Pricing for a craft fair feels simpler than pricing for Etsy: no listing fees, no shipping, just you, your table and a price sign. But markets have their own costs. Your card reader takes a cut of every card sale, the booth fee has to be paid back by what you sell, and prices with awkward cents slow you down when there is a line at your table.
This guide shows how to price for in-person sales with the pricing calculator, using a sublimation tumbler sold at a market as the worked example.
The figures below are example numbers, not market prices or any card reader’s actual rates. Use your own costs and the fees from your provider’s pricing page.
Card reader fees work like Etsy fees
Card readers charge a percentage of each payment, and some also charge a fixed fee per payment. The calculator handles both. Choose In person or other, then enter:
- Percentage fee: the percent your provider charges, typed as a number. For 2.6%, type 2.6.
- Fixed fee per sale: the flat amount per payment, if your provider charges one. For 15 cents, type 0.15.
Find both numbers on your provider’s pricing page. Rates can differ for tapped, swiped and keyed-in payments, so use the one that matches how most of your customers pay.
The worked example
Our tumbler uses $8.00 for the blank and $1.50 for paper, ink, shrink wrap, tape and the bag it goes home in. It takes 20 minutes of hands-on time, and this seller pays themselves $25 an hour. Overhead is $1.00 per tumbler. There is no shipping: the buyer takes it home. The card reader charges 2.6% plus $0.15, and the target margin is 40%.
Cost per item
- Materials: $8.00 + $1.50 = $9.50
- Labor: 20 / 60 x $25 = $8.33
- Overhead: $1.00
Cost per item: $18.83. The calculator keeps full precision behind the scenes (the labor is $8.333…), and only rounds what it shows you.
Suggested price
Price = (cost + fixed fee) / (1 – percentage fee – margin)
That is ($18.83 + $0.15) / (1 – 0.026 – 0.40). With the unrounded labor figure, $18.9833 / 0.574 comes to $33.072. Rounded up to the next cent, the suggested price is $33.08.
| Suggested | Charm | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $33.08 | $33.99 |
| Card fees | $1.01 | $1.03 |
| Profit | $13.24 | $14.12 |
| Margin | 40.0% | 41.6% |
| Earnings per hour | $64.71 | $67.37 |
Here the card reader takes 2.6% plus $0.15, against Etsy’s 9.5% plus $0.45, and there is no shipping. That is why a market price can come out lower than an online price for the same item at the same margin, as long as your booth fee is already in your overhead.
Round prices for cash
Nobody wants to count out $33.08 in change at a busy table. Round prices make cash sales quicker and make your price signs easier to read. Pick a round number at or above the suggested price, then put it in the calculator’s Check my current price box to see what it earns.
Round this tumbler up to the next whole dollar, $34:
- Paid by card: fees are $1.03, profit is $14.13 and the margin is 41.6%.
- Paid in cash: there is no card fee, so profit is $15.17 and the margin is 44.6%. To see the cash case, set both fee boxes to 0.
Rounding up from the suggested price never takes you below your target margin. Rounding down can, so if you want a lower round number, check it first and make sure the profit line is still one you are happy with.
Should card buyers pay more?
Some sellers keep one price for everyone and treat card fees as a cost of doing business, which is what the calculator assumes. Others prefer a cash price and a card price. If you are considering a card surcharge, check your card provider’s rules and the rules where you sell first. One clear price is usually the simplest choice for a busy stall.
Paying back the booth fee
The booth fee is overhead for that event. Divide it by the number of items you realistically expect to sell there, and add the result to the overhead per item in the calculator. If you are not sure how many that will be, start with your sales at a similar event and be honest about the slow ones. The same goes for a table, a canopy, display stands and the card reader itself: they are business costs that your items need to pay back over time.
A useful habit is to work out how many items you need to sell just to cover the booth fee. If that number is close to what you usually sell, the event is a risk at your current prices.
Price signs that sell
- One clear price per item, big enough to read from a few steps away.
- Group items by price where you can, so one sign covers a whole shelf.
- Show options plainly. If personalization costs extra, say how much on the sign.
- Match your online prices, or have a reason for any difference. Regular customers notice.
Bring the right change
Round prices mean you need fewer coins. Think about which bills your prices call for and bring a float that covers your first few sales. Keep card payments as the default for anything that needs change you do not have.
After the event
Write down what sold, what did not, and what each sale earned. Feed the real numbers back into the calculator: your actual minutes per item, the booth fee spread over what you actually sold, and the card fees from your provider’s statement. That is how your prices get better every market.
Questions sellers ask
Do I need to charge sales tax at markets?
That depends on where you sell. Check your state and local rules, and the event organizer may be able to tell you what other vendors do. Sales tax is separate from the price the calculator suggests.
Should my market prices match my Etsy prices?
They do not have to. Etsy’s fees and shipping costs are different from a market’s, so the same margin gives different prices. Keeping them close means online and in-person customers feel treated the same.
How do I price items for a market where I do not know the card fees yet?
Use your provider’s published rates. If you have not chosen a provider yet, run the calculator with fees at 0 and remember that the profit shown will be a little high.
