‹ All guides
How to spot a fake vendor event before you pay
Fake craft fairs and vendor calls on Facebook take booth fees and vanish. Here's what they look like and how to check a market in a few minutes.
Updated
It usually goes like this: a page posts a vendor call for a real-looking fair, you message to ask about a spot, and someone tells you there are only a few booths left and to send the fee now. The fair never happens, or it does, but those people had nothing to do with it.
Warning signs
- The page is brand new. Few followers, few posts, and nothing from past years. On Facebook, tap the page's Page transparency to see when it was made and whether its name changed.
- It copies a real event. Scammers reuse the real fair's photos, name and description, so it can look exactly right. Two pages for the same event is a red flag.
- They want payment right away, by app. Zelle, Cash App, Venmo friends-and-family, or gift cards, sent to a person rather than a business. Money sent that way is very hard to get back.
- Everything happens in messages or texts. No application, no vendor rules, no website, and no one you can call.
- The pressure is on. “Only 2 spots left,” “pay today to hold it.” Real markets have deadlines, but they rarely need your money within the hour.
- Comments are off, or questions get deleted. Real organizers answer questions in public.
How to check in five minutes
- Find the market's own website or main page, then reach out there, not through the post that found you. Ask if the person you're talking to works with them.
- Call the venue. The park, church or event center will know if there's a fair on that date, and who booked it.
- Search the name with “scam”. Vendor groups are quick to warn each other.
- Ask vendors who did it last year. If no one has ever been, be careful.
- Pay with a credit card when you can. Cards come with fraud protection. Get a receipt or invoice either way.
If you think it's fake
- Don't send money, and stop answering.
- Report the page to Facebook, and warn your vendor groups.
- Report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and to the FBI's IC3 at ic3.gov.
- Already paid? Call your bank or payment app right away. The sooner, the better your chances.
On Booth Barn
- Look for “Verified organizer.” Market pages with that label are run by the market itself, and the dates come straight from them.
- We never collect booth fees. Anyone saying you have to pay Booth Barn for a booth isn't us. You always pay the market directly.
- Pay links come only from verified markets. Verified markets can show their own Venmo, PayPal, Zelle or Cash App next to your booth fee. Only organizers we've checked by hand can add them, and the money goes straight to the market. Booth Barn never touches it.
- See something off? Tell us and we'll look into it. More on how we keep things safe on our Trust page.
Find real markets near you
See upcoming markets, which vendors are coming, and what they're bringing.
Browse marketsMore guides
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.Setting up a market booth in Arizona heat and windSummer hours, tent weights, monsoon storms and staying safe in the heat.
All guides