This year, I undertook something entirely new for me. I decided to setup a jewelry booth and participate in my son’s school bazaar. I had participated in bazaars before but never really gave much thought to it, took samples for people to look at thinking they would order custom and walked away with no sales.
This year I decided to go all out. The cost was astronomical compared to the amount of sales I made.
- The booth space was $100.
- It was $200 to make my booth beautiful (table cloths, accent scarves, jewelry displays, banner, etc).
- In order to actually be able to have things available for purchase, I had to spend about $700 on beads and supplies to make the things that people could easily pick up and purchase. The good news is that all of these things will sell over time…
- I spent 30 hours making the items that people could purchase (earrings, bracelets, etc).
- All of those things had to be tagged with prices and sizes.
The moral of the story is that if you don’t intend to display your products in a jewelry booth on a regular basis, it probably isn’t worth the time and expense. If you do intend to sell in a jewelry booth regularly, read on for tips and tricks.
Tip 1:
Buy Rena Klingenberg’s ebook Ultimate Guide to Your Profitable Jewelry Booth. It is only $39 and well worth the money. She goes over absolutely everything you need to know about selling in a jewelry booth. It will save you from making all the common mistakes your first time.
Tip 2:
Buy polyester tablecloths that go to the floor. They look SO much more professional. I saw a ton of people who just had a regular table cloth or used plastic (ick!). I only paid ~$27 for the 2 tablecloths at CV Linens and they are great quality that will last forever. I was tempted to rent them from a party supply company, but it was literally the same price to rent for a day as it was to buy them outright!
Tip 3:
If you sell custom jewelry, have a digital photo frame that is rotating your product samples in a prominent place with your business cards nearby. I was just about to buy one when I learned my iPad could be used as a frame. : )
Tip 4:
Offer cheap items that people can quickly grab and buy. Many people aren’t looking for fine jewelry at a jewelry booth. If someone is going to drop $150 on a bracelet, they want time to look at it, research it, etc. It is generally not an impulse buy. The exception is, of course, the juried show where where everything is high quality and expensive. I wish I had done up a few cheap kids bracelets. The profit margin would have been high and they would have sold.
Tip #5:
Buy a professional banner. Mine was only $31 and I designed it myself in photoshop. I wouldn’t recommend doing it yourself if you don’t have the skills already, but it saved me from paying a graphic artist. It made all the difference in how professional my booth looked…
Tip #6:
Take your kiddo. : ) Joshua went with me and “helped” all day. He was thrilled to be there.
In all, I call it a wash, but think twice before making the plunge. I hope my experiences help you – it you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to comment below.
