Monday, January 26, 2009

A Shop Note…

Hi everyone! I hope your Monday was phenomenal! Mine certainly was and I even ended up with a new wholesale account! So today I wanted to check if you all knew how to set up your shop policies information for your wholesale inquiries.  mbsfI have my information located in my shop policies section on Etsy.  It’s easy for me to be able to just paste the link when I have an inquiry. When you get that first inquiry don’t panic. (You still will! haha! I had no clue what to do). Thank them for their interest and link them to your terms and other information. Don’t have anything going yet? Let me help you!

First make sure your pricing is up to par, that you are still profiting from your sales. Wholesale is ALOT of work. It’s actually to the point where I’m thinking that my 15.00 an hour I pay myself is not enough money. Be prepared for that. Usually the typical discount that wholesalers are looking for is 50%. Make sure you are still profiting, otherwise it’s time to raise those prices. Remember that the retailers need to make a profit too! Once your prices are in order and you have determined your discount, it’s time to make that discount worth your while. What is your minimum order amount? For me they must have a minimum of 500.00 in merchandise which brings their discount to 250.00. Make sure you mention your shipping requirements too. I DO NOT budge on these as it’s the only was to ensure that our packages arrive to who they are supposed to arrive to. I have accounts in the double digits, so do not be afraid to ask for everything you need to, proper businesses will NOT leave because you are setting limits. I also have done a document with color photos of items that are NOT one of a kind. With these I can put a photo of the item and how many I have the ability to make. This catalogue is GREAT for taking with you when meeting with boutiques along with your samples. It gives them a hardcopy of something to look at and not just the promises of logging onto your website. Finally be sure to mention your turn around time. I always tell them in the first reply that depending on the size of the order, and if I have to order more supplies or not I turn around in less than 48 hours. Here is my information:

Additional Policies and FAQs

I do Wholesale! With a minimum order of 500.00 My wholesale discount is 50% off anything you see in my shop. The 500.00 is total BEFORE the discount is applied. So in the end your total is 250.00.
For wholesale accounts customer pays INSURED and Confirmed with signature Shipping.
If you are not sure on purchasing that many items, I can do a small sampler pack of 10 items with a 20% discount off the total purchase. Customer pays same shipping as above. (Insured and Signature confirmation.)

Try and keep in mind that many people are just inquiring and are not ready to buy at the moment, so you will have a lot of people NOT return your reply email. No worries! It’s nothing against your policies, they are just getting information. That first account will leave you a bit rattled, but it gets easier! I promise. There will be some more demanding customers than others, and that’s okay too, it just thickens the skin! One of my accounts we went back and forth for almost a month! It was insane, but in the end totally worth it. They ended up filling up SIX of their stores with goodies from MichellesCharmWorld! It was a wild ride, but has even already led to follow up orders. Some of my accounts even come in for monthly top offs. The more often they come back, I lower the minimum buying amount. I don’t always give 50% either. Once you gain a rapport with your customers you will see what will or will not work for you. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! I love answering!

 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, these are some really great tips. I'm so impressed by your success :)

missknits said...

congrats on the wholesale order! yay!! and a great reminder about our policies. i've only had one wholesale order so far, and never thought of putting that in my policies.

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