Vendor Show/Booth Cash & Carry: Pricing Strategies

[minjoe_bri]

For those of you who have done cahs & carry at a vendor show/booth, what exactly do you carry?

How do you price it? Do you take item price and tax you spent on it and add a few cents to cover the shipping?

Thank you for any imput.

 

[wadesgirl]

The one time I did it, I just used products I had in my office. This booth required it so that's all I did. Anything else people ordered. I personally do not have the money, the time or the room to "stock" up on products that I do not know will sell. If you want to, get some small items - season's best, rubs, maybe a couple mix n chops. Don't go over board.

 

[BethCooks4U]

I have found that no matter what you stock for a booth, people will be looking for something you didn't bring. Just bring key display items and take orders. I give a deal on shipping at booths and remind them that they won't have to be carrying the items around the event.

I do carry seasons bests and some other small items but usually bring almost all back home with me. Once I carried a bunch of discontinued and spare things. I did sell a few but it wasn't worth the repacking and carrying the rest back home.

 

[lt1jane]

my C&C comes from my director. She has quite the kitchen store on shelves in her basement. I borrow from her and then replace whatever I sell. I focus on items under $20 because that's what people seem to want to sift through when doing C&C. I take orders for anything else I don't have on hand.

My pricing is pretty simple. Catalog price + 10% (Shipping) + tax (shipping is taxed here in Wisconsin). I tell everyone the prices they see are the catalog prices plus a little for taxes and shipping because I still have to pay those myself.

If you have items from different people, I recommend using the colorful garage sale stickers or painter's tape. Each person takes a different color. I put a piece of clear tape under the sticker (to make removal easier). On the sticker goes the item # and the price you are charging. As I sell items, I remove the sticker and put it on a piece of paper. (I also have a spreadsheet organized by item #, description, price that I use as a backup.) I use the stickers to know what I need to reorder.

 

[pchefjaneen]

Most of my cash & carry in the beginning came from surprise boxes purchased at conferences (old retired items) but they do not do those anymore and most of that inventory is depleted. I always have a basket of seasons best, a lot of those are retired, and they go over very well. Then I usually have small items like serving spatulas, rubs, etc that I have gotten with FPV from submitting shows with myself as host. I always just charge the catalog price on current items as I know I am still making money since I got most of them either discounted or free. On retired items, I try to just come up with a price that I think is fair.

 

[BethCooks4U]

I never charge shipping on any cash & carry. People don't want to pay for shipping on things they pick up. Since I carry very little, I do charge shipping on orders but it depends on the order. If it's for something that won't require a guarantee I'll combine the orders and charge less shipping or none. Depends on how much I need the sales that month.

 

[wadesgirl]

my C&C comes from my director. She has quite the kitchen store on shelves in her basement. I borrow from her and then replace whatever I sell. I focus on items under $20 because that's what people seem to want to sift through when doing C&C. I take orders for anything else I don't have on hand.

My pricing is pretty simple. Catalog price + 10% (Shipping) + tax (shipping is taxed here in Wisconsin). I tell everyone the prices they see are the catalog prices plus a little for taxes and shipping because I still have to pay those myself.

If you have items from different people, I recommend using the colorful garage sale stickers or painter's tape. Each person takes a different color. I put a piece of clear tape under the sticker (to make removal easier). On the sticker goes the item # and the price you are charging. As I sell items, I remove the sticker and put it on a piece of paper. (I also have a spreadsheet organized by item #, description, price that I use as a backup.) I use the stickers to know what I need to reorder.

I'm curious as to why you do it this way. If I was spending my time and money on a booth I personally would not want to make money for someone else unless they were giving me a little back (let's say 25% for selling their products for them). At that point I'd rather just take orders out of the catalog.

Please also remember that if you collect sales tax (or technically sell any product cash & carry) you have to report that to the government. I'd rather just sell out of the catalog and avoid that whole hassle.

 

[lt1jane]

I do report the sales to the government. I do not pay my director for the products. I AM NOT selling her stuff for her. I must submit an order to replace the products I sell. I am selling things for myself and it goes toward my career sales. Because I submit an order to replace the products, I am reporting the income and the sales tax collected. Depending on the event, you can get enough sales to submit a party. Many people don't want to place an order for a small item or two, but will happily buy them on the spot. If I don't have something, I will order that and usually deliver it to them.

Thie first time it was brought up to me, I was wondering the same thing. I am not selling my directors stuff for her. No money excanges hands between the two of us. I am just using her products to get the sales that I may very well have missed by not having anything for sale. I have to return ALL products, even the ones I sell.

The first time I had C&C, I had someone rush up to my booth in a panic, they were on their way to a birthday party and needed a present. They were thrilled to get the stuff on the spot. I got a $300 show out of the effort. It was worth it to me.

 

[esavvymom]

Yes- even though you are placing the order after the fact, the gov't still gets its tax-dollars that you collected.BUT back to the question- I've done it a few times, and usually I just had a basket of items I had on hand- mostly the items we can get from the Supply Order at discount to use at our parties for gifts/prizes. They are small things. They include quikut knives, twix-its, Season's Best (including old ones), some spices maybe. Last year, I bought a bunch of things- what a waste! I was at least smart in that alot of it were spices/rubs/sauces, which I'm gradually using. I haven't done many booths since that one year that I spent alot of time/money doing them with nothing in return, but would I do C&C again? No- not anything more than a simple basket of whatever I had on hand already or a small prize order that I knew I could use at shows later.

 

[wadesgirl]

I do report the sales to the government. I do not pay my director for the products. I AM NOT selling her stuff for her. I must submit an order to replace the products I sell. I am selling things for myself and it goes toward my career sales. Because I submit an order to replace the products, I am reporting the income and the sales tax collected. Depending on the event, you can get enough sales to submit a party. Many people don't want to place an order for a small item or two, but will happily buy them on the spot. If I don't have something, I will order that and usually deliver it to them.

Thie first time it was brought up to me, I was wondering the same thing. I am not selling my directors stuff for her. No money excanges hands between the two of us. I am just using her products to get the sales that I may very well have missed by not having anything for sale. I have to return ALL products, even the ones I sell.

The first time I had C&C, I had someone rush up to my booth in a panic, they were on their way to a birthday party and needed a present. They were thrilled to get the stuff on the spot. I got a $300 show out of the effort. It was worth it to me.

This is a much better explaination of what you do. I was confused myself and didn't want somebody who was new thinking that they would be out sales if they just borrowed products from someone else.

 

[minjoe_bri]

Thanks Ladies... I am doing a vendor fair Labor Day weekend. My SIL sells Cookie Lee and she invited me to be part of their annual event. Cool, huh?
Anyway, there are no requirements other then $25 for the day, bring entire own set up, ei. EZ up, tables, my stuff etc... There will be no other PC people there.
I have read so much here on this web site, but still wanting to hear everyones experience so I can make the best decision possible.
I made up an information sign up/in sheet to collect interested peoples info... is that a good idea? How do you ladies actually get peoples information or book parties?

 

[alicia_pchef]

I can tell you that from experience, if it advertised as a shopping day, bring cash and carry. People are there to shop and want to take stuff home with them, not wait for an order. If it's a booth for some other event and you just happen to be there, you probably won't sell much cash and carry if any. I bring popular items like the food chopper and spatulas, etc and usually sell a few no matter where I am.

 

[esavvymom]

I think also, many people who are familiar with PC know how it would work (order, host a party, etc)....or they will at least stop and look at what you've got on the table "Just looking to see what's new". That's when you can ask how long it's been since they have been to a party, then if they've ever hosted, etc.So yes, some will only be looking for C&C, but most who come in, are familiar with PC in some way, so aren't too surprised. ANd if they ask, you say "No, but I'm putting in orders tomorrow, and the turn around is usually within a week." And then explain from there -if you are doing direct shipping only, or offering to combine for flat-rate shipping (if you have enough) and you will then deliver orders to those local, etc. Know ahead of time your plan so you can explain accordingly.You'll get lots of great info from folks about doing booths, and things we've learned in the http://www.chefsuccess.com/f52/things-ive-learned-doing-booth-table-51121/ thread.

 

[jeanlewis13]

I LOVE doing booths and usually have a few items on hand for C&C. This summer, I have been using the "wedgers" --- pineapple, mango, veggie, and the apple corer/wedger. I get the most sales of the Veggie Wedger using oranges for the demo --- soccer moms and dads love it, as well as little league parents. I've even sold them to fruit/vegetable stand owners for their samples for customers. Second best sales = garlic peeler and slicer. I also point out how the slicer can be used for chocolate, carrots, etc.
Jean

 

[priseortega]

I have a basket that I take with me. My biggest sellers are seasons best, citrus peelers and mini spatulas.

 

[ChefShalon]

I do booths all the time at my huge local flea market. I bring quite a bit of cash and carry as people are there to shop and will buy stuff. I just have little price tags on there with the price from catalog plus tax plus a tiny bit for shipping. I dont tell anyone that i have included this I just say the price thats on there is the final price. I then take it all as a party. And having a drawing tickets for the winner to get the host benefits.

 

[pcsharon1]

I guess I do things quite a bit differently. I only have items that I have on hand, usually extra products that I've earned or items I've gotten as a host and don't need. Most of the time my products are actually priced a bit below the price in the catalog because they are giving up their warranty by purchasing cash and carry and I feel our warranty is a big part of the price of our products. Without a receipt they don't have a warranty and you never know how long a product has been sitting in a box in my basement - the warranty could be expired anyway.

Now, if I'm taking orders, I just go by the catalog and order form. No one has ever complained.

 

[keril]

I never do cash and carry at boutiques/vendor shows and still do fairly well. I will make homemade cookies and offer one to every person within shouting range and when they come to take it, I share how it's made on the stone. Then I ask if they'd like to try our food chopper or garlic press (I have tons of carrots and garlic cloves on hand). I put a sign out that says "FREE gift with everyopurchase and ANOTHER FREE gift with every $60 purchase" and that brings them in too. The free gift I give is a Season's Best and of course, the other is the guest special. I once did a boutique at a corporation and I was the only vendor who sold over $1000 and the only one with no inventory for cash and carry!

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

I too, have cash and carry, mostly items under $20. I charge catalog price, rounded up to the next dollar to cover sales tax. And I use the money I earn to buy more cash and carry, usually the items purchased from my booth. I just turned in a show with $60 of the sales from Cash and Carry, $30 from orders placed by people at the fair, and the rest by random customers, including one I met at a fair years ago.

 

[Chef Bobby]

I do booths as a means of making contacts for future shows and recruits. I've found that my best sellers are mini spatulas, ice cream scoops, mix and chops, batter bowls, and our pitchers. I usually have something nice in case someone needs a wedding gift. Anything that could need a warranty I advise them to place an order. Around Christmas I trade my PC for gifts in other booths. I've had one lady that bought most of my used items from my tool turn about. She wanted it then and paid full price. I never charge anything but the catalog price.

 

[Shawnna]

Ok...I'm confused on the tax thing. I don't do booths or have cash and carry. But, when you ordered the products didn't you already pay the sales tax? And PC would already report that. I guess if you only paid tax on your cost (roughly 80%) then you would need to report any extra tax that you charged when you charged the customer full price (the other 20%).