By IvyLee Rosario
As the weather warms up, we approach the fall fairs and festivals season, offering everything from music and food, to entertainment and thousands of potential customers. Vendors should be taking advantage of these high traffic events and incredible selling opportunities. The business possibilities are endless, with vendors having a chance to branch out of their normal flea market space, but also grow their business, expand their product line for a larger audience, and learn more about other chances for growth available in their area. With fairs and festivals most popularly taking place throughout the months of July to October, depending on location, this could provide tremendous profit growth for a flea market vendor, due to the fact that the market they operate at might only be open for the summer. Selling merchandise at a fair or festivals provides merchants with a new experience and just like with the flea market business, gives them an open door for continued expansion and selling options.
Selling at fairs and festivals is not very different from flea markets, with vendors still needing a tax license, sellers insurance (which is recommended but not always required depending on location), and should also be doing their research to figure out what type of audience attends the fair or festival they are thinking of selling at, how busy the event tends to get, what other vendors will be attending as well, and if there are any costs that need to be made upfront in order to participate in the event. Although this may seem like a lot to think about, the process of getting set up with a booth or tent is relatively the same to your local flea market or swap meet. Much like those, fairs and festivals occur all over the country, so vendors can take it upon themselves to try different locations and maybe even find themselves a new home within one of these establishments. According to the 2015 Flea Market Report, almost 50% of vendors surveyed said they sell merchandise at both markets and fairs and festivals, and 52% said that those booths are more profitable for the season than strictly selling at flea markets and swap meets. With numbers like these, it makes sense to see why selling at fairs and festivals are a great business opportunity for vendors.
Here are a list of the top 10 busiest fairs and festivals in the country:
1. The Big E Fair: www.thebige.com
2. Kentucky State Fair: www.kystatefair.org
3. California State Fair: www.castatefair.org
4. State Fair of Texas: www.bigtex.com
5. Ohio State Fair: www.ohiostatefair.com
6. Maine Lobster Festival: www.mainelobsterfestival.com
7. Kentucky Bourbon Festival: www.kybourbonfestival.com
8. Hampton Beach Seafood Festival: www.hamptonbeachseafoodfestival.com
9. Fiesta San Antonio: www.fiesta-sa.org
10. Dublin Irish Festival: www.dublinirishfestival.org
Be sure to check out the list (found in the East Coast Merchandiser Magazine) for some great fairs and festivals coming your way this fall and plan to sell your merchandise accordingly based on location.