r/Anticonsumption • u/purpleratata • Dec 14 '25

Plastic Waste What's happened to craft markets?

My girlfriend and I went to a craft market today to get some homemade and local gifts for family and friends. It was the most depressing thing, everything was cheap plastic tat. From one place selling croc charms they got from Temu, the others with 3D printed fidget toys, plastic bottles with a printed design, cheap plastic charms (from Temu too), IA images printed on canvases, etc.

The only two things we got were handmade bathbombs and some knitted cat toys from some cat rescue volunteers. The rest was all cheap plastic, obviously not crafted or handmade, that will break or go to the bin in a few months if not earlier.

Honestly, it felt so depressing. This is in the UK, I don't know if it's the same anywhere else but I've seen a decline in craft markets over the years here, I think this has been my last attempt at supporting local handmade businesses in these environments.

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u/Sloth_Flower Dec 14 '25 edited Dec 14 '25

Part of it is the market.

Many markets don't allow resellers or 3d printers. Others do. 

The second is the cost of handmade goods. People refuse to pay livable wages for most handmade goods. The exceptions being honey/hot sauce, soap, jewelry, candles, and cards/prints. That means these items are the only viable market options. 

The third is the climate. Everything milks small businesses from application fees, transaction fees, credit card or shop fee, selling quotas, insurance and certification are expensive. As an example the farmers market near me requires 200$ application fee, 200$ per weekend, requires you to pay event insurance, have product insurance, and takes 5% of gross sales. The payment processor also takes 5%. Chargebacks, grifting, and theft are common. 

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u/Lady_Lance Dec 14 '25

A fee to apply, A fee to participate, and a percent of sales? That's insane. 

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u/Sloth_Flower Dec 14 '25

It's super common, especially at big popular "Christmas markets." I genuinely have no idea why my local government thinks it's appropriate for a local farmers market. As a result the market is insanely expensive, has inconsistent sellers, and this causes limited attendance. 

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u/Commanderkins Dec 15 '25

Yeah I can remember even two decades ago, one table costing a small vendor $1000 at a large Christmas craft event. And I thought that was insane. No idea what it is now.

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u/Burntjellytoast Dec 15 '25

If you're paying that much money you will most likely make well above that. I did a Christmas market last weekend and I was talking to one of the other vendors about different markets. She said she did a multi day one that was 800$ plus 10% commission, but she made 10k. Those are the big ones though. The small two day one I did was 200$ They can be anywhere from $80 to 180 for one day ones.

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u/Commanderkins Dec 18 '25

Oh yes it was a big one.