I would like to find out some information about the Buckler Promotions Shows in Florida and if anyone has any feedback or done these shows any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

ok 2 words for buckler, BUY SELL over the place. Not worth your time or effort, but if by chance you have ginsi knives or the latest and greatest new kitchen gadget by all means do the show.

Thanks for the information.

I did my first Buckler this past weekend. It was awful, totally buy and sell. I had customers come into my booth complaining that it is not a craft show and they wasted their money coming to the show. I make homemade soaps and signed a contract that everything is made by hand. Next to us was a distributor of a shining product, across from us was clothing, knock of Gucci's, made in china (clearly marked) handbag holders, and also across from us was buy and sell country products. Attendance was awful and when I complained she said she let's vender's in that she feels will bring people to the show. I had one customer tell me she complained that she paid to see a craft show and was given the same answer as I was. It's a shame that she is allowed to advertise as a craft show.

Another reason to check out a show in person before signing up.

Visiting a show before hand is not always possible. I was planning on doing one of the shows next year and doing a vacation at the same time. I am in Missouri so I cant just drop into FLorida to check on a show...

Thanks to the person who posted this thread, and thanks to everyone with some info!

I have done shows with my mom all my life through Buckler Promotions. We 100% hand make of all our products and always do amazing, I think most the people on this thread are other promoters trying to down play Buckler, but they really do a great job all around. The market is changing and buckler is staying up with the times. Like diversified advertising, we always see billboards or signs on the way into town, they know how to bring the people in. I'm now doing my own Mall and out door shows, and nothing compares to the organization and numbers that buckler provides. Long story short if you know your product is solid and your image is good, your going to make money at a Buckler Promotions show.

Obviously that last comment was made by Buckler........EVERYONE in this business knows

BUCKLER = BUY SELL FLEA MARKET !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, "newday" stay doing what your doing because you know everything about "this business" and that is why your filthy rich right?

If you lose a sale because of a reseller it's you or your crafts fault, Don't blame the promoter, the people are there and ready to buy. I'm not in anyway apart of buckler, I know when I do shows I rather go to a Buckler than anything else I've done. One of the only things I can say bad about them is that they do the same places over and over, the biggest reason we lose a sell is "I already have it."

This is a direct quote from their website as of 6/28/09

"If all of your items are 100% handcrafted by you you will receive.
PRIORITY PLACEMENT AND A BLUE RIBBON. Please be sure to
state on your application
For Commercial Vendors: We have limited categories and space availability,"

This tells me immediately from the website they allow B/S. So why is everyone upset? I'm in Vermont and just went to their website, and there it was. It took me less than 15 seconds to find this out. They allow B/S.

Now they may be feeling the pinch like all promoters as crafters are getting out. More promoters must "sell real estate" in order to meet their expenses. So more "commercial" vendors are showing up.

Flekster wrote:
Okay, "newday" stay doing what your doing because you know everything about "this business" and that is why your filthy rich right?

Sorry if my comment offended you but I have been in business for 22 years in Florida. I only offer my personal opinion in order to help others who may be starting out.

Seeing that you do so well at Buckler, may I ask you how many components you use which you personally do not make in your product?

The problem in the last few years is that promoters have to fill their shows in order to make a living. The quality goes down, the public stops attending and then you have a great show which goes right down the drain. If you want to buy products from China ... go to the Flea Market or the mall. Art shows are the last place you can still buy a product made in the USA.

May I also ask you Flexster how long have you been in business and do you do jurried shows?

Newday,

Having been in this business as long as you have, I'm sure you know there are many, many artists and crafters who can set up right next to B/S and be successful while making their own product. It all depends on what the product is.

I don't make the steel I work with any more than a 2D artist makes his canvas. But I do 100% of the work on that steel (shear, brake, roll, cut, weld, paint, etc) and can set up next to Chinese stuff and be very successful. Does that mean my work is second rate? Or substandard? No. Because the following weekend I can set up at a highly juried show too.

So it's really unfair to question someone else's work simply because they can compete with B/S at shows, right?

Chris in VT

Chris in VT.....

Sorry to hear that you think I am unfair toward the previous post, however when you set up next to someone who reaches in a box from China filled with bears or dolls or whatever and ties a bow on their neck and calls it handcrafted it is a bit disheartening. I personally work all week with clay and glazes and no "components" not to mention any lead in my glazes. I come to the shows worn out from a hard weeks work only to set up next to a lazy buy sell exhibitor, I get a little upset. I could tell from your post that you do not exactly know what I meant when I mention "components". I certainly do not mean a canvas, a block of clay or in your case a piece of metal. I am glad that you currently can sell as well as the buy sell items next to you. I personally do not want to be in that atmosphere. However, how will you feel when you are next to a metal buy sell booth who is selling similar items as yours for less then you can purchase your materials for?

When a customer walks through and art and craft show they are looking for quality handcrafted items. You can purchase mass produced machine made items anywhere. There is NO place for them in art shows.

Also Chris, since you have commented on this string so often, have you ever actually done a Buckler show? I bet not.

You must ask yourself why the exhibitor (the one you feel I was unfair to) was so upset about Buckler if she did not have a personal interest in the company.

Anyway, I cannot tell you how interesting I find it that there are actually people such as yourself who think that the buy sell industry is actually good for art shows......You have to be a first!!!!!

I haven't said anywhere that I believe B/S is good for shows. I strongly believe it's KILLING the business! So please don't put words in my posts, OK?

What I'm saying is that B/S is here. We can do a couple things about it. One we can look for shows and do RESEARCH and find show promoters that put on a level of show that will draw the type of customer we want, or we can just sign up for shows and get angry with who attends, as they aren't our market.

Shows are my livlihood. I get my sole income from shows and do over 40 per year. So I have decided to do shows where the customers are. And sometimes that includes shows with B/S. They make up about 12 of my schedule. The rest are juried shows. Like you, I spend my time in the shop making product. I used to work in porcelain so I do know what you go through every day. I work just as hard. Then we leave for the show on Friday to set up, do the weekend show, come home Sunday night and Monday we're back in the shop for another round since we're booked through the end of August with one week off, and then booked solid until December. Then I sit in front of the woodstove until mid January when it starts all over again.

But I never worry about who's next to me. I concentrate on my own booth. And when I do a show with B/S I bring product that will sell at that show, not something I know won't. And then get upset when it doesn't.

I have also realized the China merchants aren't making any money!

I'll give you an example. I was at a show where a B/S merchant was selling pumpkin faces on a stick. These were definitely made in China and he was selling them at 3 for $5.00. He was proud and was boasting he sold "three thousand" of them. So we decided to run the numbers. They cost 97 cents each plus shipping. He sold 3,000 so he made $5,000 in sales. He was selling them for $1.66 each realizing a profit of 69 cents. SIXTY NINE CENTS! So out of that $5,000 in sales he profited $2,070. This was at a $500 show! Then take his space fees, etc out of that. Now since I make my own product in order for me to make that $2070 profit I must have $2,200 in sales. So if I make $2,500 in sales I made more than him with HALF the sales! By the way, my sales equalled his, so I made a LOT more than him.

Also, did you know the B/S merchant are hurting too? I have seen some B/S merchants at shows get into price wars since sometimes they buy from the same catalog.

So I'm qiute sure you research the shows you do and I'm sure you do well at them. But just because a show isn't what you thought it should be, there's no reason to disparage it. If you don't like the show, you just move on, that's all.

I've done shows where I made $10,000 in 3 days. Right next to B/S. And I've done shows where I haven't made my space fee. Right next to B/S. But I don't concern myself with who's around me. I concentrate on MY booth. Because nobody is a "customer" until they buy. And it's our JOB to get them to buy from US.

And since we've been in this business as long as we have, we both know we don't make sales by sitting in our booths reading. Not today.

By the way, I have this sign displayed prominently in my booth:

What's made in China,
Should STAY in China.
Made in the USA!

Feel free to use it.

Chris in VT