Craft Show Payment Question

[Hawk]

My wife has been encouraging me to try doing a craft show for some years now. So this year I am considering it. The 1 question I have is, I'm sure I'll need to be able to take some form of electronic payment. Which one?  The show I have my eye on isn't until Dec 14, so I have time to get my ducks in line, although I'm pretty sure one of them is a pigeon  !

 

Thanks, Chris

[JimNC]

My wife and I have used PayPal elec. payment for years. Just check out the fees they charge before you start. The biggest problems is the wi-fi connection at some of these shows. Able to take a card is really a sales plus.  

[BadBob]

39 minutes ago, JimNC said:

The biggest problems is the wi-fi connection at some of these shows.

Does mobile data not work for payments?

[barb.j.enders]

I use Square.  I have enough data on my phone plan that if there isn't wifi at the venue, or if it is  spotty, I don't have a problem.  There is no startup fee but I did pay for the card reader I use.  When I first signed up, the card reader was included.  Of course, I am in Canada and so the information probably isn't valid for you!

[Wichman]

On 1/25/2025 at 7:44 PM, Hawk said:

My wife has been encouraging me to try doing a craft show for some years now. So this year I am considering it. The 1 question I have is, I'm sure I'll need to be able to take some form of electronic payment. Which one?  The show I have my eye on isn't until Dec 14, so I have time to get my ducks in line, although I'm pretty sure one of them is a pigeon  !

 

Thanks, Chris

Where is your show? Indoors or outside? If inside what kind of building, metal, brick, wood frame, or ?. If you're in an area with bare minimum cell service and in a grounded metal building, you may have spotty or no cell service inside the building. If you are outside with limited cell service and suddenly there are 100+ venders plus customers trying to use the same tower, things can get sketchy.

If you are planning to use Wi-Fi, is it 2.4 gigahertz, 5 gigahertz, 6 gigahertz, or a mix? Does your device match the Wi-Fi available.

Is your device compatible with the card reader equipment you want to use?

I am NOT trying to talk you out of this, but you should be aware of some of the issues that have come my way, and some of those were quite recent.

[Dave Monk]

I use square and have never had any major issues. 

[Dak0ta52]

Like others, I use Square. Most of the vendors at the shows I attend also use Square. I'm glad for that because I sometimes needed help when someone was making a purchase. I think I've gotten the hang of it now. There is a slight charge but in my opinion it is insignificant. In a few days they automatically deposit it into your bank account.

[Hawk]

17 hours ago, Wichman said:

Where is your show? Indoors or outside? If inside what kind of building, metal, brick, wood frame, or ?. If you're in an area with bare minimum cell service and in a grounded metal building, you may have spotty or no cell service inside the building. If you are outside with limited cell service and suddenly there are 100+ venders plus customers trying to use the same tower, things can get sketchy.

If you are planning to use Wi-Fi, is it 2.4 gigahertz, 5 gigahertz, 6 gigahertz, or a mix? Does your device match the Wi-Fi available.

Is your device compatible with the card reader equipment you want to use?

I am NOT trying to talk you out of this, but you should be aware of some of the issues that have come my way, and some of those were quite recent.

Great stuff to consider... Thanks!

[Gonzo]

I do two shows a year. I think I do pretty well at them. I accept cash or check. Though they are big not big shows by any means, I have not lost any sales from not having electronic payment. One less hassle to worry about. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

4 minutes ago, Gonzo said:

I do two shows a year. I think I do pretty well at them. I accept cash or check. Though they are big not big shows by any means, I have not lost any sales from not having electronic payment. One less hassle to worry about. 

Right there with you. I have always just accepted cash or check and not had one person walk away because I did not accept cards. But will say years ago people realized not all people accept cards so they bring cash when they go to shows. maybe things have changed in the last 4 years since I stopped doing shows. 

[kmmcrafts]

23 minutes ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

 maybe things have changed in the last 4 years since I stopped doing shows. 

Yeah, I would say so... not many people carry the checkbook around with them anymore.. same thing with cash, sadly... I wouldn't be able to do any shows around my area without some sort of card reader as nobody around here carry anything but a card.. Now many of the larger shows have a ATM machine set up so people can get cash..

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

1 hour ago, kmmcrafts said:

Yeah, I would say so... not many people carry the checkbook around with them anymore.. same thing with cash, sadly... I wouldn't be able to do any shows around my area without some sort of card reader as nobody around here carry anything but a card.. Now many of the larger shows have a ATM machine set up so people can get cash..

I love going to the store and giving cash and watching these kids try to count out change or try counting if I gave them the right amount. Especially when I give them change too. It is so funny. I rarely use cards. I love that most vendors today use Paypal. Greatest invention for web sites.  

[Gonzo]

8 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

I love going to the store and giving cash and watching these kids try to count out change or try counting if I gave them the right amount. Especially when I give them change too. It is so funny. I rarely use cards. I love that most vendors today use Paypal. Greatest invention for web sites.  

Or, if something cost say, $10.63 and you give them a twenty and a one. They look at ya with a very confused look

[kmmcrafts]

8 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

I love going to the store and giving cash and watching these kids try to count out change or try counting if I gave them the right amount. Especially when I give them change too. It is so funny. I rarely use cards. I love that most vendors today use Paypal. Greatest invention for web sites.  

We like to use cash too, and yes.. many kids and adults do not count cash very well unfortunately.. many people blame the school system for this but I blame the parent.. shame on the school system but more so at the end of the day as a parent it's our responsibility to make sure our kids know these things.. and many other things that are valuable in live that schools don't teach or poorly teach

[barb.j.enders]

I will also accept an e-transfer.  If you do that, then set up auto-deposit because then you don't have to have a security question.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

2 hours ago, Gonzo said:

Or, if something cost say, $10.63 and you give them a twenty and a one. They look at ya with a very confused look

Yea this is a good one too. It is amazing. I do not think it is a parent thing but a product of society. They see everyone using credit and debit cards today. Heck we have a politician now wanting to get rid of the penny. Next they will want to get rid of paper money all together. I remember when I was a kid we use to get excited when we found a penny on the ground. Now we all walk right over them. My excuse is if I am going to make that huge effort to bend over for a coin it better be a nickel or better.

Edited January 28 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[rjweb]

Everything is a card now a days, I never have cash I use my atm or credit card to get the bonus money adds up, RJ

[Wooden Lace]

Another advantage of only using a card is that all your monthly expenses are on one statement.  Makes it much easier to track where the money went, instead of a bunch of cash receipts.

When I did large shows, I took cards, but smaller ones people seemed to know to bring cash or find an ATM.

[Hawk]

A lot to think about. I'm on the fence about the shows, considering the time I would spend prepping for the show, getting there for set up, then the day sitting there plus the booth fee. I leaning toward just donating the items to my local church for their yearly sale. Or maybe a Veterans group.

But thanks everyone for the input, many things I never thought of before.

 

Chris

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

50 minutes ago, Hawk said:

A lot to think about. I'm on the fence about the shows, considering the time I would spend prepping for the show, getting there for set up, then the day sitting there plus the booth fee. I leaning toward just donating the items to my local church for their yearly sale. Or maybe a Veterans group.

But thanks everyone for the input, many things I never thought of before.

 

Chris

Well Chris alot has to do with your age and your ability to get around easily. Also do you have help. I probably would have to make a decision even if there was no pandemic. But that pandemic made up my mind because the 3 shows I did never came back on line. There are fewer shows that are worthy of the investment here in NJ. yes there are the 4 or 5 hour one day shows for churches and things like that but if I was going to setup my display I want customers. Now when I was doing shows and did them for over 30 years, I loved talking with people. Being proud of what I created and expressing that proudness in the way I presented things. You can do none of that if you sell on line. It is all about the photos. Yes maybe over time you developed a following but I did that when selling at shows. I really do not know what I will do with my inventory. As the years go by that decision gets harder and harder. I sold all my shipping boxes an shipping stuff and have no room to store it all again so selling on line is not something I want to do. But maybe that is an avenue you maybe interested in Chris.  But back to your original question, Square was the choice of most vendors that I saw at shows using. 

[Gonzo]

On 1/28/2025 at 9:21 AM, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Yea this is a good one too. It is amazing. I do not think it is a parent thing but a product of society. They see everyone using credit and debit cards today. Heck we have a politician now wanting to get rid of the penny. Next they will want to get rid of paper money all together. I remember when I was a kid we use to get excited when we found a penny on the ground. Now we all walk right over them. My excuse is if I am going to make that huge effort to bend over for a coin it better be a nickel or better.

I still will pick up a penny. Quite a few years ago, I was talking with a very successful business man.  We were talking about the value of a penny. I told him I’d never pick up a penny because it’s worthless. His reply was,” it’s %100 profit and tax free income, and by the looks of ya, there shouldn’t be any effort bending over and picking it up”. To this day I still pick up pennies, and thank goodness there still isn’t any effort bending over to pick one up.

[Jim Finn]

On 1/25/2025 at 8:44 PM, Hawk said:

My wife has been encouraging me to try doing a craft show for some years now. So this year I am considering it. The 1 question I have is, I'm sure I'll need to be able to take some form of electronic payment. Which one?  The show I have my eye on isn't until Dec 14, so I have time to get my ducks in line, although I'm pretty sure one of them is a pigeon  !

 

Thanks, Chris

Look up  "Payanywhere" That is what i have found the best.