Updated, First show this weekend

Matt Rochester

Matt Rochester

Joined
Nov 28, 2014
Messages
1,864
Any last tips? I am taking windex and a rag to clean my knives. I have 5's, 10's, and 20's for change. Receipt book, table cloth, and a sign. Here is what I'm taking. Trying to get them all marked today before I head into work. I have to put handles on two more and then touch up everything on the sharpmaker.

UPDATE,

Well, it went good I think. I sold the gyuto and the ivory utility kitchen knife. Had tons of positive feedback. I told myself I wasn't taking orders but it's hard to turn down a guaranteed sell. Had a fella order 2 gyutos in cpm154. It's amazing how generous and sharing folks in the knife community are. I made a great contact in a guy that buys and sells knives and met another maker named Owen Baker of Bakr-Bilt knives. Both are extremely nice and helpful individuals. I can't say enough good about them. I would have thought the hunting style knives would have done better at a Gun and Knife show but most of my interest was in the kitchen knives. I could have sold a few more if I would have had them. I am starting on some more tomorrow. I also think I was the only one with handmade kitchen knives. That's fine because I like making them also! Anyways, thanks for the tips and all the help along the way.





 
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Android tablet and square(paypal) reader for credit cards. Like it or not, the world is turning electronic and the ability to accept credit/debit cards will probably sell 3-4 more knives than otherwise. When I went to Blade, I only received cash for 3-4 forges. The rest were all paypal/credit card.
 
good luck, nice knives, bring your smile and personality :-)

only thing I can suggest is a simple background for your table.
At the Plaza Cutlery show there was maker with some black and white spotted blanket and I couldn't really see his knives.... :-)
 
I was thinking about something along this line. Luckily there is an ATM there. Ia the square difficult to setup and whats the cost? I do have an iPad.
Atlas Knife Company said:
Android tablet and
square(paypal) reader for credit cards. Like it or not, the world is turning electronic and the ability to accept credit/debit cards will probably sell 3-4 more knives than otherwise. When I went to Blade, I only received cash for 3-4 forges. The rest were all paypal/credit card.
Click to expand...
 
Square is easy to set up and e cost is less than PayPal. PayPal charges 3% and square only charges 2.75%. At my last show I sold 4-5 knives that I wouldn't have if I did not take cards. It is well worth it.
 
Nice knives. Good luck and have fun. From a buyer's perspective (and fellow knifemaker's) point of view, I would say only show your best work. In the third photo, center top, the tip on that knife could be touched up so it comes to a point. The tip looks a little soft. No big deal, easy fix. The fourth photo center, the plunge line on that knife looks like it meanders a bit. Maybe leave that one home or clean up that line before it goes on your table. Leave viewers and buyers with the best impression of your work. Have a great show.
 
Thanks and good eye! I have already fixed the tip. As far as the plunge goes, I see what your talking about in the picture. It must be the light or something. It looks straight in real life but I will take another look at it. As the saying goes "You only get one shot at a first impression".
i4Marc said:
Nice knives. Good luck and have fun. From a buyer's perspective (and fellow knifemakers) point of view, I would say only show your best work. In the third photo, center top, the tip on that knife could be touched up so it comes to a point. The tip looks a little soft. No big deal, easy fix. The fourth photo center, the plunge line on that knife looks like it meanders a bit. Maybe leave that one home or clean up that line before it goes on your table. Leave viewers and buyers with the best impression of your work. Have a great show.
Click to expand...
 
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Square dumps right into your bank acct, Paypal goes into your paypal account and you have to tell it to make a deposit, which takes a few days.
Neither has customer service worth mentioning, but I haven't had any problems with Square that needed it, in several years of use.
There's a learning curve, some things that are difficult or impossible with the Square mobile app (invoices, some of the transaction tracking) so you need to have the Squareup dashboard ready to go on your laptop or PC. (you can use it on a tablet, but it's a little awkward)
Just watch that decimal point, and check before you swipe to make sure you aren't charging $3.15 for a knife. Don't ask me how I know that.... :)

One more issue- cards are changing to chip technology, and the two main providers are going from the current free readers to chip readers that cost $50-150 (if they ever ship....we're all still waiting)
At the end of this month, liability for card fraud shifts to the vendor if you don't use the new readers, and since they're not available, it's kind of a big issue...PP and Square both say they'll cover it until they get around to shipping the readers, but why they don't just do it is a mystery without an answer right now.
 
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