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Your first farmers market booth: a checklist
What new vendors need before market day, what's easy to forget, and how to help shoppers find you again after.
Updated
Before you apply
- Read the market's vendor rules. Booth fees, what they allow, insurance, and how to apply are different at every market. Many markets list them on their website or Facebook page.
- Selling food? Check your state's rules first. Home-made food usually falls under your state's cottage food rules, and some foods need a permit or a commercial kitchen. Your county health department can tell you what applies. In Arizona, see our cottage food guide.
- Ask about sales tax. Your state may need you to collect it, even at a market. A quick call to your state revenue office settles it. In Arizona, see do I need a TPT license?
Your setup
- A 10x10 canopy, if the market is outdoors. Most outdoor markets expect one.
- Weights for every canopy leg. A gust can lift a tent fast, and many markets require weights. Ask yours how much.
- A table and a cover that reaches the ground. It looks finished and hides your bins underneath.
- Height on your table. Crates, stands or shelves bring things up to eye level, where people notice them.
- Prices on everything. Lots of shoppers won't ask. A clear sign or tags make it easy to say yes.
Getting paid
- Cash and change. Start with plenty of ones and fives.
- A card reader on a charged phone. Bring a battery pack, too.
- Bags or wrap for anything fragile, and a way to write receipts if people ask.
Easy to forget
- Water, snacks, sunscreen and a chair. Market days are long.
- Arrive early. Setting up takes longer than you think the first time.
- A way for people to find you after. Plenty of shoppers walk by first and decide later. A sign with a QR code, business cards and your link on Instagram all help.
Put your booth online, free
With Booth Barn, shoppers can see what you're bringing before market day and hold items to pick up at your booth. You can print a QR sign, business cards with your story on the back and a table tent, and download a 6 ft × 2 ft booth banner file for a print shop. Free to start, and we never take a cut of your booth sales.
Start your free shopMore guides
How to spot a fake vendor event before you payThe warning signs, and how to check a market in five minutes.Do I need a TPT license to sell at an Arizona market?Arizona's sales tax for vendors, and when the market can handle it for you.Selling homemade food at Arizona farmers marketsArizona's cottage food rules: registering, labels and what you can't sell.How to get accepted at a farmers marketWhere applications live, what markets ask for, and how to stand out.
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