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The BoothInventory magazine
Reporting on the working life of American craft fairs: booth economics, show rules, restock math, and display craft.
Nine reports written for makers who load a van on Friday and count the bins on Monday. Every one of them is edited by Jimenez Julien, who runs the support mail for the booth counting tool behind this magazine.
regulation and compliance
Every state with a sales tax expects a collected rate at the booth. Here is how temporary seller permits, local rate lookup, and post show filing actually work for a traveling maker.
numbers and benchmarks
Booth fee is the smallest line on most show budgets. Add jury fees, travel, lodging, staffing, card processing, and packaging, then work out the sales number that makes a weekend worth doing.
practical guide
A retail price has to carry materials, your hourly rate, booth costs, and room for a wholesale order later. Here is the arithmetic, and where makers usually leave money on the table.
checklist
The two weeks before load in decide whether the weekend runs clean. Work through permits, the certificate of insurance, canopy weights, restock, signage, and the cash float, in order.
comparison
Three show formats, three different applications, fee structures, and crowds. Compare jury standards, booth costs, commission on sales, and the kind of buying each format actually produces.
mistakes to avoid
Most booths lose the sale before a shopper steps off the aisle. These are the layout and merchandising errors that flatten traffic, hide your best work, and stall the line at checkout.
case study
A worked example follows one line of earrings from a spring street fair to a December holiday market, showing how per show counts change what gets made, packed, and priced.
trends and outlook
Cash at the booth keeps shrinking while processing rates hold steady. Here is how in person card fees are built, where surcharges are restricted, and what a dead cell signal costs you.
field report
A two day outdoor market, from a six in the morning load in to the last tote in the van. What the hour by hour rhythm of a show floor does to staffing, restock runs, and teardown.
Between shows
Reading about show math helps. Counting your own booth settles it. BoothInventory counts a market in and out, builds the restock list from what sold, and scores the weekend against the fee, the fuel and the hours you worked.
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