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Setting up shop at a merchandise show.. any advise?

J

Jumpshoutmedia

New Member
I was contacted by a friend who's producing a merchandise show (like a swap meet, but all new crap, no used crap). lol

He wanted an on-site sign maker to maker to produce on-demand vendor name/booth number signs.

I'm charging him minimal for the vendor name signs, but he told me I will have a regular booth, and am free to sell additional promo signs to any vendor who needs them, and to the public.

So..

I've never done anything like this before, any suggestions/advise?

I'm only bringing my cutter and a few rolls of vinyl and some coroplast sign blanks (for the vendor signs).

I also have a couple rubbermaids with transfer tape, xacto's, straightedge, squeegees etc, but can you guys think of anything else that I should FOR SURE bring along?

I'm trying to pack light since this is the first time, and it'll be a weekendly event (permanent location), so if it goes well I'll be able to leave enough supplies in the booth until the weekend.
 
Mosh

Mosh

New Member
Don't waste your time unless you are real hard up for work. Lot's of "hey can you make me a something "p"in on this or that fur a dollar? Lots of time-wasters at stuff like that, been there, done that!!!!!! WHAT 20 BUCKS, IT's JEST A STICKER!!!!!
 
J

Jumpshoutmedia

New Member
Mosh said:
Don't waste your time unless you are real hard up for work. Lot's of "hey can you make me a something "p"in on this or that fur a dollar? Lots of time-wasters at stuff like that, been there, done that!!!!!! WHAT 20 BUCKS, IT's JEST A STICKER!!!!!
Click to expand...

That's kind of what I figured too, but there is a guy at another local show that's had a booth for 10+ years, I wonder why he's still there?
 
Mikeifg

Mikeifg

New Member
he's there because he probably low balls. Or it's a hobby or he's bored and wants to loose money. Your better off setting up a display booth and some advertising, not cutting decals.
 
J Hill Designs

J Hill Designs

New Member
yeah bring in a sample hdu carved sign, sample dimensional letters, a nice portfolio, and use it as a selling venue for real signs, not calvin's...
 
Pat Whatley

Pat Whatley

New Member
Jumpshoutmedia said:
He wanted an on-site sign maker to maker to produce on-demand vendor name/booth number signs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm sure he wanted someone on-site...keeps him from having to drive to you to pick up his $10 orders. Seriously, how much could you possibly make off of vendor name/booth number signs? And you're "free to sell additional promo signs to any vendor who needs them, and to the public" Gee, that's awful nice of him to let you have a booth and actually use it.

You're also going into this knowing you're competing with another sticker guy. Is there really enough market for two of you? Is dealing with the $5 Peeing Calvin crowd worth giving up your weekend?

Try it for a couple of weeks and see if you actually get any leads to better jobs....but don't hold your breath waiting. :thumb:


By the way, every "merchandise show" I've ever seen has turned into a giant store full of brand new imported Chinese crap within months...then starts down the path to flea market/swap meet. Before you know it you'll be sitting in a giant yard sale that smells like mildew and moth balls.
 
Craig Sjoquist

Craig Sjoquist

New Member
well in this area there are several ... 3 that I know of have been there for years like 10 plus, one is in two places all have people working for them all making money and growing

I say anyway ya can make money these days the better, profit counts, hard work is great.

go for it, set yourself up so your happy and having a good time and you'll make good profit
 
Ken

Ken

New Member
IMHO...it's worth a shot...give it a go.
Never leave your booth unattended.
Have a portfolio book to show what you can do.
Set your pricing fairly...for you ,and the client.
Have fun!
Ken
Signs That Work !
 
4

47CP

New Member
We have done vinyl on site at a major event we attend several times. (1000+ competitors plus crew) We stopped doing it this year because the portable cutter (Ancient Vinyl Express Lynx) got its wires eaten by a mouse, but the novelty had worn off and sales were down to the point where it was more hassle to staff it and bring the stuff.

Anyway, when it was good, it was becuase we had a very limited selection of product. Select your font from this list of 8 (Script, Arial, Helvetica, etc). Pick your color from these 6. The price is per digit/per size. E.G. 1" letter is $.55, 4" is $1.20.

As soon as you vary from the simple stuff, you start losing (more) money with the time it takes for them to pick, etc.

We did very good with it the first few years and for various reasons, it trailed off over time. We sell other stuff at this event so vinyl wasn't the only thing, so IMO there was less risk. I'd be pretty leery of only doing vinyl, you could end up with a very long day not making much money. :(

DaveW
 
J

Jumpshoutmedia

New Member
You guys are thinking pretty much the same things i've been thinking. :/ Sigh...

With all the comments, I've decided to scale back and pack even lighter, so at least when it's a total waste of time, I didn't have to pack up my entire shop to do it. :p

I'll let you all know how it went.
 
J

Jumpshoutmedia

New Member
Okay, here's the verdict guys. I went friday for setup, worked saturday and sunday. Each vendor was purchased a "vendor name" sign for their booth, so people checked in with me all day friday. These signs were paid for by the show (I invoiced them). Then, the house had me make 8 4x8 printed signs mounted to coroplast, and a bunch of odds and ends signs. I did everything except the 4x8's on the cutter and mounted them right there at the show. I ended up making abut $2000 on house signs and vendor signs. Then on top of that, when ever I could squeeze one in, I'd do a promotional sign for a vendor which they paid for on the spot (made about $200 doing that).

The show was so impressed with my pricing and quality, they've given me exclusive sign making contract, and are allowing me to keep my booth (free of charge) for every weekend.

I'm not bringing the cutter any more, on the coming weekends, I'm going to just put up samples of printed signs, hang out for a couple hours visit the vendors, see if they want anything made up for the weekend. Then I'll sit at the booth lay out the signs, print them on my little portable HP inkjet, and have the vendors sign the proofs. Then I'll head back to the shop, print / mount them, and bring them back to the show. So I'll only be devoting a few hours a weekend, I'll have extra money made, and I don't have to lug anything around with me! I think it should be a pretty good deal.
 
RebeckaR

RebeckaR

New Member
We do a lot of craft and gift shows this time of year and it's profitable for us. (yay!)

I've watched other people trying to run their booth and cut vinyl on request at the same time. It does not look like a good time. At. All.
You can't divide your time between selling and production and do a good job at either one.

We've found it to be much more effective to have some product already cut and RTA for them to pull off the display walls. Special orders are handled just as they would be at the shop. We take your order and your money and you can pick it up in a couple of days or we will ship it.

Good luck and have fun!
 
Vital Designs

Vital Designs

Vital Designs
We have 2 booths at a very large trade event that occurs once a month. The goal was to sell some product there but more importantly market my business. The traffic varies depending on the time of year but in the busy months (Spring and fall) up to 250k people decend on a city of 3000 people during the 4 days. With these kind of numbers you never know who will walk by your booth.

Even though it it gets old setting up every month the leads have been amazing. We blow through business cards and have obtained some of our best customers through it. Our wrapped truck is strategically parked in front of one of the main entrances.

It is a great place to try new items and all your fellow vendors are all businesses that require 1 or more of our services.

The trick is to stay current, don't cut corners in your setup and self promote.
 
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