A Double Market Recap.

Hi friends!

After an unintended week off of blogging…I’m back! It’s been a busy past few weeks of starting a new job, traveling for roller derby, and holding down the fort without my partner but now I’m ready to get into the nitty gritty. Let’s chat about my first two markets since relocating to the beautiful PNW.

I’m a visual person. I love data in many forms. So before I talk about the more qualitative experiences of each market, I’d like to share out some data. Keep in mind we’re going to talk about my own experience and each vendor may have wildly varying experiences. This is not to compare myself to any other vendor or compare one market to another. I share for transparency and to realistic growth and development of a super itty bitty small business.

Okay, let’s go!

Date	Event	In/Outside	Time	Hours	Net Profit	Table Cost	Gross Profit	No. Of Sales	Avg Sale	Popular Item(s)	Emails
10/23/22	Makers Art Market	Outside	12-5	5	120.84	40	80.84	9	13.43	Vase Toppers	4
11/6/22	Tacoma Sunday Market	Inside	11-4	5	205.91	100	105.91	9	22.88	Vase Toppers	5

 

The first few things that catch my attention when looking back through data on my Shopify app is the increase in both net and gross profits between the two weeks. Not all markets have the same vendor fees. These two markets are a great example of that. Maker’s Art Market cost $40 and Tacoma Sunday Market was more than double that.  Over the past year, I’ve paid anywhere from $0 to $100 for a market. This isn’t unusual. Some of the bigger markets may charge upwards $500 or more! Despite the difference in table costs, I was able to come out in the green for gross profits each weekend. I’d love to get better at tracking how much it costs to produce each item, as well as market decor costs, etc. But for this purpose, I currently call it a “win” if I make my table fee back as this maintains sustainable market-going. Tracking this information also lets me know how much I can budget for table costs.

A second interesting note is the increase in the average sales between the two weekends. At Maker’s Art Market, people were way more interested in stickers. Stickers are great! We love stickers! They might yield in a larger number of sales with a lower average price per sale. Whereas, at Tacoma Sunday Market the vase toppers were the celebrities of the day. Compared to $4 stickers, $20 vase toppers helped boost the average cost per sale from just above $13 per sale to almost $23 per sale. Wowwwwies! However, some heftier priced ceramics such as planters and jars were NOT the vibe the past few weeks.

Now for some not-so-numerical thoughts.

Maker’s Art Market was an outdoor event, which can be a bit tricker on occasion. It took place in the cutest little park in West Seattle. There was a ton of room for kids and dogs to run around in amongst the vendors who were featuring primarily handmade art and goods. After a heavy rain the night before, the sun decided to show up. Various people stopped in noting that they were just walking through the neighborhood and saw something going on - a total perk to outdoor markets! However, I struggled with set up at this market as my usual hype-man wasn’t able to join me. Thankfully everyone was so kind and patient. I even had a neighboring vendor help pop up my 10x10!

The Tacoma Sunday Market was indoors at a super cool older building that was more conducive to bumping vibey music. There were a handful of food options and a coffee stand with a line stretching around the vendors. While quite a few vendors featured handmade goods, the thrifting and vintage scene was UNREAL! I may have walked away with a sweatervest and my friend popped into the TATTOO BOOTH. What?!?! We loved not having to set up a 10x10, the parking was free, and unloading and reloading the van was super easy. Big thanks to my super hype man, Mr. Jonathan! I’d love to make this a regular monthly rotation and will definitely be applying to the next one.

Something to always keep in mind is that every market is different. That might mean a different environment, varying weather, or being met with a different customer base. I think something both of these markets had in common was that they both intersected with a Seahawks game and one thing I’ve learned is that Washingtonians love their Seahawks! That might attribute to slightly less traffic. 

While some of the numbers I’ve shown you aren’t astronomical, I think it’s important to recognize that slow growth is still growth. Every sale is fantastic - but it’s also great when people sign up on the email list, snag a business card, or just come and chat. 

Before I wrap this up, I’d love to share out a few vendors I was able to check out at these two events. I’ll wrangle up their contact info as well.

As always, make art and have fun!

Much love,

Ally Mabardy

P.S. Hey vendors! Do you track your market experiences in a quantitative manner? What criteria do you use to deem your day at the market as “successful” or “unsuccessful”? Do you base it off sales? Connections made? All around vibes?

Feel free to use a quick little Google Sheet I’m using to track my market experiences using quantitative data. Click here to view and make your own copy: LINK.