Made to Order at markets

paddylonglegs

Does anyone run a stall at a market where your products are made to order?

I may have a chance to put a stall at a Christmas market this year, but all my pieces are made to order. I do have examples of the actual pieces at the market however.

Are people happy to pay you up front for the order? Or do they expect ti put in an order and pay on delivery? I'm worried that if people can't take the actual piece then they will be put off altogether

Anything else I should know when setting up a stall? Havent done this before so any tips would be great!

wmpdd3

I have seen people do made to order, but I think you need something small too sell to make it worth while.
There's a lady at a local market that makes blankets, she takes 75%up front and the rest on collection, some people prefer to pay in full and have it posted to them.

But she also sells hats on her stall, that drives her footfall.
Personally, unless it can make while minding the stall, it will be a waste of your valuable time to sit waiting for orders. You'd probably get many more on Etsy.

paddylonglegs

wmpdd3 wrote: »

I have seen people do made to order, but I think you need something small too sell to make it worth while.
There's a lady at a local market that makes blankets, she takes 75%up front and the rest on collection, some people prefer to pay in full and have it posted to them.

But she also sells hats on her stall, that drives her footfall.
Personally, unless it can make while minding the stall, it will be a waste of your valuable time to sit waiting for orders. You'd probably get many more on Etsy.

Thanks for that. I have an etsy shop and I mainly ship out of Ireland. Possibly not many Irish people on etsy, I'm not sure. Etsy shop is doing just ok, but i would be hopeful of getting a flurry of Christmas orders, and people being able to hold it in their hands will make a difference.

I have some items which can be sold on the day so I may have them on board also

Thanks

the_pen_turner

what type of product are you selling. it might help give advice. wooden, toys, sewing, candles, etc


I have to agree with the above. you need to have a steady flow to your stall and have loads of stuff to sell
you could make up some of the more general products you make and use them as standard items. then the customer can see and hold them. once they are interested you can talk to them about custom work

most people that go up to you at a stall are just tyre kicking. some are genuine but impulsive and some are enthusiastic.
the enthusiastic ones will give you an order for custom work but the more impulsive ones like it but want it now, if they have think about it they wont go ahead

paddylonglegs

the_pen_turner wrote: »

most people that go up to you at a stall are just tyre kicking. some are genuine but impulsive and some are enthusiastic.
the enthusiastic ones will give you an order for custom work but the more impulsive ones like it but want it now, if they have think about it they wont go ahead

Yes this is what I'm afraid of. I will have the sample of the pieces I make, but I can't sell them directly as I will alsways need one of them. But I will be creating the exact replica, I just can't invest in creating 4 or 5 of each piece (20 different designs) I guess this is the risk of Creating for a market, you could sell none and you're left with a load of stock to try and shift.

I make wall hangers for guitars and ukuleles, they are quite unique with a quirky design.

I also make stickers and other accessories which I will have plenty of, stocking filler prices.

Not sure if it's ok to put up or not, but my site is www.thingsforstrings.net. Mods Please remove if I'm not allowed to post this.

Do I just need to take the risk and produce a batch of each design?

the_pen_turner

are they hand carved of machine routed.
I know a guy who make something similar but for a different product. he get them CNCd and then touches them up with hand tools so they look hand done.
could this be an option for you