The Haunted Wood presents: On the Care and Feeding of Merchants

You may not realize how important vendors / merchants are to a successful faire. Merchants will draw patrons, advertise your event, contribute to the faire atmosphere, and definately, definately, help shape the future of your event. This guide will walk you through some of the basics to keeping your vendors happy.

Because much of this guide was written with Renaissance faires and Pagan festivals in mind, some of it may not be applicable to you- Material below that only applies to outdoor events is in purple. Renfaires have issues of costuming and keeping things "period", and many of these events offer camping. The items in red type relate primarilly to renfaires, those in green are Pagan oriented, and the stuff in blue deals with camping. You can skip over the stuff that's not relevant if you want, but who knows? You may find something useful in those parts as well.

Note: Thanks to the vendors and merchants who helped write this guide. If anyone has anything to add, feel free to email me.

But First:

1) Everybody loves to shop!
A good selection of vendors is an attraction in and of itself. Really- Look how many people attend events built around nothing but vendors, such as craft fairs and flea markets. Many faire vendors represent home businesses, and offer unique, handcrafted, or theme-specific goods. Your patrons will appreciate, and in some cases specifically attend your event for, the chance to purchase goods that are unavailable anywhere else.

2) Vendor fees get paid early
Two words: Starting Capital. The money you take in from vendor fees will likely be the first income your event generates. This gives you cash in hand for renting a site and facilities, and for advertising and promotion.

3) Vendors are like staff that pay you to be there
Your vendors will be able to help patrons find thier way around your faire, tell people about the scheduled entertainment and events, and generally help the faire to run more effectively. They bring thier own costumes and props, and fill out the overall number of people committed to making the faire happen. Remember that it is in thier best interest for you to do well- and attract more paying customers for them.

4) Vendors will give you free advertising
Nearly all vendors make an effort to let people know where they can see them to shop in person. Nowadays, most have websites and a few make up flyers or catalogs, not to mention loads of word of mouth. Most will provide links to your website if you do the same for them, and many will even help to hype your event if they think it sounds fun or profitable.

5) Vendors talk to each other
Vendors who work the same circuit end up getting to know each other pretty well. They frequently trade information on wholesale deals, shoplifters or bad debtors, and events both past and future. This can work for you or against you- it is extremely common for a vendor who has had a particularly memorable experience to recomend to others whether to avoid or sign up for a particular event. Once word spreads thoroughout the circuit, your reputation can make or break any future plans.

6) Most vendors will pitch in
Again, it is in thier best intrest to get along with everyone and help the event run smoothly. If yours is a charity or nonprofit event, many vendors will be willing to donate prizes or raffle items. Some may be willing to volunteer. Some may have other businesses or skills in construction, design, printing, or organization. Some may even be talented performers or entertainers. Whether they donate, barter, or work for a negotiated fee, they can be an extremely valuable resource.

7) Vendors know what they're doing
Not only that, but they will share the benefit of thier knowledge. A single vendor working three weekends a month for the summer can log well over a thousand hours of faire experience in the course of just 2 or 3 years. Now realize that some of your vendors have been working longer seasons across multiple states for years or even decades. Get 15 or 20 vendors together and there is very little they haven't seen from a perspective that is both from inside and outside that of the faire organizers. They know what works and what doesn't better than just about anyone, and will be happy to give you advise if you just take the time to ask.

1) Thou shalt harness the power of the internet
Okay, seriously here- it's the 21st century and not having internet access is like not having a telephone. Have a website set up for your event. Maintain separate email addresses for general, staff, vendor, and personal correspondance. Sign up for PayPal or a similar program. Trade links and publicise your web presence. Do we really need to tell you this stuff?

2) Make sure your vendors have time to set up and break down
Most vendors require a 30 minute to two hour window for setup and another for packing up. Make sure that this is all within daylight hours or plan on having some sort of lighting. Most vendors will be ready to get home by the end of a long day, but don't make them feel any more rushed than they already do. Schedule enough time to be able to clean up the site after all the vendors have left.

4) Pay attention to other events in your area
Late summer through halloween, and the winter hollidays are very busy times for most vendors. It is not uncommon for vendors to book events several months or even a full year in advance. Plan your event early and let people know as soon as possible. Keep an eye on what other events may be happening in your area and try to plan around them. Vendors often have to choose which of multiple events to attend on a specific day, so be realistic about the scope of your own. You may be able to pull vendors away from the local church craft fair, but can you really compete with the festival 20 minutes away that's been featured on the Today Show? Your vendors will go where they think the money is.

3) Vendor applications should be sent out early, and deadlines should be reasonable
Given the nature of the busy season, vendors like to stake out thier spots early. Deadlines should be as accommidating to last minute signups as reasonably possible. Early sign up discounts are usually work well for getting people in the door early rather than late.

5) Keep your vendors informed
Set up a web page and use email to keep vendors informed of deadlines, changes, and other important information. Vendors need to have all the info on setup times, parking, who the check in person will be, pet and smoking policies, etc. Send an email a few days before the event with a weather report and any last minute changes. A link to MapQuest or Google Maps is nice as well.

6) Limiting buy/sell is good. Limiting handcraft is bad.
Some event planners try to restrict competition between vendors. This seems mostly to be the case with county craft fair settings where, lets face it, half the people are using the same country kitchen stencil pattern on the same wooden doodad from AC Moore. The more specialized and/or esoteric the theme of your event is, the less of an issue this becomes. Handmade items are by nature unique, and most vendors keep the competition friendly, or even send each other customers. While a non-competition policy is actually a decent idea for the vendors who simply resell catalog merchandise, it will greatly limit your vendors of handmade goods. That said, it IS sometimes okay to restrict the number of a particular type of vendor. For example, if you already have an inordinate number of jewelry makers, it would be reasonable to deny any more until you had enough non-jewelry vendors to ensure a balanced selection of goods. Try to use your better judgement here- it can be a tough call sometimes.

7) Contact info
This is another one of those things that should go without saying, but make sure that people can reach you. Email address and phone number are vital. Also provide a cell phone or the number of the venue for vendors to reach you on the day of the event in case they get lost on the way or need to cancel

8) Keep a standby list
There is a good chance you will have vendors that want to sign up after the deadline, or perhaps you have more vendors than you have places to put them. There is also a chance that one or more vendors will cancel at the last minute. If you are prepared, one problem can solve the other. Send an email to any vendors that you had to turn away asking if they would like a last minute call should another vendor cancel.

1) Vendors require foot traffic
People will walk out of thier way to get to food, entertainment, or the restroom. As much as they like to shop and want to see everything, they will seldom go out of thier way to return to a merchant. Vendors need a constant stream of foot traffic past thier booth, and in a perfect world, every attendee will need to make several trips past each booth if they want to eat and see all the entertainment. Put some thought into your site layout beforehand and look to see how many times the average person walks past a specific spot. Do not isolate vendors, and NEVER put them in a seperate area from everything else unless the local laws or hosting venue absolutely require it.

2) Make sure there is easy access
The vendors will be moving heavy boxes of merchandise and large unwieldy tables and tents. Make sure they have access to get thier vehicles as close as possible the thier spot. Don't worry, they know to park elsewhere before the event starts. Likewise, if it's at all possible, make sure vendors have access to both the front and rear of thier booth.

3) Vendors like to camp near thier booth
If your venue is one that permits camping, then by all means, let the vendors camp near their booths. In most cases, they are providing their own security--often there is thousands of dollars in merchandise at stake--and often they are security for the nearby booths as well. Vendors who are up in the middle of the night anyway because of a funny noise will stake down and tie down their neighbors' tents in weather, as well.

4) Don't have people walking behind a vendor
Foot traffic means in front of the booth with a view of the merchandise, not in back of the booth with a view of the cash box and half eaten sandwich. If you must have vendors behind one another, place them back to back with a narrow access corridor between.

5) Have a designated check in person
When you arrive early in the morning, under-caffinated, and worrying about having time to set up, there is nothing more frustrating than having three different people saying "gee, I dunno...let me check with---". Have a designated check in person--preferably two--who know exactly where everyone is meant to go. Keep one person at the gate AT ALL TIMES--make sure a person is findable. The other can roam, point out exact spots for vendors, and generally facilitate vendors finding their space. When vendors arrive, they want to get down to business and set up. Having to wait while someone finds the one person who knows the setup means losing setup times. The vendor needs to know four things as of the moment they arrive: 1) where to set up 2) how to get their stuff to that point 3) where to park afterward and 4) where the bathroom is.

6) Maps are good
Have a map of the grounds that shows vendors' locations, facilities, stages, parking, and other features. Making copies for your vendors is nice, but what is nessesary is for your check in person to have a copy with them. Not only will this help your vendors, but you will find it useful for yourself in planning traffic flow and making sure things are laid out in an orderly fashion.

7) Check needs before assigning spots
This isn't always possible, but if you at least make an attempt, your vendors will remember the gesture. Different vendors have different needs for their space. Some may want access to electricity or other services if you offer them. Some may prefer two or three open sides to thier booth. Indoors, some may require wall space. Certain vendors who know each other may want to be grouped together. Follow basic retail rules: Vendors with bulky or high ticket items should be where people will pass them on the way out. Aviod putting similar vendors too close to each other. Put jewelry next to clothing. A little forethought goes a long way.

8) EZ-Ups are 12x12, not 10x10
Actually, they are 10x10- but unless the sight of steel and nylon canopies darting about in a heavy wind strikes you as somehow safe, leave room for tie downs.

1) Water
Make sure there is access to water for your patrons, but also your vendors. Vendors are tied to their booths--they can't often wait in a long food line for a bottle of water. If you are not providing drinkable water, make sure to say so ahead of time- Most vendors will cheerfully bring their own as long as they know to. Remember- if you run short for patrons, chances are vendors might run short too.

2) Bathrooms
A vendor who camps loves to see flush toilets. It becomes a real point of desire after a weekend in the sun! That said, if your venue demands portapotties, please, please make sure they are clean. Make sure there are enough of them. Make sure that they have toilet paper. And put them where vendors can get to them quickly.

3) Showers
We know that this is a rare commodity, but showers are the real draw for a camping vendor. Vendors arrive earlier and break down after everything else is done, and a shower after that is an absolute gift from the gods. If you can possibly manage it, have showers available to your vendors who camp. Make sure they are unlocked, if the site locks them. If all you can do is a hose attached to a faucet, please let vendors know where it is. If you promise the showers will be available, and then for some reason they are not, apologize profusely and explain what happened to the vendors. There is nothing worse than working hard all day, anticipating a shower, and then having none and no explanations forthcoming.

4) Trash
Vendors generate trash: wrappings, old packing materials, etc. But vendors also pick up trash around their booths. Please make sure you have plenty of trash cans around for vendors, and also for patrons. This is particularly important near food courts; there is no one more irate than a vendor who has people dumping their food trash in their booth simply because the venue has not bothered to put out trash cans.

A good idea that will make your life much easier for a multi day event is to simply hire a dumpster from the local trash collection company. They will deliver it empty and pick it up full. You can rent one for a week for around the same price as a porta potty. Makes garbage issues much, much easier to deal with.

5) Parking
Vendors will be driving large vans, trucks, and occasionally towing small trailers. Most are perfectly happy to leave the good spaces for patrons to park, but be sure to factor their vehicles into your general plans. Some vendors need to leave merchandise in their trucks, and food vendors especially may need to make multiple trips back and forth on a regular basis. Again, this goes back to finding out specific needs- even if you can't fully accomidate, just making a reasonable effort will earn you points.

6) Security
Ask your security and/or support people to pop by the vendors booths from time to time. As previously stated, vendors see everything and often get questions from patrons- a good rapport with security will benefit both you and your vendors.

Online payment processing
Having the option for your vendors to pay for thier spots and submit forms electronically will help get things done quicker and easier.

Paypal lets anybody online send money to you. It is free to sign up and free to send money.

Propay is a credit card processor. For $35 per year, you can accept Visa and Mastercard. For another $30, you can take AmEx and Discover as well, plus process payments via phone.

Websites
Have a freakin' website already! It is now so cheap and easy to get set up that there really is no excuse for not having an online presence.

Drak.net has an introductory hosting package for under $40/year. Throw in a domain name, and you have everything you need for $53. Thier package includes a control panel and something called Fantastico- both will let you set up fairly advanced features such as guest books, mailing lists, site traffic tracking, and email accounts with great ease. http://www.drak.net

Go Daddy also has a hosting package for around $40/year, and has excellent domain name services. They have a couple package deals that include a domain name, hosting, and SSL that start at right around $100. http://godaddy.com

Where to find vendors
Craft Lister is a site that lists various handcrafters by category and lets you search by zip code, so you could find, for instance, all of the knitters within 50 miles of your event.

For Pagan festivals, The Witch's Voice has hundreds of listings for crafters, tarot readers, reiki practitioners, etc.

Directions
Either MapQuest or Google Maps will let you link directly to your location from either a webpage or email.