Thursday, June 10, 2010

Are ya kidding me?!...

I'm trying really hard to find a good venue
to get my Pondering....... store products out
in front of the public, in person.

I tried the local flea market. Big fail.
I've talked to numerous shop owners and cafe' type
places to see if they would buy products for re-sale or
possibly do a consignment arrangement. No go.
I've been looking around for local craft-type
shows and festivals. Found one for next weekend
that will be really, really nice and it's in the next town
only five miles away. But, I can't do it.

The entry fees made me choke.
First of all, it's a two day seafood and music festival
held in a beautiful park by the river.
The entry fee for non-food vendors is $250!
(They generously refund $100 if you clean up your
10'x10' space to their satisfaction.) Plus.... plus...
you must have a tent that is labelled "fireproof" and
you must have a fire extinguisher. Aaaaaaaaaand...
the festival hours for Saturday are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
and if you want to keep your tent open until 9 p.m.
you must have an electric light. To do that, you must
pay the city $50 for electric access... that will be
needed for about two hours. The hours on Sunday
are only 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. That is some mighty expensive
electricity. Damn.

I'd be looking at spending at least $400 just to be there.
(I don't have a tent or a fire extinguisher.)

Let's see... sell 26 shirts and two cards.
Or, 33 coffee mugs and one card.
Or, 22 hats and one card.
Or, 10 framed cards and 21 mugs.
Just.to.pay.back.the.basic.investment.

This appears to be about the norm for other shows like
this anywhere in the state. Bigger cities charge even more.
Add on travel and motel expenses if the city is far away.

My frustration level is about maxed out.

I wonder how long it would take me to get arrested if I
parked on the side of a busy road and simply sold out of
the back of my car? Oh, wait. There'd be a fee/fine for that, too.

17 comments:

Jean said...

yeah, I know.more whining.

Fred said...

400 bucks IS friggin' outrageous!

Fred said...

(IMO, sometimes ya just GOTTA whine, or it'll all build up and then you'll explode at the worst possible moments. ...And if people don't like it, fuggem. ;)

Jean said...

I hear ya, girlfriend.

jingle said...

http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/the-celebrate-blogger-of-april-awards/

you give a comment,
thus get participation and friendship awards..
Happy Friday!

boneman said...

Aren't you the gal who gives me hell
whenever I say I'm just plain too stupid?
Can't sell my art,
like folks think it's a fart
but still, I plod along like Euclid.

Just don't give a dang
bout negative things
even though they overwhelm me sometimes.
I rise quickly, and scratch my ass
occasionally sell another canvas
and like a dancing monkey, collect my dimes.

It doesn't matter what we do
(as long as there's a special you)
and I'de do it all again if it was to be near.
All the hell the planet throws at us
we'll fool them all, and catch a bus,
just be with you is all I care about, dear.

Andrea said...

If you want a professional online store for your blog, check out vendr.com, it's really good and fully integrated with paypal and google checkout. It's nice because it takes the look of your site and encorporates that into the store, so it looks like it's a part of your site! And it's cheap per month pricing makes it nice too!

Check it out: www.vendr.com

Andrea said...

Make that "incorporates"...spelling, it's overrated!!!

Jean said...

Berry, thanks for reminding me of priorities.
d:-)

Thanks, Andrea, I'll check it out!

curmudgeon said...

I reckon it's about time for you to knock over a liquor store. Or at least steal an ATM.

Anonymous said...

A-M-A-Z-O-N.


It's Walmart on the Internet.
Now stop your bellyachin' and get that product uploaded.


Dick

Jean said...

Dave, ha...could be an option ;-)

Dick, really? Gonna take a look.

Anonymous said...

Also
http://www.etsy.com/

Kelly buys girlcrap from all sorts of chicks there.

Dick

Living Dees Life said...

is it pay pal only?

i want to get 2 of your pondering... shirts but i don't have pay pal.

hit me up!

Jean said...

Blaez, email me with order info...which shirts, sizes... we can do check or cash.

d:-)

Yunus said...

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Doom said...

I've heard things like that before Jean. That being the cost of "operations". I have to wonder who really sells that much stuff, any stuff, to actually make money there? Is it, for brick and mortar shops seen as cheap(er) advertising, a gamble for people who temporarily have the money and nothing to lose, or a place to sell/trade/move illicit items while looking legit?

I wish I could just send you the money and see how you do but a stinking faucet is about to bankrupt me, I swear... Or kill me. Anyway, I will keep you in my prayers. Mutual "Ugh"'s?