Inventory Chronicles: The 8ft Banquet Table

Why the worst-performing table might be the one I’m underthinking the most

Author

Ramon Luna
December 30, 2025

Last time in this inventory series, I took the highest revenue-producing item in a category and went deeper. This time, I wanted to take a different approach and share why.

Instead of starting with the best performer, I started with the worst.

Zooming Out on Tables First

At a high level, tables represent roughly 8% of total revenue in 2025.

That number isn’t perfect. I’ll need to revisit it at some point to properly account for the packages I’ve created for clients, since tables are baked into those pretty heavily. But stay with me for now.

For us, five table types do the heavy lifting. In order of revenue importance, from best to worst:

  • 60" round tables

  • Cocktail / highboy tables

  • 6ft banquet tables

  • Square card tables

  • 8ft banquet tables

I’ve also sworn off wood tables entirely, so when I talk about tables here, I’m strictly referring to plastic. I’m sure I’ll eat those words someday, but for now, plastic tables feel right for my business. That context matters.

I should also mention that I own a few 48" round tables, which are big losers and probably need to be removed altogether. And a handful of kids tables… which, ugh. That was one of those “let’s test it” items that immediately reminded me why testing inventory can be painful. When I finally got a booking, they were oddly hard to source at the time. Anyway. Lesson(s) learned.

Naturally, you’d expect me to focus on 60" rounds. They generate the most revenue and are embedded in a lot of backyard packages that I haven’t fully parsed out yet. If anything, round tables are probably being underrepresented.

And yet, my attention kept drifting back to the 8ft banquet table.

The Worst Performer on Paper

By almost any surface-level metric, the 8ft banquet table looks like a loser.

I only own 14 of them.
One recently broke, so now I actually own 13.
In 2025, they generated less than $2,000 in revenue.

Pennies. Totally get it.

At 110 bookings for the year, they were booked less than half as often as their 6ft “little brother” and less than a quarter as often as round tables, which I’d consider their equally capable step-sister.

Said differently:

  • 6ft tables were booked about 2× more

  • Round tables were booked about 4× more

That imbalance alone tells me there’s opportunity somewhere to even out the scales.

What the Data Actually Says

When I looked past total revenue and focused on unit economics, the picture changes slightly.

In 2025 alone, those tables generated almost $120 per unit, against roughly $80 in cost.

They have low turns / low velocity, which isn’t surprising. There’s room for improvement, but I’m not trying to build a business that lives or dies on extreme turns.

The payback period is decent at roughly 0.7 years.

And unlike some other items, they’re:

  • Easy to source

  • Always available

  • Simple to add incrementally

So while they look weak in aggregate, they quietly do their job when they’re actually used.

Where I Think I’m Missing the Opportunity

This is where things shift from analysis to execution.

Right now, I default to 60" round tables for a lot of backyard setups. But the truth is, 8ft folding tables are much easier to move and transport than round tables.

They’re also easier to handle for the DIYer, which represents a good majority of my customer base.

That advantage doesn’t show up cleanly in the data.
But it absolutely shows up in labor, setup time, and overall friction.

And that’s the real win here.

Not that the data told me what to buy.
But that the data highlighted an opportunity and forced me to think about how I might use what I already own differently.

What I’m Still Thinking Through

This is where I’m intentionally leaving things unfinished.

Should 8ft banquet tables be:

  • More prominent in backyard packages? (leaning heavy yes)

  • Positioned as a “practical upgrade”?

  • Priced or bundled differently to encourage substitution away from round tables or 6ft banquets?

  • Or, does the pricing of surrounding like-items need to change to make the 8ft table the more rational choice?

I don’t have all of that answered yet.

But I wouldn’t have even asked the questions if I hadn’t slowed down and looked past surface-level performance.

Why I’m Sharing This One

This isn’t about declaring the 8ft banquet table a hidden hero.

It’s about showing how a “worst performer” can still be strategically useful.

It’s also a reminder not to forget the tools we have available to us now. Using AI to walk through this data has been helpful, not to replace judgment, but to organize it, pressure-test assumptions, and act as a sparring partner to understand what the numbers might actually be saying.

I know we like to shoot from the hip in this industry.
But we can analyze without slowing ourselves down all that much.

If this was helpful, I’d genuinely love to know.
If it was too vague, say that too.
If you approach this differently or better, I’m all ears.

I’m still working through this in real time. And sometimes sharing the thinking is just as valuable as sharing the outcome.

Until next time
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US Bank - Triple Cash Card
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