Hi there
I organise craft fairs but would like to expand to larger venues where I will be able to offer bigger pitches starting at 2m x 2m, 4m x 4m and larger and was wondering what would be the most you would pay for a large pitch? It would be in Surrey. I was thinking £75 for either 2 or 3m pitch as venues of that size are super expensive + marketing the event etc.
I would love to hear your thoughts!
I’m in the process of applying for a 6 foot (2m) stall at an event that works out at £75 per day so I will pay that much. But that is a well established event at a prestige location with a footfall around 15,000 (over the 3 days), if it was a less well known event without any guarantees on the footfall I wouldn’t be prepared to pay that much.
I think the price is more about the quality of the fair rather than the size of the pitch. I have paid over £300 for a 6ft stall for 2 days before now but it is a well known event with a very loyal customer base, well run and heavily advertised. I would be wary of paying too much until I knew more about the event - type of stalls, footfall, advertising etc.
In York I would say the average price for a 6ft by 3ft stall is £50.00 per day. That would generally be a hall, or church or Guildhall, fairly central. For that price there would be a table provided, some advertising and flyering from the organisers, with stall holders expected (and badgered!) to really promote it themselves as well. Compared to that, yours sounds reasonable because of the size. However, the crux is getting people to pay for a new event which is not yet established. If its a fantastic venue with good facilities and really accessible (so a good chance of footfall), then I would see that as a reasonable price to take a punt, especially if you can prove/show that your social media promotion is good. Some are so much better at this than others, and I would say that this is also a crucial criteria for the stall holders . HOWEVER, generally I only need a small space, so I am always looking for the smaller cheaper options!!! There, you see we can never all be satisfied. Good luck, good venues and organisers are what we all need.
I think the question is… What footfall do you expect ?
Many thanks to all who replied to my topic. Current events bring 800 adults plus children within 3 hours but are run for only 3 hours. With a bigger capacity venue the event would run for longer attracting well over 1k. I advertise well and keep engaging with those “going” and “interested” on a Facebook event.
At Christmas I do a 2 day fantastic fair in a mini stately home and pay £60 a day (6 hours). I have a double table, electricity and a guaranteed set of buying custoners because of the season. Footfall is 2.25k per day. That’s just for comparison.
I don’t think I would be interested in a three hour event unless it was right on my doorstep, otherwise I would be spending more time travelling and setting up than selling.
I do a regular summer event where prices start at £27 for a table or £42 for a 3m x 3m professional gazebo erected by the organisers. Footfall is about 2000 through the six hour day, and as a regular monthly event it’s good for repeat customers too. Advertising is not just social media, but includes leaflets, roadside banners, and sometimes even local radio.
For larger events such as County or Agricultural Shows I generally pay around £80 to £100 for a 3m - 4m pitch. These are long established events with lots of advertising, with a footfall of 20,000 - 30,000 over a nine hour day.
Organisers of new events tend to offer heavily discounted or even free pitches, with a percentage of sales to top up their income from a successful day.
I didn’t mean I only use social media for advertising. It takes much more than that. I advertise on local radio, posters etc. Current ones are just local ones. As I said I want to expand to a larger venue offering longer hours and a bigger catchment area.
That’s why if I expand I will be able to offer longer hours which will also mean more footfall. Capacity at current venues is low.
I still would not pay so much for an untried venue. Been to too many which were advertised as well promoted only to find as many sellers as buyers.
That must have been very frustrating for all of you.
More than frustrating. A waste of time and money and a sure guarantee never to do any fair again without first ensuring it has a very good footfall commensurate with the table fee.
I’ve just registered that you are calling a 2m space large ?? I call less than that small and 2 m a standard size. Folksy collaborated with an organiser a couple of years ago and I couldn’t even consider it as the tables were tiny. My main stand is 1 m long on its own. Fine if people sell a limited range of small things but would not do for many crafter’s I know.
Hi again. Large would start from 2mx2m 2mx3m 4mx4m and more not just 2m frontage. That way they can have 2/3 and more tables not just a standard 6ft table only.
Sorry @Butterfly5 I didn’t mean to imply that you only do Facebook - if you are getting 800 visitors you are obviously past that stage. Many of us have experienced an event where stall-holders outnumbered visitors, and vowed never to be caught again.
I agree with Joy about sizes - 2m x 2m is not “large” unless you only sell earrings! A few years ago my best sellers were cushions; guess how many 45cm cushions fit on a 2m table?
At the events I do, a standard sized trestle table or equivalent is approx. 2m x 70cm, then space to stand behind it and space to walk around the end too. It ends up about 2.4m wide by 1.8 to 2m deep space for a “standard” with a single table, and 4.4 wide space for a “large” with double table.
Please remember when calculating your prices that as online sellers we only have to deduct approx. 10% for commission and card processing fee that is the equivalent of a stall fee. So to cover your proposed £75 for example a stall-holder would need to have cash sales of £750. If the venue / location / footfall / demographics doesn’t support that, there is not much point in going.
Best of luck with your venture 