rascal418

I have a theory I'm throwing out there for all of us that have or haven't been hacked yet. I sold a few things on eBay,(remnants leftover stock) & at the top of the completed auction page was the paypal address my buyer sent payment to. Older auction, maybe 2-3 months old now & my paypal address is still at the top of the completed auction page. I purposely don't include my paypal addy within the auction, eBay decided they would do it for me. Sheesh, no wonder so many people are getting hacked & spoof emails. eBay put the bait front & center for the scammers.

Alajane She probably forgot, this time of year my kids are into sports & my life isn't my own = I'm running everywhere. Leave her a message asking when you can drop the fundraiser off that should remind her ~I bet shes apologetic & swings by tonight. btw, everyone thanks for the tips. It's funny I've been doing this one way for so long that sometimes I forget that it's good to get other views. Who knows? I might need to make some changes. I've never taken 3 weeks to fill an order but the bigger fundraisers do take a while & I feel better leaving a little cushion of time (sticking with the 3 weeks) rather than be frazzled & rushed. thanks again

This past weekend DH & I saw a Yankee Candle Display at the superflea. Although they were cheap the vendor couldn't give them away. Gotta tell ya, I was surprised to see an outside candle display in that heat. Talked with the vendor a bit & it turns out she's selling what doesn't move at the stores at the superflea. I never thought I'd see a Yankee Candle Store owner at the flea market.

Been doing fundraisers a while now & recently had a complaint my down time was too long. I've always done a 3 week lag time to allow for ordering additional product (if I need it) & no-one blinked. This time someone blinked & I'm just curious if y'all think 3 weeks from the order receipt date is too long for fundraiser order fulfillment? Thanks

What a jerk! I hear ya, not too long ago I had a retailer hacking off parts of my product label & then putting my stuff out for sale. I'm still seeing red over that one .... Maybe if I didn't make my products I wouldn't have taken it so personally but she may as well have thrown a gallon of paint on them. I've never had a business person ruin their own sales items before & to this day her behavior makes no sense to me. That said, her behavior is on her. Vent away, then write up a contract that will protect you from nutjobs. Granted the money in wholesale isn't as great as retail or shows but it comes in handy! You've already dealt with the worst like a champ, you're regrouping, relabeling, only putting your best out there. You've got the makings of a professional + have wholesale experience now, it'd be a shame to let one jerk ruin your opportunity to really take this ball & run with it. btw Some of your items sold for a lot of money right? When you're ready, seek out high end specialty shops & see if they want to carry your line. Don't let one person ruin what you love doing

op, check your pm I've got an idea :highfive:

Another vendor taking photos of your booth, no conversation.. with you right there? Although it could be harmless (they liked your display) it could also be a retailer or competitor ready to duplicate your work. Might even be someone trying to pass off your display as their own for juried events. sigh, one of the reasons I have a big smarmy sign with my name on it hanging front & center on my display. Did you report the photographer/vendor to the promoter& out of curiousity, what did this vendor sell? p.s. I'm not a psych major (& I don't play one on tv lol) but my theory on folks that don't make eye contact is....they're just looking not buying yet, be polite & friendly they'll be back (hopefully after they hit the atm)

Twoscentsworth, What was paypals response ? Did paypal reverse the amounts in question or did you have to do a chargeback?

same venue hmm? I'm surprised they booked them back to back. Thats ok, November is a busy month & my favorite month for shows. Don't sweat it-imo the other promoter has more to worry about in terms of comparison. btw Are you going to visit the other promoters show? I would esp if I had any last minute cancellations. Never hurts & you might be able to cherry pick & fill a spot.

What Crafty1 AJ said. I do that heart with passionfruit fo in a triangle shape triple wicked 3 layer red, pink, white top. Looks & burns great. Plus it's really cute, sells well esp @ Valentines Day. Almost too cute to burn, notice I said almost LOL Of late I've use those hearts for my Chinese Auction donation for shows. Don't cost a lot to make & folks just love em.

I hate making snow angels. Reminds me of dirty diapers

I knew I forgot something lol A good way to use up scents that don't sell on their own is to layer them with complementing scents. For example, Frangelico or marshmallow on their own -nuthin- but if I layer them with chocolate they sell. Same is true of almond, I add a layer of cherry *voila* it sells. Think scents that complement each other & work it to use up your stock

I sympathize... My mom feels the need to donate my products to her causes. The woman doesn't ask if I want to donate she tells me after she put me down for a gift basket or 3 ~ it drives me nuts. But its my mom & its for charity what can I do? aaarrrrgghhh Since your mom is in business she knew the sign will become an extension of YOUR business advertising. As cute & free as that sign is, you should have designed it. btw you might be able to get your point across & pay it forward by gifting your parents something you designed for their business... lol

Scented LOL !! I changed lick me all over to temptation for my G rated shows. I'm leaving monkey farts & butt naked alone ~ those 2 sell well because of the funny factor. My seniors love the NG Kama Sutra scents. I renamed the KS line once & what a mistake that was! no Buyers!! As soon as I relabled it back to Kama Sutra instant interest

Thanks barncat Good read, very helpful with a lot of tips. 1 tip I have to implement soon lest I lose my mind! Now to nicely tell my first wholesale clients that my minimums are going up...

I think gas prices will impact us more than local buyers. I've turned down show invites this year because of distance & gas pricing.

ok ok so its Cookie Lee -- guess I need glasses LOL I agree, there isn't much variety anymore. I used to be able to count on craft shows to buy buy buy unique items for gifts (& me too), I love unique homemade items. Of late, it seems everything looks the same. Even my stuff now thanks to a new vendor A few shows ago a candlemaker set up near me with product almost identical to mine. I was curious so I went over, got em talking. Turns out they just started, saw my work & liked the looks of it. I 'guess' imitation is a form of flattery but I wanted to freakin debrain them. This happend at a juried show I had done before too!

I play @ with scents mixing & matching to create 'exclusive' scents. When you come across a mix that works, write it down by % & volume so you can multiply as needed for future orders

Colors? Think any color palette combo that could result in butt ugly & avoid. For me that was pretty much all of them LOL If you're still inclined ~ mix by % & test the finished result for scent throw & looks.

I do @20-30 craft shows a year but I'm pulling away from craft shows that 1. allow retail or 2. promoters that deceptively advertise or promote the show as 1 thing when it's another. A craft show that allows partiers, retail, "on sale" retail, hostesses or consultants is not a 'craft' show. A craft show should be CRAFTS. I used to frequent crafts shows (long before I was a vendor) for the unique artisan variety not to see Avon or Tupperware. If I were a buyer walking into a craft show today I'd wonder what happend? I supsect the reason attendance is down at these events is because the shows aren't being promoted accurately. People walking into a craft show expect to see crafts not bargain basement on sale retail. I just did a 'homemade only' juried show. The person at the booth next to me was selling beautiful homemade jewelry right across from Connie Lee. The caterer/baker was placed alongside Tastefully Simple & Pampered Chef. My candle booth was within spitting distance of Bittersweet, Mia Bella & Home Interiors. How exactly did this happen at a show the promoter advertised as Homemade only? I won't do that show again but this isn't the first promoter that juried an event based on check. venting.. venting.... venting.....

If using multiple scents & colors make sure the scents & colors work well together because as the candle burns the color & scent combine.. Some scents & colors don't mesh well at all. Ask me how I know LOL

It took me @6 months testing to get to the point I was confident enough to sell. In hindsight though research, development & testing were the fun part. Theres more involved in starting a business than just putting together a great product. When I got closer to my finished product I met with a cpa, registered with the state, insurance, business plan etc because this is a business. Take advantage of all the breaks you can. College business & marketing courses were a big help as was SCORE. SCORE is a valuable resource in business building, product pricing & networking. If theres a group near you, check em out. Still making a profit is tough when you're competing with like crafters that are hell bent to sell at a loss. imho Pricing too low looks suspicious, a lot of folks reason higher price = better quality. It helps tremendously to only sell your tried & true best products & know your stuff inside out. I'm small time compared to some of the folks here but I broke even my first year in business & it's been a slow but steady climb. That first year I think I put almost every dollar made back into more supplies to grow my business. Good thing I love doing this edited to move the smiley LOL

I put a decorative hang tag on my candles using cardstock, a heart hole punch & ribbon. I get the cardstock at walmart, business card style, the cardstock will have the program # on it, easy to use & print. ?? Lately I've had customers request I eliminate jar labels altogether & put the necessary info on a hang tag. I'm not sure this would pass muster though, at minimum I'm bound to do the warning label on the jar. What do you all think-ok to do the details on a hang tag or would I be looking at big trouble? I'm thinking no, but I guess it could be ok as long as the warning label was on the jar. I really dunno <help>

I think you're getting the run around although a football group could be a seasonal organization. I agree, send a past due invoice but also call the boro. The local municipality should have record who the principals of this group are. While you're on the phone with the boro ask how to collect money from this group. Once you know the how & who you're dealing with contact the treasurer directly via phone. If you can/can't talk to them send a past due invoice to the treasurer cert mail, pay for postal signature service-making them sign for a collection note sends a message. Up the collection effort if you have to using the timeframe & methods the boro recommends. It would probably get local media attention if the football group treasurer had to appear in court to settle a debt. Nasty ? Yeah, but so is being stiffed by folks working with kids.

I'm glad to hear there will be FOOD! You can see where my priorities are LOL Its nice when you show up & there are carts/dollies available on the curb. You know, those steel moving carts that folks use to bring their product in on. The last show the steel cart I used was HUGE, much bigger than mine. It was great to get all my stuff at once rather than having to make a lot of trips in & out. btw I think it's great that youre asking for ideas