Selling at markets: how to tell if it's worth it

A market is worth it when what you keep, once the cost of the items sold and all your expenses are taken off, matches the time you spend on it. To find out, note for each market your takings, your costs, the cost of the items sold and the number of hours spent.

A market can feel like a success: the stall was busy, lots of people stopped, the day was enjoyable. But to decide whether to go back, you need to look beyond the takings.

Why takings aren't enough

Two markets can show the same figure and tell two opposite stories. The first is ten minutes from home, with low costs and returning customers. The second takes two days of preparation, a long drive and an expensive pitch. The figure is the same, but the decision isn't.

Which figures to note for each market

For each event, note:

• the takings;
• the number of sales;
• the cost of the items sold;
• the pitch fee;
• travel, meals, parking or accommodation costs;
• the number of hours spent, from preparation to packing away;
• a short note on the pitch, the visitors and the weather.

This information is enough to compare a small local market with a big event further away.

The formula for what you keep

What you keep = takings − cost of items sold − market costs

Earnings per hour = what you keep ÷ number of hours spent

The cost of items sold is the cost price of each piece multiplied by the number of pieces sold. If you haven't worked it out yet, the selling price calculator helps you set it. To test a market straight away, the market profitability calculator does the sum line by line.

Step-by-step example (made-up figures)

Imagine a full day at a market:

1. Takings: €640.
2. Cost of items sold: €210.
3. Costs: pitch €40, fuel and tolls €25, meals €12, so €77.
4. What you keep: 640 − 210 − 77 = €353.
5. Time spent: 2 h of preparation, 9 h at the stall, 1 h packing away, so 12 h.
6. Earnings per hour: 353 ÷ 12, or about €29 an hour.

Do the same sum for another market. If the same €640 needed a €180 pitch and a night's accommodation, what you keep would drop sharply, and the decision would change with it.

What figures don't replace

Figures don't replace your intuition; they add to it. Also note the weather, the type of customers, the atmosphere of the market, comments you hear often and contacts made during the day. A commission request, an interested gallery or a visitor who comes back twice in the day don't show up in your takings, but they matter for what comes next.

The average basket and the items that make the day

The average basket shows how much a customer spends on average:

takings ÷ number of sales

A made-up example: €640 ÷ 32 sales = €20 average basket. If it goes up from one market to the next, your customers are buying more or your offer is better put together.

Look at the items too. A small €8 piece may seem secondary, but if it is often added to a main purchase, it lifts the average basket. A large piece can draw the eye without selling often: it is still useful, but it shouldn't be the only thing your profitability rests on.

When is a market worth doing again?

Three signs matter more than the rest:

• your earnings per hour reach the level you're aiming for;
• customers come back from one event to the next;
• comments on your items stay positive, even when the day was quiet.

To follow this week after week, the weekly logbook uses the same figures.

A short template to fill in after each market

• Name of the market, date and place
• Takings and number of sales
• Cost of items sold
• Costs: pitch, travel, meals, parking
• Hours spent: preparation, stall, packing away
• What you kept and earnings per hour
• Decision: do it again, try once more, or stop
• Notes on the visitors and the pitch

Before you set off, the checklist for preparing a market helps you avoid nasty surprises.

Frequently asked questions

Should I drop a market after the first disappointing result?

Not necessarily. A first market can be a way to test an item or a pitch. Compare two or three similar events before deciding.

Does making time go into the sum?

No. This sum counts the time spent on the market. Making time is built into the selling price of each item.

How do I work out the cost of items sold?

Multiply the cost price of one piece by the number of pieces sold, then add up the items. A made-up example: 12 bowls with a cost price of €9 each give €108 in cost of items sold.

To see what you kept after each of your markets, with your earnings per hour, Comptartisan does the sum for you; you then copy your figures into your invoicing tool.