Craft fair fayre.

[johnny.t.]

Cheers BSM all good points. There were nicer things on there but displayed flat I can see how it all got lost. Plate stands are a great idea.

 

[richburrow]

When you are in trouble

 

[big soft moose]

Taking card payments is a total non starter (have you any idea how much one of those hand held chip and pin terminals costs .

just been doing a bit of research on this and the basic costs are

Setup Cost: ranges between £50 and £250, £120 is the average.
Annual Cost: normally around £150.
Monthly: The most standard charge especially from acquiring banks, around £10-25.
PSP: Can be a commission of as little as 1% but often about £10 per month or 3-4%.
Transaction Charge: 2.79% for an established business but up to 4-5% otherwise.
Bond: (that is insurance against fraud) open to negotiation but averages arround 25/month

Plus you either need to buy the terminal outright (anywhere from £500 to £2k) or rent it from your service provider at arround £25/m

so you are looking at a ballpark cost of well over a grand in the first year and a little under in the following years - that might be viable for an established pro , but in no way is it for an amateur (particularly remembering that you have to pay the monthly charges whether you have sold anything or not.)

add to that the fact that these terminals either require a phone line (which you wont have at a craftfair) or a mobile, mobile internet, or wifi signal (depending on the type) which may also be a sometime thing.

It is perfectly possible to take credit card payments via a website - but in the flesh its completely impractical in 99% of craft fair situations

 

[jpt]

HI BSM

I have been looking at taking cards myself as less and less people carry cash or cheque books these days.

All of the companys I have approached say that unless you take an average of £1000 a month via card payments it isnt worth doing. So much for helping the small buisnesses.

The only other way is via paypal, they do a virtual terminal but it is long winded as you have to fill in a form with name and address etc, not really possible at most shows as it takes on average 5 min to fill in the form. The up side is it only costs £240 a year plus 2.9% of each sale. The other downside is you have to have some sort of portable computer with a dial up dongle.

john

 

[big soft moose]

HI BSM

I have been looking at taking cards myself as less and less people carry cash or cheque books these days.

All of the companys I have approached say that unless you take an average of £1000 a month via card payments it isnt worth doing. So much for helping the small buisnesses.

The only other way is via paypal, they do a virtual terminal but it is long winded as you have to fill in a form with name and address etc, not really possible at most shows as it takes on average 5 min to fill in the form. The up side is it only costs £240 a year plus 2.9% of each sale. The other downside is you have to have some sort of portable computer with a dial up dongle.

john

I supose technically you could set up seperate website pages for everything you had with you at the fair and ask people to transact over the web (summing you could get wifi or mob broadband) - but back in the real world who has the time and which punter is going to do that

I did do one craftfair/exhinition the year before last (with photos not turning) where credit card payments were handled by the organisers for all exhibitors , which was great (all credit card payments were made to the organiser who then reimbursed the exhibitors by cheque), but pitch fees were higher to allow for the service, 50 notes IIRC and administration was a nightmare.

 

[Bodrighy]

How many craft fairs are held outside striking distance of a holeinthewall? Maybe if someone wants something that costs enouigh to need to use a card then they'd go and get the money. Am I the only person left in rthe UK who hates using a card for less than about £20? :shock:

pete

 

[big soft moose]

How many craft fairs are held outside striking distance of a holeinthewall? Maybe if someone wants something that costs enouigh to need to use a card then they'd go and get the money. Am I the only person left in rthe UK who hates using a card for less than about £20? :shock:

pete

the whole things a non starter pete - card use at all but the biggest craft fairs doesnt exist outside of trollflys fevered imagination.

but you are right very few venues are outside of the range of an ATM or somewhere that does cash back - I have had customers ask me to put aside a piece for them while they go and get some cash ( normally ask for a holding deposit as a sign of good faith - as no one goes to a craft fair without any money ) but thats with photography - with wood turning its pretty rare for craft fair sales to be that expensive anyway - and at the lower end (schole fayres etc) people know card services arent going to be possible and so bring plenty of wonga with them

 

[user 5053]

I process card payment using the GPRS my mobile phone. You need software downloaded onto your applications and it is cheap and ideal for stallholders. If you don't have a full ecomerce site you can take payments over the phone. You can do very nice pyrographed signs that are in character with what we do rather than those laminated computer produced ones. . I think the problem with the cheap shows is a lack of space and poor quality and bought in traders. . It is a good idea to have one or two large stunning bits that that catch the punters eye. We do most of our trade on line these days and send stuff all over alltough its nice to get out and meet real people occasionally.. You get all sorts of funny enquiries and people wanting quotes for large numbers of things and odd commisions.
Very livley and interesting debate.

 

[jpt]

The problem is it doesnt matter how you take payments via card the costs are still the same apart from the rental of equipment and unless you use chip & pin the payment isnt garunteed.

So using your system you will process the card and get an authorisation code then a day or so later you can be told the money has been removed from your account because it was a fraudulant transation.

john

 

[miles_hot]

I process card payment using the GPRS my mobile phone. You need software downloaded onto your applications and it is cheap and ideal for stallholders. If you don't have a full ecomerce site you can take payments over the phone. You can do very nice pyrographed signs that are in character with what we do rather than those laminated computer produced ones. . I think the problem with the cheap shows is a lack of space and poor quality and bought in traders. . It is a good idea to have one or two large stunning bits that that catch the punters eye. We do most of our trade on line these days and send stuff all over alltough its nice to get out and meet real people occasionally.. You get all sorts of funny enquiries and people wanting quotes for large numbers of things and odd commisions.
Very livley and interesting debate.

Can you give any details about this application SF (and any costs and required supporting stuff)? Granted there is the issue about guarantees as jpt says but I wonder how much traders have the UV things to look at bank notes etc?

Many thanks

Miles

 

[Richard Findley]

Going slightly off subject (sorry JT ) but I use a PayPal credit card system for my on-line orders. The great thing about it is that there are no monthly/annual fees just a charge per transaction, so if I only use it one a year or twice a week it makes no difference. Unfortunatly it would be no use for craft fares (which is where I've gone off subject!! - sorry again!!)

I seem to be getting on ok with it but some feedback would be interesting. I know that several members have kindly bought goods from me and have used the system (Bodrighy, Cornucopia and Rich Burrow) how did you find it?

Cheers,

Richard

 

[johnny.t.]

......I use a PayPal credit card system for my on-line orders........

...... I know that several members have kindly bought goods from me and have used the system (Bodrighy, Cornucopia and Rich Burrow)......

I didn't know you sold supplies Richard, even though I've looked at your site before I just bought a load from Turners Retreat, oh well next time

 

[Bodrighy]

I use PayPal like a 2nd bank account and tend to do as much as possible through it. When selling I know the money is there before I send goods out. Also useful for simply keeping some online for those emegencies

pete

 

[richburrow]

Smooth process Rich, recommend to anyone

 

[Tony Spear]

I would say the Works -in -Wood has the right idea and has put some thought and effort into his display. Nicely laid out, good sign, attractive products. I'm not mad on the idea of awnings and tents to sell from. It is always worth investing in a proper stall. As for craft fairs, they always struggle to get punters through the gates, you always get the cowboys selling bought in goods even in the well vetted ones and mostly they only want people in marquees where the is very little space. Don't forget there are lots of different shows, We have sold at music festivals, county shows, street craft markets, garden shows and as long as the weather is ok and there are enough people we have done pretty well. The Showmans directory is very good and lists most shows of all types in the uk and also the craftsman magazine lists all the craft shows . It is a learning process and as long as you keep learning on every one you can succeed. Of course more and more business is done online these days and that is a whole new ball game and I'm sure we will discuss this at a later date.

So where's your evidence?

Put up or shut up.

 

[big soft moose]

I process card payment using the GPRS my mobile phone. You need software downloaded onto your applications and it is cheap and ideal for stallholders. .

this is the kind of thing hes talking about http://www.merchantexpress.com/wireless ... rminal.htm - thats an american site, but you get the idea.

the cost of the terminal alone is more than the average amateur is going to make in a year so to describe it as " cheap and ideal for stall holders" is somewhat wide of the mark.

then there are the processing charges etc

also it depends on your being able to get reception which isnt a given.

as i said possibly viable for pros , but complely unviable for those not trading full time

We do most of our trade on line these days and send stuff all over

funny how you dont mention your web address anywhere on here not even on your profile. Personally i find it very hard to give anything you say any credibility when you make assertions like this but fail to back up your claims with any proof whatsoever.