How To Take your Products from Craft Shows To Local Shops

If you want local shops to start selling your handmade products, there are a few elements you need in place first.

This article will walk you through how to get set up for wholesale orders and attract retail buyers.

Benefits

Selling your products through local shops means:

• Bigger orders – retailers will often buy multiples of each item and will want enough product to create an impactful display in their store. This means you’ll sell several items in one order.
• No selling – this was my favorite part of selling my products through retailers; they do the selling for you. You do need to pitch to retail buyers and convince them your products will be right for their target market. But once you make that sale, they take care of the marketing and selling to get those products into consumers’ hands.
• Repeat business – if your products do well and you maintain a good working relationship with the retailer, they’re likely to buy from you again and again.

 

1 – Check your pricing

The biggest downside to selling your handmade products through local shops is that you must sell your products to them at a significant discount.

In most cases, retailers expect to buy your products at 50% of their retail price (that number can be more or less, depending on a few factors).

If I charge craft show shoppers $80 for a bag, retailers will expect to buy it from me for $40.

This allows them to mark it back up to $80 when selling it to their customers and cover their costs, and make a profit.

So you need to check your numbers and ensure you’re still covering your costs and making a profit when your prices are cut in half.

 

2 – Make your products repeatable

Not all, but most retailers want to know exactly what they’re ordering. So one-of-a-kind items can make your business less attractive to retailers.

They want to see an item on your website, at a craft show, in your lookbook and be able to order 10 of that exact item. Slight variations are fine (e.g. turquoise rings but each ring varies slightly based on the natural shape of the turquoise stone).

Make sure you’re able to create multiples of an item before you approach retailers about buying your products wholesale.

 

3 – Build collections

Retailers will also want to buy several items that work together to build a beautiful display in their store and to increase their UPT (units per transaction).

When I started selling wholesale to retailers, I planned a new Spring collection, and every piece worked together to tell a story.

This is my very first “lookbook” and “line sheet”. I was going for a classic Spring trench coat vibe for the collection:

Building seasonal collections makes it easy to sell your vision, for retailers to display and sell your products, and for you to pitch new collections each quarter and get re-orders.

>> 5 Steps to Create a Product Collection that Sells

 

4 – Get ahead

The bigger the retailer, the further ahead they plan. They may be buying Christmas products for their stores in August.

Smaller local retailers may not plan quite that far in advance, but you do need to be ready before they are.

Not only do you want to present your products before they’re done buying for a season, but you also want to present them before your competition does.

Choose a few stores in your city and contact them to find out when they’re buying for the next season. Then you know how far ahead you must be when planning your seasonal collections.

 

5 – Create a lookbook and/or line sheet

Retail buyers don’t have time to browse your Etsy or Instagram — they need clear, concise info.

A lookbook is more like a catalogue, helping to tell your brand’s story, whereas a line sheet has more details for buying wholesale (e.g. product price, minimum order quantity, available colors, etc.).

A lookbook will help sell the vision, while a line sheet will offer important information to make a buying decision.

You can create both or start with a simple PDF, then eventually work on a lookbook.

Your line sheet should include:

• Business name & logo
• Product photos (clean, consistent lighting)
• Product names, descriptions, item numbers
• Wholesale price, suggested retail price (SRP)
• Minimum order quantities
• Payment terms, lead times, and shipping info
• Contact info and how to order

 

6 – Get organized

Retailers will want to know your lead time, i.e. how long it takes to make a product and deliver it to the store.

And they’ll have a timeline they’re trying to stick to.

So you must be able to fulfill orders in a timely manner.

You also must stay on top of orders and be able to fulfill your promises.

Be sure you’re ready for the potential of bigger orders with short deadlines.

 

7 – Get wholesale orders

I’ve been lucky enough to make several retail connections through craft shows. Shop owners were browsing the event and asked me to contact them about selling wholesale.

Be sure your craft show booth is set up to attract retailers (How to Attract Wholesale Orders at Craft Shows (or on Etsy))

But if you really want to drive wholesale sales, you should create a plan to contact local shops.

Make a list of shops that would be a good fit for your products and then organize them into zones. You don’t want to approach two retailers on the same street, as they both want to carry unique products from the other.

Choose which ones you’ll contact first in each area of your city, then get to work reaching out, asking to talk to the store’s buyer, and setting up meetings to show them your products or gathering information to send them a physical or digital lookbook/linesheet.

>> Here’s The Step-by-Step Guide to Landing Wholesale Orders from Local Shops

 

8 – Deliver and nurture

When you get an order, make sure you deliver on your promises and provide excellent customer service to the retailer.

The goal is to have them place another order with you in a few months.

If you sell seasonal products, you should touch base before their next round of buying.

If your products are less seasonal and more evergreen, you can touch base after a month or two to see how your product is selling. You’ll eventually get an idea of cadence with each store and how often they need to re-order.

 

Moving from craft shows to retail shelves is a big milestone — and a smart way to grow your handmade business.

It takes some prep work, but once you establish yourself with local shops, your products can start working for you year-round (even when you’re not behind a booth).