From speaking to my suppliers there seems to be less and less interest in Autumn fair every year. They seem more focused on Spring Fair.
It’s slowly got worse and worse for the amount of exhibitors, yes you can still get accounts and experience of talking to reps which is always good.
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I’m not going this time. I’ve been to these fairs plenty of times in the past when I had physical gift shops. They’re brilliant for getting show discounts to eke out some extra margin and finding new products. With a physical shop, you’re operating closer to RRP with a decent margin.
For Amazon or eBay, it doesn’t work as well. With 18-20% commission, plus P&P and returns, there’s not much left for a single listing, especially when Amazon might be selling the same product, so you’re at a disadvantage. You need to look for bundles, volume deals, or clearance suppliers for Amazon.
The big volume and clearance suppliers (like pound stores) prefer physical retail and have large minimum orders, so you’re competing with the big players both on the high street and online. You need to be very careful about what you buy.
One additional strategy is to find suppliers or manufacturers not yet on Amazon, where you can offer to help them with an exclusive deal. I have a couple of these arrangements, but it’s hard and time-consuming.
It’s worth going if you’re new, as you’ll need to learn the ropes, but don’t expect a simple one-to-one wholesale flip. Those opportunities don’t exist anymore.
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I’ve been to the spring fair, it was an absolutely time waste. I went back with no words on how to explain how awful the experience was.
Not even one person approached me when looking into suppliers, when I approached them I found rude, ignoring and even greedy people. A big NO for me.
This time I will check their suppliers list online and make contact by email if I find something I would like, saving my time and happiness.
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I’m thinking about it, but is it worth it?
I think one of the reasons for this is that most customers have already made their orders for Q4 before Autumn fair begins.
And their are simply people attending Spring Fair. So it makes more sense to exhibit at the show with more people.
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