Call for Artists, Making Money at Juried Art Fairs, Craft Shows and Festivals
Sales Numbers - Why the mystery?
This may be a huge can of worms, but I will go ahead and open it because I am curious. What is behind the resistance to actually stating your sales numbers at a show? I recently wrote a blog post about a show and stated my sales numbers. Connie Mettler said I was "brave" for posting such intimate information. I must admit that I don't really understand why this is brave. I have been reluctant to state my numbers only because everyone else seems to be reluctant to state theirs. I realize that a "good" show means different things to different people, but it really matters what someone means by "sales were terrible" or "sales were great". Someone may bring in $1000 over a weekend and be ecstatic (I know I was my first year!), but that same total could mean the show was a money-losing failure for someone else.
I'm not necessarily advocating that everyone post their sales figures. If you don't want to post them, that's fine, but what is wrong with posting them if you are comfortable doing so? I am just trying to understand why everyone but me seems to need to keep that information to themselves. Perhaps someone can help me understand why I shouldn't necessarily state my own sales numbers.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alison Thomas on -
I think we all walk a thin line sometimes. We are friends, we help each other, we care about each other, we look forward to seeing each other but when the green flag drops and the show opens we are competitors. Also, as you mentioned, your "great" may be my "terrible" and I think those words may actually convey more about a show's potential than a dollar figure.
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Permalink Reply by Jan Raven on -
I wouldn't necessarily classify myself as "young," but I understand what you are saying. Short of the comfort level with sharing, I still don't get why these numbers don't get reported more often.
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Permalink Reply by Tina Cloud on
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Connie,
I agree that the actual numbers are more helpful, but can understand the hesitation of sharing. Is there a way for us to anonymously post our actual sales figures, medium, & price range for each show? Maybe a poll format with little buttons that you click? It's also helpful when artists say what price range sold the best at the show, the quantity that sold, and generically the style of their art (traditional, contemporary, folk, etc) I know everyone's numbers will be different depending on the crowd that shows up, but for those of us that are newer that kind of specific information can really help us to target the right shows for our art.
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Permalink Reply by Connie Mettler on -
Interestingly, we are working on such an idea, Tina. Stay tuned.
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Permalink Reply by Michelle Sholund on -
I actually like this question!!! I think for the most part people don't share exact numbers is because they don't want to be ridiculed or chastised. People have different standards of what a good amount of profit is when doing a show and even more so now considering the economic climate. Good to one person can be 3x a booth fee while another is only 10 x their booth fee. With this a person may feel $100 is a great show - and have met people who feel this way. I have also met people who feel if they can't make $15,000 a show they won't do it (I am absolutely serious in this). I have also met people who claim they make thousands and have never seen them sell one thing all day based on not seeing any merchandise bags leave his/her booth. There are times I really don't believe in the "end of the day sales" and all in all does it matter in the end. I would rather know if something had a good day selling a lot of their work than know an actual $ amount.
With regard to the Tina's comment - I love your thinking. I would like to see a price range in how artists do followed by their opinion of if that number is good, average or poor compared to how they do at other similar shows. I would LOVE to see results like this on surveys at varying art fairs - this can tell future applications what kind of affluent area it is, what people are most likely to buy, if there is a niche that isn't met, and so on.
At the end of the day - asking how much money a person made at the end of an art fair is like asking a woman her age or how much you make a year at your job on a first date. - Michelle
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Permalink Reply by Diane Wright on -
For me, knowing someone's sales figures is not important since it boils down to "Different Strokes for Different Folks". I think what is valuable to me is what was the price of your average item sold and did you think it was a good show for you. Most of my jewelry ranges is the $50 - $75 (average) range. I have some pieces at $30 and some at $200. If someone is making loads of money but they are selling $10 items that doesn't relate to what I am selling ( I have nothing for $10) and that may not be the show for me. Also what is of interest is whether it is a good show for __________. Fill in the blank with whatever you sell - paintings, jewelry, sculpture, ceremics, etc. (Understanding that there is always too much jewelry)
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Permalink Reply by Amy Schulz on
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There is also the issue of profit vs. gross sales. Maybe one artist is working with gold and cannot mark it up much, then the painter will probably make a greater profit per sale... Not getting into hours to make and talent and all of that, but many of us work with different raw materials.
Amy
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Permalink Reply by Gordon Ekback on -
I think Diane has got it right meaning "different strokes".
I'm one of those who can only do originals. My price range is going to be much different than someone who can do reproductions so comparing my sales say to photographer really doesn't help them. If you went ahead and constructed a polling method by medium that would be a help. But what is good is that when people who do just originals do well then usually you know the show was good for everyone.
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I agree that you can't compare apples and oranges and expect to get similar sales numbers, but knowing what sells at a particular show is important. For example if you are a sculpter with prices starting over $500, a show that mostly sold items under $100 across all the other mediums and a high number of the sales were reproduction prints, then that might not be the best show for you because people were not shopping for orignials. It is also helpful to see details about your particular medium. For example jewelry sales averages were $2000 at a show. Well was that 2 sales of $1000 high end jewelry or 67 sales of $30 low end jewelry? It gives a big indicator of the clientel at the show and then the artist is armed with helpful information and can personally deterime whether it might be a good show for their art.
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Permalink Reply by Melanie Rolfes on -
Tina, along those lines, to include if you are a contemporary, traditional, folk artist. This makes a HUGE difference for me in a show. Even more so then price points.
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Permalink Reply by Jan Raven on
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This is the kind of data that Sunshine Artist magazine tries to collect and report. I find it very, very useful to read about dollar amounts, number of sales, medium, and price range. I keep track of how many customers I had each day and track my sales per day on a spreadsheet. At the end of the year I assess each show in terms of "return on investment," not necessarily absolute sales.
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Permalink Reply by Melanie Rolfes on
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I do like Sunshine Artist Mag. I always make sure to send in the card after a show.
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