We Believe... that every consumer has a right to know where a product comes from. In today’s global economy, domestic manufacturers are forced to compete in an unfair marketplace where most gifts, housewares, jewelry and accessories are marked with removable paper stickers that indicate country of origin. Many retailers and wholesalers remove these labels in an effort to raise perceived value and confuse consumers about country of origin.
sell (4)
Every show we have at least a half a dozen people ask us for 'buy sell' kinds of jewelry pieces. This week my favorite question was: My mother went to Israel 30 years ago and bought me this star with the word chai (life on it). She got the large one, I got the medium one and my cousin got the small one., I lost it and I always go to these art shows hoping I will find this exact piece of jewelry. Do you have it?
Kick me before sarcasm rolls off my tongue. I politely said that the person who designed those pieces 30 years ago would not be happy to know that I, or someone else, had copied that design. So, no, we don't have that design but we have 15 other designs that you may like.
No, she said, I've looked 30 years for this design and this is the design I want.
Or, last week the lady said: My x-boyfriend gave me a star with a horseshoe on it. When I broke up 25 years ago, I gave him back the pendant. I always loved that pendant. Do you have it?
We don't have it - perhaps you might cookie horseshoe, star and pendant and find it that way. No, she said - she would keep on looking. When we got to the room that night, I googled horseshoe, star, pendant and up popped a piece. i don't know if this is 'the one' but it was easy to find.
We're not gong to have 'plain stars' that can be purchased on the internet. Pieces are designed by me. I want people to 'step out of the box' and look beyond that plain star ... alas, those who say - cute, interesting, nice, very interesting, very nice, different ... just don't get it.
On the other hand, a blog was written about a new piece - Tikva - Star of Hope..
When I posted my blog piece "Why aren't I selling?" I did not expect the response that I received. All I can say is WOW! I just finished reading each and everyone of them and appreciate the various comments, opinions and thoughtful insights that others have on the subject.
Michael R. made the remark "... sold to 4 out of every 10 that stopped by? Really?" To that I have to respond, "Yes, really," however, when I gave that figure, I did not say whether or not the individual had gone by my booth before without purchasing something. This in fact happened several times and a few of the "4 out of 10" came back either the same day or one of the following days of the show to purchase. When they returned they told me they just had to come back because of the amount of energy, the way they were made to feel important, especially when I would excuse myself to answer someone's question, tell that person I would be right with them as soon as I finished with the other person, and then return to talking with them, tell them to enjoy their day even when they didn't buy anything the first time around. I even joked with one person and told them I felt like a used car salesman when I explained about the festival and what we were striving for. The response I received was that I never made the person "feel like" they were being sold a bill of goods.
I have to agree with Michael that if my numbers matched and/or balanced out with the total number of attendees then it would have been a highly profitable venture to say the least. If I HAD sold according to the attendee numbers, I would have been out of stock the first day of the show. LOL. Believe me, I realize just like everyone that sales don't always go by the numbers and in a perfect world we would ALL realize the fruits of our labors. To me, however, building good customer, or potential customer, relationships is extremely important. I did have several people that were pleased that I was still doing the festival as they remembered me from last year (they did not purchase anything from me then), the referrals to other vendors I had given them when they were looking for something specific and directions to various places of interest within Alpena. They even brought others to the Festival this year to meet me and they all purchased something with a promise that they would return again next year.
Word of mouth on the positiveness and/or negativeness of an experience at a show can make or break a show or a vendor. For example, a vendor had a customer complain about a shirt they had purchased last year that was handpainted. The customer even brought the shirt in to show how badly the paint had come off. The vendor looked at the shirt and asked if they had "hand" washed it according to the instructions they received when they purchased the shirt. Even though the customer did not follow the insturctions, the vendor told them he felt bad about the results and gave them two different shirts at no cost to them. The customer was floored by this and even stated that a lot of BIG companies wouldn't do that. He ended up purchasing a stained class and hand carved mirror from this same vendor. When the customer left the show, he stopped at the ticket/information area to tell them that he would definitely be back and bringing others because of the way he was treated months after a prior shows sale by a vendor.
At Festival, even in these tough economic times, we've tried, for the most part, to be very upbeat and positive. We must be doing something right as we will be hosting our 17th year in 2012! The Festival goes out of its way to make sure that the vendors have what they need, when they need it and be as supportative as possible. However, there are a few that no matter what you do, that are not happy but that happens anywhere.
Thanks again for all the wonderful comments and for the food for thought. Mike R, just want you do know I appreciate YOUR comments as well as wasn't picking on you. The numbers and rationale were right on the money, just felt that your comment was a good one to use as an example of how numbers can be tweaked and not really give a good accurate result. May each and everyone of you have a successful show, meet wonderful people and enjoy all the best that life has to offer.
Hello everyone.
I just wanted to encourage everyone to check out our Classified section here at AFI. There is no limit to what you can sell here. There are pro panels, and credit card machines, but there are some other very interesting things, too. Did you know there is a cottage for sale right now? That's right, a cottage on Indiana's Brown Lake about half way between Chicago and Detroit. This cottage could make a great stopping off point for artists traveling back and forth to Art Shows. It could also be a great summer vacation get-a-way for your family. We all need time to recuperate.
Did you know there is also a house and studio for sale in Minnesota? Where can you sell a house or a cottage for only $25. That is quite a bargin, too. Both the price of the house and the cottage are negotiable. Check it out, you may want to make an offer.
Once you post your ad, the ads stay on the site until they are sold. There is no time limit! How great is that? All ads cost $25. Plus, the beauty of listing things at AFI is that everybody here basically is in the same business as you are. Everyone here needs almost the same things to conduct Art Fair business as you do. You have the best chance of making a sale with your items than any where else. Over 5,000 people may need what you have.
You can also post cars, vans, boats, and trucks for sale here, too. You can include photos to help you sell your items, as well. Photos can be a very valuable selling tool. If you included a photo with an ad to sell a car in your locale newspaper it could very well end up costing more than $25. Plus, with an ad in your local paper, the buying audience interested in your item may only be a handful of people. Here at AFI, you are selling your items to an audience of over 5,000 people! How great is that?
Do you need to swap houses for a month? Do you need to find a nanny? Do you have a boat or travel trailer to sell or trade? Do you have tickets to a concert that you need to sell? Do you have a cottage that you rent out by the week all summer long? It is time to clean house and unload those unwanted items.
You can sell or find almost anything here. All the information you will need to list your items is in the following link:
Check the Classifieds out today.
