Has anyone paid $300 for a spot at a fair?

Has anyone paid $300 for a spot at a fair? Also, was it worth it? There is this fair coming up around my area and they charge about $350 for 5 days and I was wondering if that is something worth doing.

If they want $300 for just a weekend I'd tell the organiser they were crazy to think that would be worth my time. On average, I can make $300-$400 in a weekend that isn't too busy but isn't a bore-fest either... that would mean if I were lucky, my profit would only be a measly $100 for the whole weekend! And if the weather was bad, I would most likely LOSE money. I rarely agree to pay more than $100 for a weekend because as a facepainter, I provide a service, and if no one wishes to partake in the service, I don't make money.

On the other hand, $350 for 5 days may not be so bad... I would try to talk the organizer down lower because of the whole "I provide a service" argument, but I think making up for that price should be easy enough... just so long as you have a good crowd.

You might be able to split a booth too. I usually do that for the expensive but well attended festivals around here. My friends sell hand made hair bows, tutus that sort of thing and they sell some items for me too. Then I'm only paying 1/2 or 1/3 of the fee and it doesn't take that much space to face paint. Plus, the people in line for face painting get to shop while they wait. It's really a win-win.

Gina that splitting thing sounds like a good idea. I may look into that. Iam honestly afraid to talk the guy down because he sounded like a jerk right of the bat and was sitting on the phone waiting for me to sell myself. I will see what I can do.

tanyamaldo119 wrote:Gina that splitting thing sounds like a good idea. I may look into that. Iam honestly afraid to talk the guy down because he sounded like a jerk right of the bat and was sitting on the phone waiting for me to sell myself. I will see what I can do.

Yeah, I've found that with a lot of event organizers, but don't let them intimidate you. You have a very valid reason to request a lower rate, and really, it won't impact their profit margin THAT MUCH at all. Plus, you can remind them how good for publicity it is to have quality face painting at an event such as that and that you will advirtise that you will be there which should bring more people to the event and could easily make up for what they lose from your lowered booth rent.

A booth for $350, break it down.... At $5 per face, you would need to paint 70 kids just to pay for your booth ($350), the next 10-20 kids ($50-$100) would probably cover your supplies, the next 10-20 kids ($50-$100) would cover your additional expenses (travel, food etc.)....... so that takes about 100 kids just to get to money making part of the event, at 10 kids per hour that's about 7 hours to start to make money....... and so on and so on.......

That's how I approach every ppf, it's just a mathmatical story problem - fill in the x's!

I love math

That is a good rational Lauri. I'm just worried cause it's more like an artsy fair so I am wondering how many kids would I actually get to paint.

You do need to consider the number of days. Our fairs can last for one to two weeks around here. The prices are sky flipping high too But, it could be worth it. I would try to talk with them to see what they could do to accommodate you better. Most things in this area cost a lot to set up at. So, I am used to paying a little higher rate.

$350 for 5 days isn't too bad. I have one that wants $450 for 2 days. One of the days is a Friday(low attendance day). I tried to negotiate them down & get exclusivity & they didn't go for it. I'm not gonna pay that kind of cash just to have volunteers with craft paint to compete with. Thank you, but no:-)

yeah I have had them want more then that for one day.
I get them down by telling them I supply my own stall - can't use theirs and I don't need power access - so $360- turns into $180 for me.
I also tell them I am NOT a vendor - I am limited by the amount of people I can paint to how much money I make - so If there is a rush I don't make any more money then I would if it was slow and constant.
I also tell them that festival isn't a festival without good quality face painting - so it is in their best interest to have me there.
With my husband doing tattoos we bring in about $700 a day... after you minus costs for the stall and whatever supplies we need we usually end up clearing $500, and that's with two of us going full force all day at about $5 a pop.

I haven't worked any fairs where I had to pay for space yet. I'm very leery of it though, because you never know about the weather, and I have heard of fairs where they have a point in the contract that your booth has to be manned at all times. But I advertise myself as being available as "fair booth entertainment" and have talked to businesses about them hiring me to paint at their company booth and they can charge or not. That way you get paid for your time no matter what, and the client that hires you has a good gimmick to get people to their booth! Its a win win. Maybe you could contact some local businesses with that idea? You'd still get the exposure, but alot less risk. Day cares and other kid friendly businesses would probably be interested.

We pay for all fairs. what we ask for is official statistics how many people came last year. who the regular stall holders are etc. we call the regulars to find out what the crowd is like. then we paint the best work we can and get referrals for birthday parties.

cheers

Jules

Thanks everyone for your input! Now I just have to figure out how to get the money...hahaha!