New vendor questions

[Stripe13]

Hello! This season has gone great for me this year, and I’m planning on vending my very first expo in August. I do have a few questions though. I’ve started to get all the supplies I’ll need for the show, such as a banner, backdrop, lights, tablecloth, deli cups w/ lids, creature care cards, and more.

My first question is is there anything that you bring with you to shows that someone may not think about? I’m pretty sure I got a good grasp on the basic supplies I need, but if there’s anything in particular you can think of I’d love to hear it!

Second, when do you pack up reptiles to go to the show? The show I’m going to is about a 40 minute drive from my house so luckily that’s nice. Should I pack up my leopard geckos the night before, or the morning of? Do they need any supplemental heat while they are packed up/at the show? I will be making sure there deli cups are spotless, but is there any other care requirements I should keep in mind while at the expo?

Third is what do you use to process credit card payments? I’ve been interested in square, but I’ve heard that some other breeders have had issues with it. I could just use cash and PayPal, but I want to make sure I don’t loose a potential sell because I can’t accept credit card payments. Also for cash, how much do you bring with you to make change, and how many different bills?

Finally, whats the minimum amount of animals that you bring with you? I have about 4 hatchlings big enough to be sold right now, and I should have at least 2 or more ready by the show. I know I won’t have a large number of animals, so I’m also planning on selling some succulents, stickers, and possibly some artwork of mine to help draw some attention. Do you think this will be enough? Do you have any tips to help encourage people to come to my table?

Thank you for reading this! I’d love to hear your thoughts

 

[acpart]

Congrats on contemplating your first show. It's definitely a good idea to bring some other stuff so you don't just have a table with 6 geckos. When I was breeding I packed up my geckos last thing, just before I left. However, I had all the deli cup lids ready to go and labelled. You should be fine without supplemental heat. I used to do a show where I'd pack them up Saturday night, drive 2 hours to my friend's house, keep them in their deli cups overnight, drive another hour or so to the expo, and then drive back 4 hours to my house. They were all fine. Here are some other things to consider bringing:
--hand sanitizer so you can have people wash their hands before and after handling your geckos (because who knows what else they've been handling)
--copies of a care sheet if you choose to do that
--your card with your contact info. This could be on the care sheet as well, but people should know how to get in touch with you if they have questions later on
--paper towels for when the geckos poop in their deli cups
--lunch. It's much easier than having to get up and find food
--a notebook so you can record everything you sold, how much you sold it for and maybe even who you sold it to.

I did all cash or checks when I was selling and had no problems. Many of the venues have ATM machine in the building. I would bring about $100 in 5's and 10's. I also would get feeders at the show, so cash was a good idea.
Here's a link to a Gecko Time article I wrote about vending at your first show:

https://geckotime.com/preparing-to-vend-at-a-reptile-show/

Aliza