mamas who have done craft fairs

[orangekoolaid]

cross posted in arts and crafts:

my LLL group is planning to have a craft fair as a fundraiser. we're wanting to invite vendors. what do you think is better---charging for tables (and if so how much) or having them donate a certain % of the profits to our group. We are debating more on the second and asking either 15% or 20%.

thanks for the thoughts!

[eepster]

For a basic craft fair (as opposed to a juried art exhibition type show) a fee for the table is pretty standard.

[sarasprings]

It may be regional, but all the ones I see in our craft book guide are just table fees.

[yitlan]

Same here. Flat fee is all I've seen. Some ask that you donate a product, as well, for a drawing.

[nursingmom]

15%-20% is a huge profit margin to ask. Profit margin for some vendors can be 20%... so, you are asking all of their profit for that margin.

In my neighborhood, we had a craft fair of flat fee of $15 plus a $10 item donation for raffles.

It depends on how many people you expect to come to the fair. The craft fair in my neighborhood was successful for some, and no sales for others. So, even the small fee was a loss for vendors without any sales. I believe over 100 people came to the fair.