I recently joined a Facebook group of arts & crafts vendors and while reading through different posts and comments, I realized that a lot of vendors are complaining about different events they participated in and blaming the organizer for the lack of advertising.
While in some cases this could be true, vendors also need to do their homework to see where and in what they are investing their time and money. And one thing needs to always be remembered – if you pay a low fee to participate in the event, then you cannot complain about the event’s turnout!! You cannot expect to pay $25, $30, $50 for a vendor event and expect 1000 people! Most organizers are using the money they receive from vendor registrations to pay for advertising. So, if you pay $20, why would you expect to have a great turnout? Also, keep in mind that a good location costs money. And yes, I know some of you will say – well, I went to so many events in school or churches and paid a very low fee and they had a great turnout. Well, that is a community event and we are born and raised to support our community, so schools and churches do not qualify for this. You support your kids’ school because you do not want to be perceived as the “bad parent” who does not get involved and you need to support your church, for pretty much the same reason as above — people’s perception about you.
I am talking about those so called festivals and fairs which charge basically nothing and present you a picturesque event, as never seen before! These are the events that you need to be careful with. And to be more clear – I am not talking about first time events. These are a different story and if the organizer is upfront with you and informs you correctly that it’s a first time event, you know what to expect. More to discuss on a first time event in another blog.
But, in conclusion – vendors do you job! If an event is too good to be true, then probably you should be worried. A good event, with a good turnout, always comes with a price. And that is your vendor registration fee!
Happy Vending,
Kristine Marks
Senior Event Specialist/ Blogger