Motivational Monday • Craft Show Cheat Code
How Much Inventory Should I Bring to a Craft Show?
Stop guessing how many products to make. Let’s work backward from your show, your customers, and your sales goal.
A couple of weeks ago, we shared our Fall Craft Show Game Plan and the Craft Show Inventory Planner & Hot Sellers Workbook.
That helped answer:
WHAT should I bring?
But the next question we hear ALL the time is:
How MUCH inventory should I actually bring?
Unfortunately, the answer is not:
“137 products. Exactly. Garrett did the math.” 😂
There is no magic inventory number that works for every craft show.
A 500-person school fundraiser is completely different from a two-day festival with 20,000 attendees.
But you do not have to guess.
The trick is to stop asking:
“How many things should I make?”
and start asking:
“How much could I realistically SELL?”
Missed Part One?
Start With the Fall Craft Show Game Plan
Use it to choose your products, identify your Hot Sellers, and build your production plan.
READ THE FALL CRAFT SHOW GAME PLANYour Quick Start
Want the Cheat Sheet First?
Download the Quick Start guide, then keep reading for the full breakdown.
DOWNLOAD THE QUICK START PDFStart With Attendance
Let’s say your upcoming show expects:
5,000 ATTENDEES
That does not mean 5,000 people will shop your booth.
Some are there for food. Some are there for entertainment. Some are shopping for completely different products.
Some are chasing a toddler holding a funnel cake. 😂
So estimate how many attendees could realistically become shoppers for your type of product.
Important: 20% is just a planning estimate. If you have real data from this show or similar events, use that instead.
Estimate Your Buyers
Now estimate how many of those potential shoppers might actually buy.
For this example, let’s use 5%.
Again, this is a planning estimate.
But now we have something much more useful than:
“Maybe I should make 30 more scarecrows.”
Find Your Sales Target
Now ask:
What does the average customer spend with me?
If you already sell at shows, use your actual average order value.
If you’re new, make a reasonable estimate based on the prices of the products you expect to sell.
For our example, let’s use $40.
Bring More Than Your Sales Goal
If your goal is $2,000, do not walk into the show with exactly $2,000 worth of inventory.
Why?
Because customers need choices.
If all your best products sell Saturday morning, you do not want afternoon shoppers choosing from whatever nobody else wanted.
K&G Planning Rule of Thumb
Your realistic sales goal in retail inventory value
This does not mean you expect to sell all of it.
It gives your customers enough variety and helps your booth stay full and shoppable throughout the event.
Now Try It With Your Numbers
Craft Show Inventory Calculator
Plug in your show numbers below and we’ll calculate a starting sales goal, inventory range, and product mix.
Tell Us About Your Show
Don’t know yet? Start with 20% and replace it with your own data as you do more shows.
We use 5% in our example as a planning estimate, not a magic number.
Roughly 2–3X your realistic sales goal gives you more depth and selection throughout the show.
Your 60 / 25 / 15 Mix
This breakdown uses the middle of the range: a 2.5X inventory target.
This calculator is a planning tool, not a sales guarantee. Your actual results will vary by event, audience, product mix, pricing, booth presentation, weather, and other factors. Replace our starting estimates with your own data whenever possible.
Build the RIGHT Inventory
Now go back to your Craft Show Inventory Planner.
But don’t build $4,000–$6,000 worth of random stuff.
Build intentionally.
Try the K&G 60 / 25 / 15 Rule
PROVEN SELLERS
Your Hot Sellers and Strong Sellers. These are products people already buy. Make more of these.
SEASONAL + SHOW-SPECIFIC
Products that match the season, event, location, or customer. Think fall, Halloween, Christmas, hostess gifts, sports, or local themes.
NEW TEST PRODUCTS
New designs, colors, niches, products, or price points. Test them before making a bunch.
If a test product sells well?
It graduates.
At the next show, it may move into your Proven Seller category.
Don’t Bring One of Everything
This is one of the biggest craft show inventory mistakes we see.
A maker has:
75 DIFFERENT PRODUCTS
...and two of each.
That gives you variety.
But if one product takes off, you’re sold out after two customers.
Meanwhile, the other 73 designs are sitting there waiting for someone to love them.
Bring DEPTH in the products you already know sell.
So... How Many Actual Pieces?
Notice we still haven’t said:
“Bring 150 products.”
That’s intentional.
A maker selling $8 ornaments and a maker selling $125 porch signs could have exactly the same sales goal but need completely different quantities.
That’s why retail inventory VALUE is more useful than simply counting pieces.
Bring Back Your Inventory Planner
Now You Know What Goes in the NEED Column
- Set your sales target.
- Set your inventory-value target.
- Divide it using 60 / 25 / 15.
- Check what you already HAVE.
- Put the difference in NEED.
That’s your production plan.
What If This Is My First Craft Show?
Then your first show has another job besides making money.
IT’S COLLECTING DATA.
After the show, write down:
- Total sales
- Number of transactions
- Average order value
- Products that sold out
- Products customers asked for
- Products that barely got noticed
- Your busiest time of day
Then your next inventory plan starts with your own numbers, not somebody else’s guess.
Motivational Monday Quick Start
Save This for Your Next Show
Keep this cheat sheet handy while you’re planning inventory.
The Goal Isn’t to Bring Everything
Your goal is not to see how much stuff you can cram into your vehicle.
Your goal is to bring enough of the RIGHT inventory to support the sales opportunity in front of you.
MORE inventory does not automatically mean MORE sales.
BETTER inventory does.
And please don’t finish this calculation and decide you need to stay up until 3:00 AM every night cutting MDF. 😂
Prioritize your proven sellers first.
Then work down the list.
THIS WEEK’S MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY CHEAT CODE
DON’T BRING ONE OF EVERYTHING.
BRING ENOUGH OF WHAT SELLS.
Need to work on the rest of your craft show plan?
GO BACK TO THE FALL CRAFT SHOW GAME PLAN