Hi everyone!
I am a first time poster, though I have been reading this great forum for a while.

I just started my business and am excited to take part in a craft show in May.
At the same time, I am exploring other venues to get my products seen and sold, and I plan on picking up the courage (!) and approach several retail stores.

Should I show the same or different samples at different stores? The stores are similar in style, and I do not want to sell myself short by showing them only a subset of the samples, esp I donot know what they will pick at the end..... But if they end up wanting the same items, is this a conflict?

Also, can I sell the items at the craft booth, if a store also want to carry that item?

I do not know what the "rules" are, and I will really appreciate your thoughts.

I do paper products, and currently only have greeting cards. :)

Always bring everything! You never know what will move the buyer. Also, you can sell whatever you want anywhere you want to. You make the rules. The store cannot limit your livelihood unless they make you an offer that will compensate. You go and sell your stuff girly!

hey, good for you on getting your stuff out there! just keep in mind that (in my limited experience, anyway) stores will want you to keep your prices consistent, no matter where you sell your stuff. for example, if a store buys your necklaces for $10 each to sell in their store for $20, you should also charge $20 if you sell at a show. if you charge less at a show than they sell it for in a store, it would encourage people to buy directly from you and affect their sales. maybe this is common sense to most, but i found that piece of info important when i set my prices. i had to make sure that my wholesale price was high enough to make it worth my while to make the product. if you set your "show" price too low, when you split it by 50% for wholesale, you might find you aren't getting compensated for your work.

did any of that make sense? i'm a bit sleepy... best of luck to you!

eta: oops, just realized you make paper goods, not jewelry. but the theory is still the same.

this is a tricky area! handle it with care. set up a policy where you won't sell to competitive shops within a certain radius. Forexample, here in AZ, i have one account in Tempe, one in Scottsdale, one in Chandler (smaller cities) and four or five in Phoenix (larger area). My buyers love that because I send my crowd there and their area brings me new business. Once we learned the hard way about selling to two stores too close, they got mad and both accounts dropped us. We didn't do it to be greedy, it was a trial and error kind of thing.

Take care of your buyers, they are golden. Help them enhance and build on their sotre with your products. When I have an art booth, I sell whatever I want but I try and keep the prices consistent all the way through. UNLESS the craft booth is right outside of the store, then I don't do it...