Fundraiser Vendor Table Fee: Is It Worth Paying for a Spot?

[Rosechef]

I am having a vendor/open house show in a few weeks at my house. I passed around flyers. Then one of the recipients of the flyer emailed me and asked me to do a fundraiser on Nov. 21 and asked me to see if all the other vendors from my open house would be interested. I called and I got about five other vendors going to do this.

Then I got an email asking "Also would it be a problem if you had to pay a small fee for a table… ($38) let me know" First off, I don't think that is a small fee, but I'm kind of annoyed that they asked me to pay a fee, when I'm doing a fundraiser....kwim?

I've never done a fundraiser, so maybe I'm off base, here. I don't know how large this will be, but they've only got a few weeks to put this together. At 15% commission, I'm not so sure I'm willing to do this, if they ask me to pay.

What do you think?

 

[chefheidi2003]

Most of the booths that I have done I have had to pay a fee. My biggest issue with all of this is that if she wanted you to ask other people to do it, I think she should have told you about the fee before you did that.

What kind of fundraiser is it? I do a booth at a Christmas Bazaar fundraiser at my church every year. I have to pay for the booth. But if I get sales while there I just submit them as a show with me as the host, but I don't normally get a lot of business from it. I usually give them a small donation then on top of what I paid for the booth. But like I said I don't set it up as a fundraiser so it is all out of my pocket but I determine how much I am going to give by how much I make.

 

[NooraK]

I can see the concern about getting less commission and being asked to pay for the table. I don't think I'd have a problem paying for a table for a fundraiser event if I knew it would be worth it. 15% (or 17%) is less than a cooking show, but on a $1000 or a $2000 fundraiser it adds up to more than a $500 show. If it were an event with high attendance, and something advertised specifically as a shopping opportunity, I might be OK paying for the table.

I think the biggest issue I have is the person not being up front about it. It feels sneaky to me to get you to find five vendors, and then "oh, by the way... " almost in a spirit of "now that you've agreed to this, I'm going to charge you, figuring you're not going to back out."

 

[Rosechef]

I had already told her that the fundraisers were between 15 and 17%. If I had known that there was going to be a fee involved, then I would have told her 10%....submitted it as as show, gotten the free products and given her the 10% from my pocket. I would make out better.

 

[Rosechef]

Noora, This is actually my Aunt. She isn't being sneaky, just that this wasn't set up until recently and it started out as a Silpada vendor doing a fundraiser. My aunt figured that they would get more interest if they used my vendors from the flyer, so she asked me if I would be interested and asked me to ask them. They hadn't booked a place to do it in and I guess as the day is playing out, the two places they had in mind want to charge to rent the room (even though it's for a scholarship fund for those two places, which seems kind of dumb).

Since it is being put together so quickly, I doubt they will have much time to advertise this and since this is also their first time doing this, I don't know how much traffic will be there and there's nothing before to give me an idea. I wouldn't expect this to be anywhere close to a $1,000 show. AND if I'm not going to get bookings out of this, it would really tick me off.

 

[chefheidi2003]

It is up to you what you do..but..especially since keep in mind the amount that they would get from PC would depend on how much the sales are. Because if they are under $600 they would only make 10% anyway. I would let them know that since you have to pay to set up a booth that the amount of money that they raise is dependant on the sales that you get. I would probably wait to see how much my sales are before I absolutely decide to submit it as a fundraiser or a show.

I am sure that there are people who would disagree with me that you already told them 15% but I would just let them know that that was before you knew about paying for the table. It sounds to me like most of the people who are organizing this are familiar with DS companies. They will understand that this is your business and you need to make money as well.

 

[pcchefjane]

When we do Vendor events like that, we do $10 plus 10% of your sales. That way if it is a bust (as one was last year at a local school) then you are only out the $10! Since she is your aunt, I would tell her that you are very uncomfortable doing this after inviting others to participate and it being a high fee for a table. I would also mention the fact that with sales less than $600 (which is very likely since it is multi-vendor), they would only receive 10% either way.

 

[Becca_in_MD]

It sounds like it's not being planned very well and you already have the feeling it won't be well publicized or attended. The fundraising should be one or the other: either charge a fee for the table or a % of the sales, not both. I know some places charge a fee for the table and ask you to contribute a product to the silent auction, which is fine since we usually have extra product on hand. I did one last Nov. and they asked for a % of sales and didn't specify what %. It was sad b/c I had very little sales so I upped it a little in terms of what I donated. I did get one booking from it and that lead line is still going strong.

I would be up front with the other vendors who you brought on board. Let them know there are no hard feelings if they want to back out. I find it odd that your aunt wanted you to get all of those other people involved. I'm suspicious of the Silpada person, too. What's her role? Is she basically asking you to bring her more customers?

 

[Ginger428]

Noora, This is actually my Aunt. She isn't being sneaky, just that this wasn't set up until recently and it started out as a Silpada vendor doing a fundraiser. My aunt figured that they would get more interest if they used my vendors from the flyer, so she asked me if I would be interested and asked me to ask them. They hadn't booked a place to do it in and I guess as the day is playing out, the two places they had in mind want to charge to rent the room (even though it's for a scholarship fund for those two places, which seems kind of dumb).

Since it is being put together so quickly, I doubt they will have much time to advertise this and since this is also their first time doing this, I don't know how much traffic will be there and there's nothing before to give me an idea. I wouldn't expect this to be anywhere close to a $1,000 show. AND if I'm not going to get bookings out of this, it would really tick me off.

The "sneaky" person here is the Silpada vendor. I have had a few run ins with them already & will NEVER do any business with any of them!! I don't think they get ANY training what so ever. Also very little ethics. Sorry to come on strong, but that name hits a nerve with me. They are trying to get away without laying out any money & most likely trying to make you a caterer!! I hope in your case I'm wrong, but beware....

 

[Rosechef]

Okay, thanks everyone. Wow, Ginger. I've never dealt with anyone from Silpada. I've gotten a few invites, but never went, because I'm just not that into jewelry. I have some things, but nothing that I'm willing to part over a 100 bucks for, especially if it's fake stuff, kwim?

I guess I'll find out more on Monday.

 

[kam]

Okay, thanks everyone. Wow, Ginger. I've never dealt with anyone from Silpada. I've gotten a few invites, but never went, because I'm just not that into jewelry. I have some things, but nothing that I'm willing to part over a 100 bucks for, especially if it's fake stuff, kwim?

I guess I'll find out more on Monday.

As far as I know, I think Silpada is real Sterling Silver. I am almost certain things like Cookie Lee are not.

 

[scottcooks]

Hmmm... smells like a skunk, unprepared like a skunk, I wouldn't do it. If you want, setup an "absent display" with a couple catalogs, maybe a tool turnabout with no more than 12 items in it, have her sign for the items, and get them back after the event. If she makes $200, make it a catalog show for her.If you've already agreed, go prepared to 'be schooled' in bad way to do an event like this. Good ones are 8+ vendors, coffee table or tiny nook in someone's home and a constant stream of guests. Good luck with it!Too often I have spent entire weekends at a well-meaning person's home who didn't get the word out and had a washout or 2 people attend between Sat/Sun.

 

[aPamperedBride]

Having spent today at a multi-vendor event, I'll second what others have said. Often sales are lower because dollars are spent between the choices, so while candles and jewelry aren't usually considered competition for kitchen tools, they compete for the same dollars in someone's hand! There was a $25 fee for my event today. I offered to handle the food and was supposed to be reimbursed, but did not get $$ from the host, so I may have spent double! (Plan to email her and ask. She bought the champagne for the mimosas and wine for the sangria.) Right now, I'm at about $225 in sales, so around break-even on cost-benefit. One good lead for a booking to follow up with as well. One ace in my corner was that the Pumpkin Gems were a PC recipe and not a Homemade Gourmet mix, so I could tell others that I'd email it to them if they gave me their email! I've never done a multi-vendor fundraiser before...but if the group has an auction for fundraising, you can offer prizes from the host benefits instead of submitting as fundraiser. On $200 show, that can be $40 product instead of $20 cash, so it can be a worthwhile alternative.

 

[Chef Bobby]

I've always had to pay a fee to work fundraiser type craft fairs because the cost of the booth is what goes to the fundraiser. Our sales didn't go toward the fundraiser.