I spend most of my time these days teaching jewelry making, but on occasion I still like to show my jewelry pieces at craft shows during the holidays. Over the years I learned from experience the things that work well when selling handmade jewelry at craft shows, as well as the things that don't work so well.

If you want to sell your jewelry at craft shows I want to give you a few suggestions that can increase your chances of success.

1) You need to display as great a variety of jewelry as you can. As you already know, people's tastes in jewelry, or anything for that matter, vary widely. To the extent that you can offer a wide variety of types and styles, your sales will increase.

2) While I admit that there are some craft shows that serve high end customers who will spend a lot of money, the majority of craft shows serve a more price sensitive clientele. That means the jewelry you show needs to have low or midrange price points. My best sellers are almost always the earrings in the $15~$25 price range. Of course, it's OK to show a few of your high priced items, but use most of your selling space for the mid to low priced items.

3) A nice presentation of your products is important. Don't think that you will sell more by stuffing more jewelry into the space you are provided. If you have too much showing, a prospective customer can't focus on anything. Also, you have to give customers a feel for what the jewelry piece will look like on them, or on the loved one they are buying a present for, so use some nice displays to show your jewelry.

4) Use special offers to entice customers to spend a little more with you. For example, try a "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" offer on a simple pair of earrings.

5) Provide business cards so that customers can contact you again. This is so important and really sets jewelry apart from many of the other types of crafts that are offered at shows. Most craft vendors get one-time customers. But my customers become my clients. Many of my clients contact me weeks, months, and sometimes years after a show and purchase more.

6) Make it easy for your customers to pay you using the payment method they prefer. I have seen so many craft vendors lose sales because they do not take credit cards. In my opinion, accepting credit cards can increase your sales from 25~40%. Getting a credit card account is much easier than it used to be. A good place to look at first is paypal's Merchant Services area on their website.

Implement these tips at your next craft show and I guarantee you will see a major improvement in your sales results.