Craft fair packing checklist

Start with what the organizer supplies

A booth fee does not tell you what will be waiting when you arrive. Put your acceptance email and vendor pack beside this list. Confirm the space dimensions, furniture, shelter, lighting, power and anything you have rented. Write the quantities down before removing an item from your packing list.

Two outdoor markets can call for very different loads. These are dated examples, checked September 26, 2026; use the current instructions for your own booking:

Measure your display before packing it

Use our craft fair display ideas and measured layouts to plan a table, inline booth or corner. Include furniture, equipment bases and stock inside your confirmed footprint.

For an indoor craft fair

Check the supplied table’s actual dimensions before packing a cover or display. Measure your whole layout, including your chair, boxes and checkout space. A floor-space booking can require you to rent or bring furniture: the Porter Flea Holiday 2026 guidelines, for example, offer table and chair rentals and say pipe and drape will not be provided.

Ask whether power is available at your space and whether you must book it. Confirm display-height, lighting and cable rules with the organizer. Keep the entrance to your booth usable and store spare stock inside the space you were allocated.

For an outdoor craft fair

Confirm the permitted tent size, anchoring or weight requirements and whether stakes are allowed. Use the organizer’s requirements and your equipment instructions; there is no single weight recommendation on this checklist for every site and condition.

Pack protection for stock and packaging as well as for yourself. Check how you will unload if vehicles cannot reach the booth, whether the ground is level, and what you must take home overnight. Read weather and cancellation instructions before you commit to equipment or travel.

How much inventory should you bring?

Start with stock you can display, transport and replenish during the show. There is no reliable universal item count: a ceramic mug, a print and a made-to-order piece use different amounts of money and space. A sales target is a planning assumption, not evidence of demand.

1. List your product groups. For each, record the units you can bring, the selling price and the number that fit in the display.
2. Separate display stock from refills. Label transport boxes so you can find a size, color or design without emptying everything.
3. Use your own past records, if available. Compare similar events and selling days. If this is your first show, record a manageable starting quantity and what informed it.
4. Count what comes home. Record sales, damaged items and requests for unavailable variants. That gives your next packing decision something firmer than a guess.

Add your quantities to the checklist’s notes. For a multi-day show, confirm storage and replenishment access before planning to leave stock at the venue.

Test your payment setup before you leave

Charge the devices you actually use together, check the reader connection and run the checks your payment provider recommends. Learn what your setup does when reception is poor; do not assume every reader supports offline payments. Pack compatible cables and a power bank, and decide how you will record sales or handle cash if you accept it.

Pack the last box for the first job

Keep your booth assignment, organizer contact and setup tools easy to reach. Load in the order that lets you put up the display before unpacking fragile products. Save room for rubbish, used packaging and the same stock containers on the journey home.

Before heading out, confirm the arrival window, unloading route and permitted pack-down time. A shopper-facing closing time may not be the same as the vendor departure instructions.