I think a gimmick never hurts in selling your product and demonstration rather it be by you or automated can only help. I pretty much always had an ongoing project when I worked selling in booths to demo how I made things. I was not one to really hawk my wares and this was a very passive way I could do that. Sounds to me that you idea would be the same concept.

Yeah, my problem is that in real life i come across as distant or 'not all together there' so i dont make for good friendly retail. I worry though that theres a line where you can be too passive. To me, someone reading a book at their stall always seemed to be a sign that they were not very interested in their wares, or more commonly that they werent getting much interest. Oddly enough reading a book may work in my favour - see below. I wont be doing demos or making things as most things will have to be made with machinery.

I like the "art" dispenser idea as long as the mechanics of it were smooth. I do agree you wouldn't want it for all your products though.

No, but some of them. Mostly i was thinking along the lines of an initial product. The recent forum on the 'puppet as painting' inspired an idea about doing shelf decorations. A lot of people sell wall decals as silhouettes to be placed on or near shelves (dont have link handy but google will have some examples). If i got a cutting machine this would be a really cheap and easy product to make and ship, and is a good way to break into a new business while i save up more money for the more time-intensive products. I already have heaps of plastic and these could be attached to a wall or shelf cheaply so for me the biggest costs will be manufacture (machine), packaging and marketing.

I have a vague idea of how to display them for a market stall, especially if you take into account the silhouettes will be animals and there will be some sort of 'worldscape' to create a sense of scene, time or place. If i add some sort of automata - an extension of a window display idea i had for book sales or other things - then it becomes interactive.

Adding in a coin-operated dispenser is just sort of continuing the theme, and with these items they'd be flat, thin and easy to stack, so it would work best for that kind of apparatus. It might also work with books or something else but yeah definitely it wouldnt work for everything.

In actual fact the practicalities of it is much harder to work with:
- dispensing one product only or more than one?
- collection of money, counting the right amount, notes vs coins?
- preventing more than one being dispensed or theft
- making it easy to operate
.... Etc etc etc

To be honest, i think there is a way to make it work but the biggest issue for me is counting money. A machine will have to count how much has been put in and how much is needed before it dispenses. I am thinking in terms of really simple automata, but something like that requires more advanced mechs. .... Something that would be up my alley to solve but not something that might be feasible right now.

PS. Trying tapatalk... I really think i prefer using the normal website. Any chance of a nicer mobile version of the site on the cards in future?


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Things I have discovered....

Has to be the right target market. When I first started out i would attend craft shows or fairs.

Great timing. Only about a day or so before writing my question did i realise that in my head i was selling at craft and design fairs - but my target audience are going to be geeky science people. I literally just sent myself an email reminder saying "what are you thinking - sell at comic cons etc!" My stuff should sell to general population at arts markets, but yeah i have to remind myself to start with the smaller segment and work outwards.

Conveniently, this smaller audience will also be more likely to be curious about an automata display and gadgetry like a dispensing machine. And wont mind if i bury my face in a book or am socially awkward.

The only products that would sell were small puppets under $25. Puppets designed for little kids.

Yeah this is my biggest concern. About 1 out of 6 planned product ideas will be puppets but nevertheless i worry that because they are all 'family friendly', 'cute' and educational that people will just get stuck on the 'for kids' idea. I am hoping that with some more feedback from my target audience i can hone marketing language and visuals better.

Engage your potential custom with a greeting. I always say, "hi, feel free to pick up the puppets, try them out in our blacklight booth ( our gimmick). Once I see they are showing any interest, pausing for a moment to look at one specific item, I pick it up, hand it to them and direct them to the blacklight booth.

This is my issue. I am not an interactor. I am not interested in gearing myself up to put on a smiley face just to make myself seem approachable. This isnt ego or rudeness - its the fact that doing that for any length of time is physically and emotionally tolling to the point that i am having mini nervous breakdowns just getting myself to the supermarket. Sitting still at a stall will be hard enough - forcing myself to be attentive and engaging will be too much. But easing myself into it by not feeling so exposed or being passive will help a lot. I am not kidding you, just being outdoors at the moment brings on a LOT of anxiety.

The key is to care more about your customer's needs than to worry about sales. When they are enjoying themselves they will relax, then you can find out what they are interested in. I try to know what else others are selling, so if we don't have it we can send them to another booth. Customers will trust that you have their interest in mind and bring their business to you when they do have a desire for your product.

I definitely do that already - recommend people to others where appropriate - but the bit about people having fun and bring relaxed was useful. I guess i already knew it but never really thought about it and i think its key to what i plan on doing. The items are supposed to be fun and bright, so having a static 'typical' display isnt fitting. I have to remember that even if you dont make a sale, you should make an impression. And a memorable display that sparks curiosity will definitely do that and be an enjoyable experience.

I agree about spelling...since i post mostly on my IPad typos are plenty. LOL

Julie

I am currently away from my computer as a 'holiday' from work. I really really really hate using my phone for long posts. I touch type much faster on my laptop and its just generally easier to use. Is it sad that i am looking forward to getting back to it?  :p


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PS. Trying tapatalk... I really think i prefer using the normal website. Any chance of a nicer mobile version of the site on the cards in future?

PM or email me your thoughts on this. What is it you like and dislike about tapatalks layout. Current site layout I think works ok for tablet and pads but on a phone is not ideal. Just not sure what to tweak. Part of it is I don't like anything on my phone so never use it for the internet which means It is hard for me to think in the vein.

Mostly ipad is fine, but on the phone the main thing is the menu and the reply area (not quick reply but normal reply) where everything is out of whack. If you take a look at responsive mobile designs most people do a drop down menu which saves space. I have just recently done this myself, just an extra css file that is used via media queries. The biggest issue with mobile is just to think in terms of vertical use of space rather than horizontal and to minimize the space used by non-essential design pr functions.

I tend to browse on my phone but not really for forums. This week as i only have my phone and am away from home, i have found it increasingly frustrating how many sites arent easy to use on a phone; either non existent mobile versions or crap mobile versions.

Mostly tapatalk annoys me because i am used to p&s layout - but its also not very intuitive. I do like the large textarea though.


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