Thread: Gotta meet the market

Hi John, I will keep at it as I think this will be a good market. Surprisingly, there is a better crowd flow than at Mount Gravatt. However, a few of the other vendors were telling me until you have been seen there about 3 times, people are reluctant to buy. Once they think you are a regular they seem to buy. It might give them some reassurance that if something goes wrong with an item you will be there next time to exchange it. The EFTPOS is available through the market coordinators for about $7 all up for a day. They credit the money to your account immediately and there is no commission for anything under $150. I will try that next time before I set my own up, but I did look at the Pay Mate that connects to an iphone - looks good as long as the batter holds out. The other good point about the new markets is that they will not accept another vendor who is selling the same product - there has to be a difference, e.g., someone selling acrylic pens only and someone else selling timber only. I sell both and I am expanding the range bit by bit without overdoing it. Time will tell.

The fact that you are doing markets now, does that mean that trying to sell through a website does not work out to be a viable option?

Hi Dallas
i have a website and have had for a while now. I have cut out about square on what it has cost me and the profits from the pens I have sold through it. If you want to open your market up a bit you need a website and business cards with the website on them. You also need to advertise your website which it is hardest job of all. Your business cards will point people in the direction of your website which helps a bit. Also Face Book is a platform for advertising your website. But what I have found is the markets introduce you to people in the real world and they are your buyers. I am sure John would agree. They get to know you and remember you when they want a gift. If you have business cards and a website your market clients can see your work and order from it later.

Major problem is - There are a hundred thousand pen makers like us out there - some with poor quality products and others with pens far superior - so there is massive competition to sell a pen in a market that uses computers and writes very little. Just from my experience and it is limited, people buy them for gifts because they are unique - a bit like buying Roman Coins - they are no longer used, but they are nice to look at.

Finally, the key word is QUALITY. If I find one blemish on one of my pens, it goes into the shed for my use. A single flaw will turn clients off - bit like a restaurant that serves one bad meal.

In the end this business isn't going to see any of us holidaying on a super yacht in the Riviera from the profits because the very wealthy who spend thousands on a pen buy from Mont Blanc and Rolex. However I am working on a new concept for marketing that will take me about 12 months to get going - don't ask me because I won't tell you

Some good info there for prospective pen makers, or people trying to sell other small handcrafted wood items. The playing field has changed a great deal in the past few years.....

Great explanation there Greg. I see many sites selling pens and wonder how well they do. Like you, I would never sell a pen that doesn't meet high quality standards. As much as I hate to loose money on something I have crafted, it is not worth the negatives it would generate. If someone has a good experience they will tell another person. If they have a bad experience, they tell ten people.
Good luck with your venture. I am sure you will let us know in time what your venture is and how well it is going.

Thanks. I will update after the next market and then after the following one to see if the advice given to me was right

greg

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Some good info there for prospective pen makers, or people trying to sell other small handcrafted wood items. The playing field has changed a great deal in the past few years.....

In what way? Are there more/less people doing it? Better/worse?

I go to the markets almost as a hobby and there is always a woodie at them. Some are a bit ordinary and one recently I actually felt bad for - he needed much more practice. Others are fantastic and produce a range of things that attracted the crowd, one was positively on fire.

I suppose that's the way of a market. If you sell just pens you are only giving the audience one thing to look at. Fill the table with objects and it encourages looking.