Market is exhausting, expensive, and the single best thing you can do for your buying. It is also the trip most boutique owners get wrong the first time, usually by walking in without a number and buying heavily from the first three showrooms. This guide covers the whole thing, from picking the right market to what to do the week after you get home.
Inside you'll find:
The three markets compared: what each is known for, how often they run, and which one is right for a first trip
Why Las Vegas is actually two different events, and why it is the wrong place to start
Getting credentialed: what documents they ask for, why you register weeks ahead rather than days, guest fees, and what to do if you have not opened yet
Booking through official housing, staying on the shuttle line, and why you fly in the night before
Setting your buying number at home, with a fill-in worksheet that subtracts trip costs, reorder money, and known bills from what you actually have
Why you hold money back for reorders, and what happens when your best piece sells out in four days and you cannot chase it
A full packing checklist, split into what makes or breaks the day and what to leave at home
Planning a two day route: building a shortlist from the exhibitor directory, making appointments, and why day one is for looking and day two is for buying
The difference between permanent showrooms and the temporary section, and why prices and minimums differ between them
How to actually read an order form: minimums, packs and runs, ship dates, cancel dates, and terms, plus what to ask about late delivery before you sign
Eight buying discipline rules that survive contact with the floor, including the one about never writing your last order tired
An order log to fill in as you go, so you know your running total before you get home rather than when the invoices arrive
The week after: matching confirmations, calendaring ship and cancel dates, planning the cash, and using the content you shot
An eight week countdown from booking to the week after
This guide is about buying. If you are selling at an event, that is the pop up guide.
Who it's for: boutique owners planning their first market trip, and anyone who has come home from one over budget and under stocked.
Delivery: instant digital download, 22 page PDF with fill-in worksheets and checklists.
Please note: market dates, buildings, and credential requirements change from year to year, and this guide is not affiliated with any market or trade show. Always confirm the current calendar on the market's own website before booking travel.
