Exhibiting at BCTF

As an exhibitor, you’ll need to spend several nights in Harrogate, unless you live within easy commuting distance. Fortunately, Harrogate has a wide range of accommodation available starting at very reasonable rates. You can even camp on site if you prefer!

To check out what’s available, visit this website: https://www.booking.com/city/gb/harrogate.html?aid=339389

For more information about your various travel options, click here.

This also means you don’t need a huge stand. You will only be showing samples of your work. You can use a laptop, tablet or  printed material to explain what other options you have available.

The most important thing from your perspective is that there should be lots of quality buyers at the fair… and there will be.

Understand, however, we’re talking thousands, here, not tens of thousands. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. It doesn’t help you if four out of every five people who visit your stand are looking for cheap imported goods. Those people will throw up their hands in horror at your prices.

The people you want are professionals who are specifically looking for British Handmade goods. They want quality because their customers want quality, and they know what quality costs!

Professional buyers won’t buy just one piece from you – you will set a minimum order. And they will understand that handmade work means every piece is slightly different.

What you are aiming to do is build a stable of buyers who will buy regularly from you for many years to come. For most makers, it takes a while to arrive at this happy state of affairs, but it’s worth it.

Advantages of going the trade route.

Once you are established, your work will be on display in showrooms up and down the country – while you are tucked up in your workshop doing what you do best – making.

Selling not your greatest strength? Don’t worry, you’re in good company. Many makers aren’t comfortable selling their own work. But gallery owners do this for a living. Tap into their skills by having them sell your work for you.

Tired of all that travelling to retail fairs? It was fun at first, but it grows stale pretty quickly with most makers preferring to spend their weekends at home with the family. Although they can be a good way of testing your products with the end-user, they can be expensive and exhausting. Save yourself all that effort and expense by attending one fair – BCTF – and then working through intermediaries.

Why it might not be for you.

Pricing your products

The essence of dealing through the trade is that you sell more items, but most likely at a lower price than you are charging your retail customers. You make a smaller profit per piece, but more profit overall.

To achieve this, you need to set two new prices for each product – a Trade Price, and a Recommended Retail Price (The price at which your trade buyers will sell it on to their customers.)

Getting these prices right is crucial. You must set your price high enough to give you a decent return for your efforts (otherwise, why bother?). But your price must not be so high that your trade buyers can’t sell your work. As a rule of thumb, they will be looking to double your trade price and add VAT.

Building success gradually

For most people, it doesn’t happen overnight. There are always some first-timers who meet with huge success at their first show, but for most, it takes longer. Some buyers won’t buy from you the first time they see your work, no matter how much they like it! They are wary of dealing with someone new who might not be professional enough. You tell them you can deliver in twelve weeks – but can you? You promise the work they will receive will be the same quality as the pieces you displayed at the fair – but will they? Or will you take their deposit and go out of business next week? You can see their point, can’t you?

It’s reassuring, therefore, when they see you at next year’s fair. You’re still in business and presumably others have bought from you and haven’t chased you out of town. Okay then, time to take a chance on you.

The reality for most makers is that it takes three years to become fully established. That doesn’t mean you take your first order in year three! It means your business grows gradually until, three years in, your name and your face is known in the trade and you have a stable of suppliers who keep you busy. Until you reach this happy state, you may need to continue doing some retail fairs, but gradually you will transition from one stream to the other.

Deciding whether this is the right choice for you is tricky. We’re happy to help. call us on 01444 246 446 or email info@bctf.co.uk

That amount gets you a 2m x 1m shell scheme stand, carpeted, with personalised fascia board and lighting, plus your entry in BCTF Online and the printed show directory. There’s nothing more to pay!   

Small batch production is usually fine – you want to make your products in the most efficient way. If you have a small team of helpers, that’s usually okay too. Outsourced printed products are also acceptable, if printed in small quantities.

Buyer can click through to your website and view your fell range of products, including prices if your site is set up that way. They can contact you directly and place orders with you.  

 

If you’re considering BCTF as your first trade show, there’s a lot to be considered. Are you ready to deal with the trade? Are your trade and recommended retail prices viable? How much of your range of products should you display on your stand? What lead time should you quote and should you offer sale-or-return?

Don’t worry! We’ll only accept your application if we are confident that you’re ready, or that we can help you be ready.  

A stand of this size will cost you between £800 -£900 depending on your choice of lighting and whether you want a power socket installed. That’s all-in, including VAT and your page in BCTF Online and the printed show directory.

You pay in up to three installments. 25% with your booking, 25% on 1st September, and the remaining 50% on 1st January. Payment can also be broken down into more installments if required.

Of course, you can have a bigger stand – wider or deeper. A 3 metre by 1 metre stand, for example, would cost between £1,150 and £1,250. When you come to fill in the booking form, it will calculate prices for you, so you can play around and see what suits your budget before committing.

If, however, you qualify to exhibit in one of our special areas – The Newcomer gallery or the Post-Newcomer gallery, you get a subsidised price.