Taxes: How we love them and other questions
Mon, Oct 30 2006 — Comments (0) |
We're being a bit facetious admittedly. Taxes, while they provide us with things we use every day, are a pain. Here are a few questions we've gotten in regard to them and what our responses were. If you have different responses, feel free to include them in the comments.
How do I register? Do I have to register? Will someone arrest me if I don't do this before the show?
We wrote about this earlier but don't mind linking to it again. Follow the link for info on how to register. Legally, yes, you have to register you have to collect sales tax and then you have to turn that over to the state of Illinois (not the city) who will keep what they want and give the remainder to the city of Chicago. (Convoluted, we know, but that's the way it works.) No one will come to arrest you if you don't pay your taxes. Someone from the state (if they don't have anything better to do) may come around and ask people to provide their Illinois Tax ID #. If you don't have a number because you didn't register, you'll be required to register on the spot. At least this is what was told to us over the phone by an employee. To the best of your knowledge, no one has shown up at a craft show and asked for this info but we think it is better to be safe than sorry.
What is the best way for collecting sales tax at the show? Do I include it in my price? Do I add it onto my price?
I think a lot of people roll the tax into their prices so it is easier to do math the day of the show. That's what I do since it is a pain to have to have change and count out pennies. But if most of your items are small it might be easier to do tax on top of the price.
The formula (which took me far longer to figure out than it should have for a college graduate) for figuring out later what the tax is:
(final cost) / 1.09 = (pre-tax cost)
So if you sell something for $25 the you take 25 divide it by 1.09 and get $22.94. Subtract that from 25 and you end up with the amount of tax you collected. I hope that makes sense.
Ack! How much stuff should I make?A lot. Don't expect to sell every piece you bring to the show. You will have leftover to take home with you. To the best of our knowledge not one vendor at our show (or any other we've attended) has sold every single item they brought. So make more than you actually plan on selling. And make a variety of price ranges. You're more likely to sell a lot of $1 items than $50 items, which just makes sense. But don't discount the value of your work. You are skilled, you make beautiful items, and you deserve for people to value your work. We've found that people who consistently underprice their work end up having to continually lower the prices instead of raise them because their customers end up expecting a deal instead of a value. There is a difference so ponder that.
A more practical response is to mark off a 3'x6' section of a table or your floor if you're using a rented table (or put up the table you'll be displaying items on) and begin arranging what you sell. You should have a pretty good idea about how much stuff you'll need to have to make your table look appealingly full but not cluttered and overstuffed. There is such a thing as information overload.
What is the best way to display my items?Books have been written, seminars have been taught, advice has been given. There is no easy and quick answer. Look at the displays of other people at craft shows. If they have an idea, don't steal it but figure out how to adapt it to fit your own needs. Try to have things at different heights instead of all lying flat on your table. It will be easier for shoppers to peer over each other's shoulders to see your goods. Have a tablecloth that shows off your items. If you are selling silver jewlery then consider a black or dark-colored cloth since a white cloth will make the silver disappear. If you are selling cards try to have a way to keep the multiples from sliding around on the table. Consider going to a retail store to get ideas as well for your display. Or go to the internet and use the magic of a search engine to help you find what you're looking for.
Got more questions? Feel free to email them to diytrunkshow AT gmail.com or post them in the comments.
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