Leaving product overnight

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David M

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Joined
Jan 21, 2009
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Location
Norton, Va. 24273
I haven't left my items at a show overnight but a few friends of mine leave there product setup overnight when doing 2 day show. They do jewelry and turning ( bowls ). I dont feel comfortable so I pack and un pack. They haven't lost anything ( yet ) but I would not get any sleep thing what if , or bad wind ....... The shows I do are mostly outdoor or one day inside .
So how do others do showes , leave out or pack and unpack ?
 
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At pen shows that are held in ballrooms of hotels they generally leave the tables set up Friday and Saturday night. These rooms are locked and there is security on site. At some shows this is actual off duty uniformed police.

We also left our setup when we did antique shows years ago. Again the buildings were locked and security was actually locked inside. Ken did some of the same shows that we did back in the 80s and 90s and I am sure he did the same thing.
 
I think of it as risk management. What can you afford to lose. What will it cost you to replace it and how much does it cost you to pack it up and take it with you. Pens are pretty easy to take and conceal.
 
We do 25-30 shows a year, mostly two day shows, some 3 days and a few 4s, the last day is time to load up and head for home, but that leaves about 40-50 overnights in a year. I always look over the grounds carefully, city streets with a festival going on are a great concern, parks with wooded areas behind the booths are also a concern. Storm forecasts shouldn't be ignored. Talk to other vendors about show security. Talk to a security guard if you see one late in the show, give him a gift pen if you get a chance.

We end up packing up and taking it back to the hotel about half the time. After an early morning set up and 8-10 hours of selling, spending another hour packing up isn't much fun. Coming back to the show a couple hours early the next day to set the show up again isn't much fun either.
 
We made a portable pen vault that will hold 300 pens. We never leave the pens overnight. We leave the display set up, but the pens, the cash, computer and credit card machine goes to the hotel.

When the pen box is full, it represents $20,000-$30,000 worth of product. We can't afford such a loss. And I have doubts that insurance would cover such a loss.
 
In outdoor venues, you take a risk if you leave your items.

We did three booths (30 feet) with stained glass and my pens. We took down the products every night, packed most and got there early the next morning to get everything displayed again. In ten years, we were "robbed" twice that I can remember, in the nighttime. Both times our merchandise was recovered and returned to us on Sunday, when the "thieves" were caught. One, the "driver" returned to pick up the last load too late (6 AM). Crafters had already arrived, discovered the theft and notified police. Mom and daughter (hereinafter called the desperados) had gone through the big tent and chosen their merchandise. They had removed a load or two and were planning on one more, that was already stacked. The desperados were caught and under torture (well, they were asked) confessed and returned the goods.

The second one, a teenager bragged at a Sunday party. Local detectives had infiltrated the party (there was at least one honest teen there) and so, they were apprehended!!

We left our stuff hundreds of times, so it is probably less than 1% stolen and NO loss.

But, if I did shows with only my inventory, I would remove most of it (leave slimlines and cigars hidden under packing materials). It merits two trips to the car.
 
We did 20-25 outdoor shows a year and it took us an hour to wrap up the pens and place them in a rolling cart and take to the hotel along with the CC machine. We always arrived at least an hour early to reset up and do any resetting that we needed to do. If bad weather we also would lower our canopy.
 
My booth typical features around 250 items so there is no way I want to pack up all of that. I, however, always pack up the pens ( typically about 175) since they add up to such a large number value wise and are easy to steal
 
PenMan1 said:
We made a portable pen vault that will hold 300 pens. We never leave the pens overnight. We leave the display set up, but the pens, the cash, computer and credit card machine goes to the hotel.

When the pen box is full, it represents $20,000-$30,000 worth of product. We can't afford such a loss. And I have doubts that insurance would cover such a loss.
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I had not thought about the combined value of the group of pens. I dont bring as many pens to show but I do bring 100 - 150 to show. It would add up, fast with all of the other things.
David
 
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