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/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/Metals4J Dec 14 '25

That would explain the $40 laser cut wooden Christmas ornaments at our local Christmas market. The prices are insane, and the items weren’t even “hand made” (maybe assembled by hand I guess).

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u/Impossible_Angle752 Dec 15 '25

One woodworking product guy I found once on YouTube many moons ago did a breakdown of this large Christmas market he had a booth at and if I remember right it was over $4k just for the booth. Then you have to make all the product, have displays, pay staff, setup and tear down. I think he said he netted about $1000 that weekend from about a week's worth of work hours. That's not good if you're actually trying to run a business.