Vending at Shows is hard work…

I heard a rumor that vendors who set up at quilt shows are down by some 40% after COVID. I think that may be true. Not only do I not see the familiar faces I used to see in my travels, but when I do, they are as attendees and not vendors. Some retired, some went online, and some…. well, we won’t say.

This is what my car looked like earlier this year to go to a show. It took my husband and I all day to pack the car like this. Many people rent trailers and the like. To make my booth look like the very top of this page, it takes a good 4-5 hours. And that’s after schlepping it all inside the hall.

To head out to a show for most of us, it’s a business, not a hobby. We need to make it profitable. That means sales must exceed the amount of the cost of the booth, the cost of the travel to get there, the cost of renting electricity and tables (yes, that’s a thing), and any taxes you collect to pass on. All of the product in the booth has a cost too. So to head to a show, you have to KNOW (not HOPE) to make money at it.

It can be super disheartening to get to a show and have disappointing sales. This takes even more vendors off the road.

Needless to say, we need your support when you see vendors like us at shows. We hate hearing how you can get it on Amazon, or online later, or how you aren’t planning on buying anything new this year. In order for us to come back, we need to make money at that show.