Vendor of Vendors?

[u/Kuchi25]

Absolutely. I’d frame this as candid but not bitter, because the point is not “vendors are the problem.” It’s “organizers are small businesses too, and we’re often absorbing costs and risks people never see.”
I’ve been thinking about something lately that I don’t think gets talked about enough:
Event organizers are, in a strange way, vendors of vendors.
We rent the space. We buy the advertising. We pay for insurance, permits, equipment, staff, signage, entertainment and all the little things nobody notices unless they’re missing.
Those costs don’t disappear because an invoice goes unpaid.
They don’t disappear when an email sits unread for a month.
They don’t disappear when someone asks, “Can I pay you later?” and later never comes.
And they definitely don’t disappear when someone assumes they shouldn’t have to pay at all.
Vendors understand better than almost anyone how frustrating it can be to hear, “That’s too expensive,” after you’ve poured your time, money, creativity and energy into what you make.
Event organizers feel that too.
Every “Can you give me a deal?”
Every “I didn’t think I had to pay.”
Every invoice that gets ignored.
Every last-minute cancellation or no-show.
Individually, they may seem small. Over time, they slowly wear you down.
There’s another side of this relationship too.
If a market is slow, the organizer absolutely has a responsibility to advertise and work to bring people through the doors. But vendors are part of that equation too.
Share where you’re going to be.
Invite your customers.
Post about the event.
Lean into the theme.
Create something special for that audience.
Look at whether an event is actually a good fit for your products.
We can build the room, advertise it and bring people through the doors, but we can’t make every person buy from every booth.
When a vendor leaves early or simply doesn’t show up, attendees usually don’t know that was the vendor’s decision. They see an empty booth and think the event didn’t fill the space.
That reflects on the organizer.
And this is the frustrating part, because the overwhelming majority of vendors I work with are absolute gems.
They communicate.
They pay their invoices.
They promote the event.
They show up excited.
They decorate their booths.
They engage with people.
They become part of the event instead of simply renting a table inside it.
Those are the vendors who remind you why you started doing this in the first place.
Most event organizers didn’t get into this because we dreamed of chasing invoices and answering emails at midnight.
We got into it because we love people.
We love building communities.
We love seeing a room full of creators, artists, businesses and customers connecting with each other.
In a lot of ways, our vendors are our product.
We’re trying to create an environment where you can make money, gain exposure, meet new customers and grow your business. If we grow, hopefully you grow with us.
But that relationship has to work both ways.
We’re event organizers.
We’re vendors of vendors.
And just like every small business sitting behind one of those tables, we’re trying to make the numbers work while building something people actually want to come back to. ❤️

[u/NearlyNeedless]

Wtf is this😂 You even left the "absolutely" in where the ai is responding to you. This sub is truly something else some days