20 Mistakes to Avoid at a Craft Fair: Tips for a Successful Event

ByWowThankYou

Craft fairs are a great way to showcase your handmade products and connect with potential customers. However, there are some common mistakes that I see people keep doing, which I know impact the sales on the day and also can damage your business and brand in a long run.

I’ve been going to craft fairs since 1998 and over the years, I’ve made every single mistake on this list. Some I just wasn’t organised enough to get right straightaway, some I wish I knew about before I started.

For example, you should make sure that you tell as many people about your craft fair as possible (and not just rely on the organisers to do that). The best thing is to design your own flyers which can be created free online, print them and distribute them to your friends and family or even your street neighbours. You can also include the next few craft fairs you are attending and place the flyers on your table at the fair for people to take a copy.

I hope that by me listing all my previous mistakes, you can avoid doing these at your next craft fair or market or handmade show and you’ll have the most wonderful and profitable day at your craft fair. So, here my list of 20 mistakes to avoid at a craft fair and my tips for having a successful day!

HANDMADE BUSINESS TIPS

1. Arriving late to the venue

Arriving late is one of the worse mistakes you can make at any craft fair. Not only you’ll need to throw your stall together in limited time, you might also end up at the stall that’s left for you, because somebody else has taken the better spots already.

The craft fair organiser usually allocates stalls space well in advance, but if you don’t arrive in reasonable time before the start, they might give it to somebody else, because they don’t want to have any gaps between the stalls.

More importantly, you can also miss sales, because you won’t be ready and any potential customers will see you are still setting up, so they will carry one walking to the next stall.

Over the years, I’ve worked out that I need at least 60 minutes to set my stall and get everything ready, plus another 30 minutes to park the car and unload and bring everything to the craft fair. With extra 30 minutes as a butter time, if something goes wrong, I always try to arrive 2 hrs before the start time.

I’m also the designated driver, which doesn’t really help, so I always have to re-park the car afterwards, if we are not allowed to park close to the venue. This adds extra time to my preparation time.

HANDMADE BUSINESS TIPS

2. Being unprepared

Forgetting essential parts for your craft display, stock, card reader or anything else can be super annoying and can mean a serious loss of income for the day.

I know that the only way how I won’t forget anything is to write my own craft fair checklist and I have also made up, what I call a ‘gubbins bag’ where I keep all the important things I need for every craft fair.

My bag includes cash float, spare change, insurance documents, pens, sales tracker, a fully charged card machine, phone and charger, flyers, hand wipes, marker pen, white card, scissors, strong string or small thin rope, strong sellotape, blue-tac, diary, rubbish bag, lunch, painkillers, and little project that I work on whilst at the market.

3. Not having enough, too much or the wrong stock

This one is a difficult to get right if this is your first craft fair, but once you do more, you will know exactly how much stock to take with you and more importantly when to start adding seasonal stock to your regular offerings.

One year, we had a craft market at the beginning of September, so I wasn’t sure what to bring with me other than our general stock, because September doesn’t exactly have any special days or seasons.

Well, soon enough we realised, that because it’s very popular annual event, the visitors are used to doing their Christmas shopping the fair! Next year, I knew exactly what to bring and I created my Christmas editions in August to bring to the fair – we sold out the whole lot!

4. Not looking your best

This one is super hard, because I know we are focusing on getting everything set up, always running around and probably running late, but over the years I’ve learned that I need to look presentable and look relaxed to present my brand well and to make any potential customers at ease.

Now, I always make the point of doing my hair, make up (and keep re-applying my lipstick during the day) to look the part. The bonus is that even if I feel tired, the make up can cover that!

I always wear aprons with my logo to go with my brand, but if you for example sell accessories or clothes you should try to wear one of your creations too. You’be surprised how much people like to see that you are wearing your own product and it looks on brand and professional too.

5. No variation in pricing

Having a variation in pricing helps to attract customers with different budgets. I always try to have a least three different tiers of pricing.

Something that’s super affordable (think kids pocket money or small gifts ) under £3-£5, something in the mid range £10-£15 and something that’s your ‘aspirational’ piece, which could be anything from £20.

Depending on what type of product you have your pricing will look different as not every craft business can start with prices as low as £1 or £3, but having 3 significantly different pricing tiers works for every handmade business.

6. Prices not displayed

Yes, this one is a simple one! If you don’t have prices on your products your customers will think that they are expensive and they will carry on looking elsewhere.

People won’t always want to ask you for prices, unless it’s something they really want, but even then you’d be loosing potential customers that just look and don’t ask because they are too shy.

7. Not having enough change

If you don’t have enough change, you will be forever struggling for a change when people are paying.

I always bring a float of a minimum £50 with as many coins as possible and some £10 and £5 notes. I often ask for a change or the exact money when people are paying even if I don’t need it just yet, in anticipation, that I will later in the day.

8. Not accepting card payments

When started to do craft fairs back in 1998, practically nobody had card payment machine as it was super expensive and people were used to pay with cash for everything.

These days, there is no excuse not to have a card reader as they are easily affordable and people are already processing payments by card elsewhere, so why should they when they attend a craft fair?

You’d be surprised how many people come to our stall that didn’t know the fair was on, or forgot to take money out or already spend their money. But, because I had a card reader, they were able to buy wherever they wanted.

I have also noticed, that when people are using card, they seems to buy large purchases, so being able to accept card payments definitely helps to increase sales. Also make sure that you have a clear sign stating that card payments are accepted.

HANDMADE BUSINESS TIPS

9. Untidy or too artistically arranged craft display

An untidy or difficult to scan display can be off-putting for customers. I found that it’s best to keep to maximum of 10 types of products displayed in fairly rigid way (in simple lines or groups) and separated by some space.

This way it’s easy for your customers to scan and navigate your stall and they also don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of choice. If you have more than 8 or 10 different types of products, leave some out until you sell one group of products and then swap them around.

10. No table covering for your stall

Having a plain, well-ironed table covering that reaches the floor at the front is essential for a professional-looking display.

I find that it’s best to bring a fabric that’s nice and heavy, which naturally doesn’t crease. Make sure the fabric is not see through and then you have the whole space under the table to hide all your boxes and spare stock.

11. Flat display

Having a flat display can make it really difficult for customers to see your products through a crowd. Adding height to your display can make it more visible from a distance. You can do that by adding some boxes under the table cloth, bring small shelves, use baskets, display cases, plates or cake stands.

12. Displaying products out of reach

It’s also a good idea not to have products too far away from your customers like on a very high display cabinet or behind you. Your potential customers may not like to ask for the product if they can’t reach it by themselves.

13. Ignoring potential customers

This is a definite way to reduce the amount of your sales during the day! I’ve seen this so many times – the stall holders are browsing through their phone, talking to their friends, reading a book, eating or generally just sitting behind the stall and ignoring the customers, which just walk by.

You really need to at least acknowledge any potential customers and show them that you have the time for them, whether they want to just browse, ask something or buy your products.

HANDMADE BUSINESS TIPS

14. Not taking photos for social media

I’m always surprised how many people never post about their craft fair on social media. I always find that it brings some last minute customers, who didn’t know about the fair until now. I also take photos for my website and blog to share later.

Not just of me and the stall but also some more livestyle versions of my product display. I also take couple of photos of the the whole stall to see how it looks overall and how I can improve on the set up next time.

If I like the display, it also helps me to set it up quicker next time, because I can refer to the photo from last time.

15. Sitting down behind the stall

If you are sitting down behind your stall, you are not at the same eye level as your customers. This means that they are not likely to approach you. If you then get up and start talking to them, it makes them think like you are poucing on them.

It’s best to stand up and make friendly eye contact with your customers – if you see that they are ready to engage in conversation, all you need to do is smile and start talking.

16. Not being at your stall

Not being at your stall (or leaving somebody else, who doesn’t know your stall in charge for a long time – like your children, friend who doesn’t really know the products is definitely one of the worse thing you can do at the craft fair.

Of course, you’ll need to have comfort breaks, but to leave for a long time and have somebody else minding your stall is never a good idea.

If you can bring somebody with you, who you can train a little to know your products, prices and know how to use a card reader or can take payments, you will have of course a little more flexibility to leave your stall and have proper break.

HANDMADE BUSINESS TIPS

17. No card or contact details for people to take away

Not having a way for people to contact you after the fair is another mistake you can make. I always have some small flyers or cards ready for people to take away.

Even better if you can think of a reason, why people should hang on to your card or flyer, for example have a 10% off code for your website, list of other craft fairs you will be attending in the future or some advice that’s relevant to your business.

For example I have a flyer with a simple recipe for a homemade truffles (since I sell mainly chocolates).

18. Not having a sign up newsletter sheet

If you are not capturing your potential customer’s details, you are missing potential sales when the craft fair finishes.

By having a simple sign up sheet where people can leave their e-mail details if they want to receive your newsletter, you are making sure that you can stay in touch with people even when the fair finishes.

You can also have just a small strips of paper for people to fill in and then leave in a box or handed to you in case you are worried that other people might see somebody’s else’s e-mail addresses on the sheet.

19. Talking to your friends instead of customers

It’s great idea to invite your friends to support you at the craft fair (as in have a look around and hopefully buy something from you and others), but it’s not such a good idea to spend time talking to them for long periods of time especially if they are blocking your stall and your potential customers can’t see anything.

If you have somebody to help you on the stall, take a short break to talk to your friends away from your stall or have a cup of tea together.

Alternatively ask them to come to the back of your stall making sure they understand that your attention needs to be on your customers (in between talking to them).

20. Packing away too early

Oh, the amount of time I’ve seen people packing away, only to get customers doing their final sweep and wanting to buy something. And of course, such customers would stop in front of the stalls of people that were patiently waiting until the end!

This is not to say, that if things are winding down, you can’t start packing some stock away or getting your boxes ready or sort out through your things – just make sure your stall still looks presentable and be ready to pay attention to potential customers when they approach your stall.

Originally written on 15 December 2023 and last updated on 7 June 2025