Quartzsite selling: More questions about details.

[Hand2MouthMining]

Hi, fellow enthusiasts!
                                We'll be displaying in Quartzsite at Tyson Wells this winter, and are doing detail work; that is, sweating the details. Some things are straightforward, others obscure.

One of the most interesting questions is determining weights. How do other (experienced) Quartzsite dealers sell their wares?
By the pound or by the piece? Do you bring your scale, and get it certified in Arizona? Do you bother? What would you do?

I've had Verizon recommended to me as cell provider. I'm planning on using Squarup for accepting credit cards and will need a good 3G signal to do so. Any thoughts, opinions or reviews?

On the subject of Squareup, I'm not so concerned about the percentage they charge for their service, since I'm going to pay monthly service charges for a regular merchant account, and Squareup works from my iPhone, as simple as it gets. Perhaps as business grows we might explore other possibilities, but for Quartzsite it looks ideal, if we get a good 3G signal!
Besides, what can we complain if we can do 40-60% more business by accepting credit cards instead of just cash or check? even with checks, our bank offers instant check scan approvals.

Gotta love technology!

Anyways, this wasn't really meant to be soapbox time. We hope that you more experienced vendor/dealers can help a couple of newbies who want to build our business while offering great values to everyone. New amterial at good prices is good for all!

Best regards,
                     Kris & Al
                     Hand-2-Mouth Miniing
                     Fresno, CA

[catmandewe]

Just put a sticker on your scale that says "weights are approximate" and you don't need to get them certified.

You can get a signal there, but as it starts to get crowded you may get dropped occasionally. Somedays it works just fine, other days not so good.

Good luck, we look forward to meeting you.

Tony

[drocknut]

Oh Goody, another rock place to visit in Quartzsite.   
Let us know when you are there and what spot you are in so we can find you there. 
Btw, you might check into Desert Gardens to set up unless you are already locked into Tyson Wells, I hear it's less expensive there and more people looking for rough rock too.

[johnjsgems]

I think it was 7-8 years ago when everyone got nailed for uncertified scales.  This was our first year selling there and nobody hassled us.  I always round down anyway so don't charge exact weights anyway.  We have Verizon phones and they worked great as did the wireless laptop (if I remember right).  Our credit card machine uses another service and it worked OK too.  We sometimes do 70% credit card sales so it is a must for what we sell.  You will see a lot of cash buyers too at Quartzsite.  I received a tax increase notice last month.  Sales tax going up to 11% from 10%.  You can get the AZ tax license ahead of time online and need it to show the Quartzsite town tax people.  They come around selling the Quartzsite temporary licenses.  You have to have both posted at the show.  You should check out Desert Gardens while there.  It is a much more rock oriented show and all the cool people sell there.  

[Hand2MouthMining]

Thanks for all the great replies, friends. We look forward to seeing you out there, and expect to have time to get over to Desert Gardens and see all the "cool people" and their rocks! *grin!*
We hope that everyone will come by and take advantage of our first year naivete ... We'll be making deals! Look for us on the Walkway at Tyson Wells, Row B&C, Space 19. We'll post more photos as Show time approaches.

Later, y'all!

                 Kris & Al
                 Hand-2-Mouth Mining

[Alvin]

in my business I sell way more stuff when they spot the sign that says I take credit cards. I can tell you when I was at Quartzsite, I would have bought more rocks had I seen a sign that took credit cards. I had brought cash but went through several thousand in three days. after that I could only buy when I saw a credit card sign. make that sign very visible and you will sell much more. good luck. wish I was going but too many projects this winter.

[Bentiron]

"went through several thousand in three days"..........Must be nice! I thought it quite wonderful to have $25 to go through to four hours.