3 Methods to Determine How Much Inventory to Take to a Craft Show - Cutting for Business (2024)

FAQs

How much inventory should I have for a craft show? ›

First think about how much you would like to make at a show. Let's say your booth fee was $100 and you want to make at least 4 times your booth fee. That would mean you need to sell at least $400 worth of products so you need to make sure you have more than $400 worth of items available to sell.

For example, if you estimate that you will have on average three sales an hour then you will need to have at the very least 18 items for a six-hour fair and you need to be able to replace each of these items at least once on the table, so that gives you 36 items.

Lots of inventory (if it's a tangible good) – it's always better to have too much inventory than not enough! You don't have to display all of your inventory at first, but rather have back-up inventory underneath a table or easily accessible in your car so you're able to restock.

In craft circles, there's a lot of talk about the “7x rule.” According to this rule, makers should aim to sell 7 times what they pay for the booth fee at a craft fair. So, if you go to a craft fair that has a $200 booth fee, you'll want to sell at least $1,400 worth of merchandise. 45,000/1,400 = 32.14.

Before you attend the craft fair, make a full inventory list of each product you are taking with you. It's a good idea to list multiples as seperate lines as this way you can just tick / cross of the line for each sale rather than update a quantity number.

Very generally speaking, as a starting point you should consider starting with somewhere between 5-20 different products. This will give you a good selection for potential customers to choose from, and will give you set of items that you can test to see what is popular and likely to sell reliably.

Many people pay with cash, so come prepared to make lots and lots of change. Depending on the anticipated size of the crowd, $200 should probably be sufficient to start with. Be sure to have coins with your startup cash, even if your products are priced evenly on the dollar ($6, $22, $35, whatever).

To calculate your minimum inventory levels, use the following formula: minimum inventory level = reorder point – [normal consumption × normal delivery time].

The first is the inventory turnover ratio, which tells you how quickly you sell out of stock. This calculation is your sales (or cost of goods sold) divided by average inventory. If your inventory turnover ratio is low, you may have excess inventory. The next calculation is days sales of inventory (DSI).

How much inventory should be carried? ›

Determining Safety Stock Levels

The formula looks like this: Maximum lead time x maximum daily sales – average lead time x average daily sales. The solution to the formula gives you a nominal recommendation for the level of safety stock to carry.

My personal rule of thumb is that I want to sell at least 10x my booth fee. I try to have 3x the amount of merchandise I need in order to do that. I don't display everything, but I do replenish items as things sell. Those are my own personal numbers based on my experiences with shows and what works for me.

Unique Product – One of the best ways to stand out at a craft fair is by offering a unique product. Don't be afraid to think outside the box and create something that hasn't been seen before. You want to catch the eye of potential customers and give them a reason to stop and take a closer look.

For smaller trade shows, you should bring enough giveaways for about 75% of the expected attendees. For larger shows, you should have enough supply for 25% of the attendees.