Michelle H Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:08 am
Yep, I have done loads of them.
Firstly, don't forget you need to get permission from head office. You need to fill out a "market day application" available on the reps page.
Secondly, don't get too excited. lol These are great for showing your stuff and getting the word out but they are rarely big money spinners.
You need to check if your local council requires you to have a permit. Some councils do, these usually cost money (around $20). My local council used to charge the $20 but now I only need to submit a notice of intent to trade (or something like that).
Usually you need to pay a stall fee (anywhere between $10-50), give a donation, have samples, have loads of catalogues to hand out, business cards and most people will want to buy on the day so you would need to have a fair range of stock on hand.
My average sales at these things is $130. I have done a few that were over $500 but mostly they are around $120-$150.
Consider your outgoings of the above expenses, say fees of $15, donation $20, samples $20, catalogues $20+, you have already outlaid $75 and possible permit fees. This means to break even you need to sell $250 of product. In those few hours you could have done a party, used $10 of samples and sold a few hundred dollars worth of product.
I also rarely get party bookings. I only do fundraisers for friends these days. If they ask me to do their kids kinder or whatever and the fees aren't too high then I do it. If I don't know the organisation then I day no.
Samples - I offer 3 different things. Always the berry mix as it covers all flavours of chocolate, black forest jellies (milk) as they are small, so you get plenty in the sample bags, and white berry bites. WBB are extremely popular and so is white chocolate. Always go for the samples that have more in their bags, most licorice does but a lot of people don't like licorice. I do take a few back ups as well, just for variety. If I run out of one of my first 3. NEVER use nut products as samples.
I take as much stock as I can. I keep a large amount on hand so depending on what other parties I have on, I usually take minimum of $800 but usually closer to $1000.
Don't forget you cannot claim it as a party so any donations are to come out of your own pocket.
Sorry to sound so negative. We have had a lot of Reps complaining that they don't make money on fundraiser markets and a lot of reps don't do them for the above reasons.
This is why we need you to fill out applications and then return the feedback form after the event. We will be reviewing all the information later this year.
They can be a lot of fun and you will meet other party planners but at the end of the day they usually aren't money makers.
As for products to take - a few bags of the ones you sample, and then it is pretty hard to guess what they want. Just because they are mums doesn't mean they want "nanna" type products, some of us mums are young! lol
I always have the freckle letters/numbers (only one or two of each) some hearts, a star, the funny faces, a giant freckle etc.. and lots of bags, mostly the $6.50 stuff.
If you don't have one of our table clothes it might be a good idea to get one, the look very professional. Just remember to keep it crease free! lol
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