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Paying Booth Fees in Advance

Posted by Barry Bernstein on April 30, 2010 at 7:55pm in Art Show Information and Discussions
One of my pet peeves is the increasingly longer length of time some shows require us to pay for our booth fees.  If I am invited back to a show, it seems that gives the show an excuse to make us pay our booth fee 4-6 months in advance.  Recently, I was accepted to a show and I had to pay for my space 110 days before the show.  Considering that I just put out thousands of dollars for shows I signed up for in May, June, and July, it seemed unreasonable to have to pay for my booth space for an August show.  When they called me, wondering where my money was, I explained that I was tapped out but if they could wait 2 weeks, I would have a cash flow and could easily pay the fee.  They told me that if I didn't have the money to them by May 1st, I would be dropped from the show and they would take someone off the waiting list.  I don't mind getting bumped because the fee was way out of line with the quality of the show and I probably signed up for too many events as it is.

I think that 60 days is a reasonable amount of time that we should have to pay for our spaces.  What do you think? 

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Replies

  • Chris Hoyt May 5, 2010 at 6:17am
    Karin Neuvirth said:
    I always plan on paying for all of my shows for the year before May. It's just the nature of the business.

    Wow, I wish I could.
    Last year I paid out over $15,000 in show fees. I just don't have that in January. But I can pay $50 to $100 per show as a deposit.
  • Larry Berman May 4, 2010 at 11:23pm
    And now I add Nels sleeping to every booth slide I work on.

    Larry Berman
    Digital Jury Services
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
  • Nels Johnson May 4, 2010 at 4:22pm
    Barry, just don't let Larry shoot a booth shot of you like he did of me at Ann Arbor one summer, I was cat-napping in my chair and he posted it on the NAIA site--what a guy!

    Barry Bernstein said:
    Nels, I'm just old and cranky, or, maybe just cranky. Or, maybe I need to be committed to a government run facility. I was thinking that, for all my complaining, I would get blackballed from every show. This has not been the case. I'm getting into everything, including ones I never got into before. That either means that the promoters like my suggestions or that nobody reads my posts. At any rate, I'm sure I will see you a lot this summer.

    Btw, I need to do well so I can get Larry Berman to shoot my work. I referred some people to you. Do I get a discount if they give you their business?
  • Barry Bernstein May 4, 2010 at 1:43pm
    Nels, I'm just old and cranky, or, maybe just cranky. Or, maybe I need to be committed to a government run facility. I was thinking that, for all my complaining, I would get blackballed from every show. This has not been the case. I'm getting into everything, including ones I never got into before. That either means that the promoters like my suggestions or that nobody reads my posts. At any rate, I'm sure I will see you a lot this summer.

    Btw, I need to do well so I can get Larry Berman to shoot my work. I referred some people to you. Do I get a discount if they give you their business?
  • Barry Bernstein May 4, 2010 at 1:32pm
    First of all, all the shows I do cost way more than the booth fees. Most of the money comes from corporate sponsorship, as they should. Call it advertising and it is a really efficient way for corporations to advertise their product. It is the sponsors job to go out into the community and raise underwriting capital for their events. Why? Because a typical show in a city or town costs around $1 million to put on. Booth fees only pay for 1/3 of that. The payoff, however, is that a successful show generates 25 times the cost of the show, in local income and taxes. It pays for a community to put on an event because they make out economically. Some places get this, like Ann Arbor. Every business has it's sale stuff out on the street and they do quite well during the art fair. I know this first hand because fresh out of college, I ran a retail store on South University. We did more business in those 4 days, than the whole month of December.

    I love that quote "It's just the nature of the business." Yeah, and at one time people worked in sweat shops and there were no child labor laws. That was the nature of the business. My point is and will always be, we should be changing the nature of the business to be more economically rewarding to artists. We have power because we generate income wherever we have a show. You never heard a peep out of me when show fees were $200 and I did $7000. But now, the same shows are $500+ and I would be happy to do $3000. I have to laugh. I have a jeweler friend who was really happy because she did $3500 at a show in Texas. Meanwhile, she drove 1600 miles and slept at the rest areas to save money. And, how much of that $3500 was the cost of gold and silver? I'm thinking, she actually lost money doing this show(do the numbers). Then she wonders why she declared bankruptcy last year.

    I don't know what shows you do, but, I've never done a show that asks for a deposit. They all want the whole enchilada. If that was the case, I could do every show I apply to. OK!! Admittedly, I got into every good show this year and I actually have to make a choice between shows. But why should I have to do that? I want them all.
  • Dave Hinde May 4, 2010 at 12:56pm
    I like to pay all my fees way ahead of time. This year I paid for a lot of shows around the beginning of the year. I also stocked up on printer paper, printer ink, matboard, and frames. That way whenever I do a show it seems like I'm making a profit. Even though I might not really be making that much, the mental image of every sale being a profit makes the day seem a lot better:-)
  • Karin Neuvirth May 4, 2010 at 11:45am
    I always plan on paying for all of my shows for the year before May. It's just the nature of the business.
  • Chris Hoyt May 4, 2010 at 7:45am
    Promoters need money in advance to put on the show.

    They have costs associated with renting the venue, advertising, insurance, permits, etc. That comes out of our app fees.

    Now, do the promoters need 100% of the fee 110 days out? I really don't think so. That's why promoters I work with require a deposit, with the balance 45 or so days before the show. I really don't believe a $50 or $100 non refundable deposit is unreasonable. You have committed to the show, and they have startup cash.
  • Nels Johnson May 3, 2010 at 5:33pm
    Barry. Why didn't you ask them if you could put up the dog, that you use in your profile pic, as collateral. Then they would know that you are committed. I hate to agree with the queries above, but they are right, it is indeed a cruel,cruel artshow world. Maybe see ya this summer.
  • Linda Anderson April 30, 2010 at 10:15pm
    I've become used to shelling out all my money during January thru March for shows that go all the way into the fall. Personally I have no problems doing that. I stash money away the prior year as I know it's all due at once. I think promoters request the money to make sure accepted artists have fully committed to their event. Can't blame them for needing the committment. There have been a couple of times I was short and called asking for payment acceptance a week or two late. Most are very accommodating once they understand my situation and my committment. All applications indicate when the money is due. Like anything else on the application, if you don't want to comply, don't apply.
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