-40 sounds like a lot to me. I would focus on more of each type, say more bars and bottles of 20 scents rather than 40. If you bring 40 different scents, I would rotate them throughout the event. Overchoice can be a problem for some people and they'll just walk away because they can't make a decision. Or you could have a sign that says something like: "We also carry such and such scents", so you don't have to have them ALL out on the table, but people know you have it.

I do not remember ever losing a customer to having to many choices. I cannot display other scents available as not all soaps are the same formula. I take 30-40 different soaps to all my weekly farmer markets and approx 60 different soaps to my Holiday Craft Fairs. Usually min of 10 lbs per soap, some more some less. Choices is whats seperates me from the other soapmakers in my markets. All are wrapped and labeled. I double stack tables with covered boards for elevation, so I can display a lot of soap. My other tables have my lotions, scrubs, decorative soaps etc. By stacking tables I can get 8 tables in my 10x10 if I have one side with a walkway. During Christmas I actually set up 4 tables with elevation and soaps. Lotions go on side tables. I gave up on liquid soap, never sells for me
I agree with Navigator. I take down and set up 5-6 times per week and it is work, but I love going to my markets and talking to my vendor friends. Better than staying home after retirement