Is a Wholesale Show Right for You?

Last month we did our first big wholesale show up in Portland, Maine.

Many of you have been asking me to write a post about this show after seeing our trip highlights on Instagram. You can read more about our long weekend in Portland which was so much fun.

For our online shop we’ve been doing wholesale with shops on the South Shore and the Cape but it’s our goal to grow our wholesale presence this year. We thought by doing a show up in Maine we’d reach retailers we couldn’t otherwise.

Are you a small business owner interested in growing your wholesale business? This post might be good for you!

What is Wholesale?

Wholesale is when a brand or maker sells their products to a shop which then sells the items onto a consumer. Wholesale is great because you can sell more products at one time than if you were selling directly to a consumer. For wholesale you usually sell the product or item for 50% less than what you retail it for. Then the wholesale buyer (the shop) sells it to end consumer.

Why I Enjoy Doing Wholesale

• I really love small independent shops – doing wholesale allows me to support small business while growing mine
• It can mean a consistent source of income throughout the year.
• The products I sell (stationery and note cards) are impulse buys. Most people buy these in a shop. So it helps me sell the products.

The New England Made Show

We did the New England Made Show in Portland. This show has been going for a very long time. They run the Portland show in the spring (it’s a bigger show) and the Boxboro Show in the fall. In order to get into show you need to have a majority of your products made in New England and you also have to go through a juried process. This means you fill in an application and you also have to send samples of your products so they can make sure what you’re selling is up to the standard of the show.

This market was very well organized and attended. In preparation the organizers of the show did seminars with the Maine SBDC. I listened to EVERY seminar and took copious notes. The seminars included – how to set up a booth for success, how to price your items, general wholesale and a talk with vendors who had done the show before.

All of this was so helpful in the lead up to the show. We felt very prepared going into the show based on the wonderful information sessions.

Our Booth

I wanted to give you a glimpse at our what our booth looked like before:

Setting up:

The booth was $1,000 for the size we had – an 8 x 10 and came with a chair. I ordered a lighting kit (requirement of the show to have lighting).

This is how it looked after:

My friend Susan let me borrow Pro Panels and high stool. The Pro Panels gave a very professional look and they also meant we could hang my giclée framed prints from them. I also decided I wanted our booth to have a coastal feel so I bought a sea grass rug (to cover the astro turf) and bought a bamboo top and legs from Ikea to create a desk area. I also invested in signage and printing.

Bringing the panels meant we needed to rent U-Haul because we couldn’t fit my inventory in the car.

A Break Down of Costs

These are approximate costs

• Booth – $1K
• Lighting Kit – $149
• Panels – mine were borrowed so I saved money there
• U-Haul Truck Rental – $355 + gas
• Hotel Accommodation – about $200 per night
• Marketing Materials and Signage – $400
• Food / Meals – $50-$100 a day per person
• Decor for the Booth – $300-$500

Approximate total costs ~ $3400

I’m putting this here to show the true cost of going to a market. This doesn’t include your time. I spent many hours setting up a wholesale catalog, line sheet, setting up the booth in our home and then there was the drive up on Friday and set up. Full show days – Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Positives About Doing the Wholesale Show

• We got to meet so many wonderful and interesting people from the organizers of the show the staff at Maine’s SBDC. We also met so many lovely shop owners who were walking the floor and also made so many friends in the vendors and makers in attendance.
• I got contact information for a new printer and new packaging company so I wouldn’t have access to those things if I didn’t attend.
• Great one on one time with buyers and a feel for what shops are looking for.
• I also got a chance to catch up with current wholesale shops.
• I wrote a few orders at the show with shops I wouldn’t have known about otherwise.
• LL Bean and Stonewall Kitchen walk the show looking for new products. I was hoping something in my booth would catch their eye, but my friend got an order with Stonewall Kitchen, which is so exciting!
• Luke and I got a long weekend away. It gave the boys responsibility here at our home with the dogs while we went to the market.

A Peek Inside the Show and Friends Who Exhibited

I thought you’d enjoy a peek at other people’s booths and also would like to meet some of our friends who took part! Some of these people I’ve known for a long time and others are new friends I met at the show (click on their name to be taken to their online sites):

A Wink Design

These are two friends, Cynthia and Beth. Cynthia is the artist and Beth has a background in fashion and retail. I loved the backdrop for their booth and their sweet line drawn tea towels and letterpress cards are so fun.

Stonington Designs

Michelle and Rich are a husband and wife making beautiful hitch covers, nantucket bracelets, and chopping boards.

Michelle is such a talented artist and such a nice person. I met Michelle last year and we chat often on Instagram. I love her Nantucket bracelets and think these hitch covers are perfect for anyone with a boat!

Cinder + Salt

Rachel hand draws all her designs with sharpie and all her apparel and napkins are silk screened by hand in their zero waste print shop. Her designs are beautiful and eco-friendly!

Hey Miss Margie

Margie was our next door neighbor at the show and I bought some of her mushroom stickers for John, he loves mushrooms and is taking a foraging class with Luke. Margie’s work is fun and bohemian and she was so much fun to get to know.

Nautically Northern

Laurel is one of the nicest people and she actually put me in contact with New England Made. She makes handmade jewelry and gifts that are all customizable.

On The Road Again

Mary makes eco friendly totes and home decor. Her bags literally are “on the road again”, the mesh comes from what is used on trucks and the handles are seatbelt webbing. Mary has been very supportive of me and has given me so much advice over the years.

Betsy Barry Art & Design

I loved everything about Betsy’s booth and her art! Isn’t her booth beautiful? She actually grew up in Scituate so we’ve bonded over how great a place Scituate is. All her drawings are with colored pencil. We chat a lot about art and coastal living online. I love her work!

Negatives About the Wholesale Show

• The show was New England Made but many shops were looking only for Maine Made. They’d ask, “Oh, so cute! Are you Maine Made?” To which I’d have to say, “No, I’m based in Massachusetts.”
• I printed too many line sheets and catalogs – I just didn’t know how many to print. I printed 10 catalogs and 100 line sheets but I probably could have printed 20 or 30 line sheets. Some people really wanted hard copies while others just wanted a post card with a QR Code. I had those as well and business cards with different illustrations on the back.
• It was very busy in the morning in the area we were set up in and then the crowds of people would die down around noon-4pm.

An In-Person Wholesale Show vs an Online Wholesale Market

I’m really glad we did New England Made and think it was a success and it was great to put ourselves out there. I’m a little more of in introvert and like being at home so it made me step a bit out of my comfort zone to display my work and myself in this way. I enjoyed all the materials and information open to vendors and felt completely supported. It was a lot of time and money and extremely tiring.

After getting home and unpacking I decided to sign up for FAIRE. FAIRE is an online wholesale marketplace where many shops are finding independent makers and artists. Retailers like FAIRE for a number of reasons, including:

• 60 day payment terms
• Free returns on first order but the seller doesn’t lose money
• Easy payment processing and tracking of previous orders.
• $100 credit and a year of free shipping if they’re new to FAIRE

I had really dragged my feet on signing up with FAIRE because they take a 25% commission on the first order and 15% commission on the follow up orders unless the shop has ordered after having contact with you, in that case it’s 0% commission. So many shops I wholesale with are already on FAIRE and the like to do their ordering on that platform. I also heard many people were writing orders with retailers at NEM using their FAIRE storefront.

If you’re a maker and want to sign up with FAIRE you can do so here. I’m happy to answer any questions regarding the platform. If you’re a shop owner and are interested in carrying our stationery or home decor you can see Finding Silver Pennies on FAIRE.

Will I do another wholesale market in person? I’m not sure the cost and time really added up and I’m finding even more success with FAIRE currently and able to do that from my own home.

If you have any questions about New England Made or in person wholesale shows or FAIRE either leave a comment or send me an email.

I hope this post was helpful if you’re interested in getting into wholesale.

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