Wildcrafter

My bookkeeper says cost of goods sold for the retail products sitting on the shelves waiting to be sold.

I'm trying to get away from tables because if you go to a craft fair, it's booth after booth of tables, tables, tables. I'm not knocking it and if it works, great!, but I want to do something entirely different this year to make my booth pop out over everyone elses'. I want people to walk up to my booth and say, "Hold the phone, what's all this!?!?" and come on in.

All the talk about leave on products... I would never put anything on my skin, leave on product or not, that is made from petroleum ingredients or petroleum byproducts or harsh chemicals of any kind. Putting proven cancer causing ingredients on my skin, even for the shortest of times, is playing with fire. Skin is permeable and anyone trying to turn my opinion on this will get a bloody forehead from beating their head against my wall.

So, if doing HP would kill the live properties, then so would a CP soap that gels whether fully or partially. You really couldn't win with that. That' being said, if I want to preserve some medicinal qualities of something, I'll add it after the cook. Like, for instance, cocoa butter, coconut milk, goat's milk fresh (small amount) or powdered, honey, herbs, the like. That's also why EOs are put in after the cook as well.

Thanks!

Very cool!

Anyone else have display ideas they want to share?

Nobody is saying selling crappy candles is great. I'm not sure you read that right. No offense.

I concur! When people balk at my prices, I tell them they are buying my extensive knowledge of herbs, how, where and when to harvest them, that I know the difference between the plant I'm looking for and one that is a look-a-like and potentially poisonous, they pay for my ability to create a great formula that works, the packaging, label making and my time to create the great products I do and the time I take out to sell them personally so that they can ask their questions of me. And then they buy. And buy again. My book keeper just finished my taxes for 2008. I have had the best year I ever had in my years of doing business and I expect, even in this economy, to surpass last year in 2009. In a different forum, one gal said something to the effect of lowering prices so people would buy. Bad practice and one who will not stay in business long or who will limp along year after year with meager sales and get will burnt out along the way. Make the product so appealing that the customers will buy them at any price is my thought. The product packaging and label, the display, signage is what sells first. What sells again is what is in the package.

I have been thinking about making less products this year. But the products I will make having more pop. I'm not sure where I'm going to pare down. My scenting sprays didn't do well at all last year and take up valuable space. While the creams sell, I don't like making them. I'm going to sit down and do a review and see what I come up with. I like the grouping idea. One of my market managers told me to do grouping displays with products that go together. Like a soap and lotion bar in the same scent. Or soap and scenting spray (although I'm dropping my scenting sprays for this year). Just an idea. I never really did this. This year, I'm going to do that and see how it goes. I'm going to display with less tables and more small high displays that are easy for people to see. Many focal points to move to instead of having to look at everything on one or two tables. I already know to raise the displays because people don't like looking down and at a marketing seminar I went to, the teacher said to have your product between elbow and shoulder height for the best pop. I have 3 antique ironing boards and am going to do things like pedestals and stairs on them. Not as many products per ironing board. And I have this really nice display thing. I have to take a picture of it because I can't describe it. But it's tall, about 6 ft and about 2 1/2 feet wide. If you look at my website, you can see a pick of my soap table. I'm going to change that a bit as well. Break up the soaps instead of having the assembly line effect. I have some ideas for a few big chunky cut bars that I'm going to do this year. Do any of you have display ideas for this year that you want to try out?

By Jove, I think you've got it!! Thank you very very much! I appreciate this so much!

Thank you! I checked and everything is too big for what I need. I appreciate the heads up!!

If this helps, this is what I'm looking for: http://www.juniperridge.com/pbc_smudgesticks_mugwort_large.htm

Mods, feel free to move this if not in the correct place. I'm looking for wholesale biodegradable plastic bags. Long thin ones to put in smudge sticks, primarily. And to use to package herbs. I'm not looking for shopping or trash bags or dog poop bags. I have been searching the net and haven't found anything. I saw on a website that they are using bio bags but are not willing to share their source. Thanks in advance!

I don't think that's silly at all. It's smart. There's Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle and Pop, The honeybee for Honeycomb cereal....It's branding your products in a way that people can remember. I used to make a Ruby Jean's Toe Tappin' Herbal Elixer that sold like hotcakes. Ruby Jean is my cat. I still make it, but just for my own use now. I didn't want to go that way in my business, so quit having it out for customers.

I use clothes pins. Cheap!! And reusable.

Very good advice. I do the same thing. I can be at a show where there are 6 or 7 other vendors selling the same thing I do and I generally come out ahead because the customers have fun in my booth and I make it a happy place to come to. I compliment people, chat them up and generally make things fun WITHOUT hovering over them and getting in the way of my own sales! By the way....I don't have a chair in my booth. I'm there to sell, not relax. I can relax when I get home. I have a roof to keep over my head, KWIM?? Vendors who let their frustration, anger, etc of their lack of sales show on their faces and attitudes won't make sales. They are bringing it on themselves by putting out a bad attitude to people. I know I don't want to go into a booth where people are sitting in chairs so low they are almost laying on the ground, or where they are griping about lack of customers, sales, or even worse, griping about other vendors!!!! I don't have the time to worry about what other vendors are doing. It's none of my business and doesn't do me any good. I am helpful, polite to the fair directors, keep a tidy booth and am invited year after year with very good booth placement. It's all about attitude.

I gather emails during my season and have a mailing base of over 400. I sent out a mass emailing a couple of weeks ago, putting a couple of products on sale and have gotten a fairly steady response to that both with orders and workshop registrations.

Depends on how they are stored and if the oils are touched. The bacteria on the hands, etc can get in the EOs and when they die, they definitely alter the scent and quality of the EO. If they are untouched, kept in a dark place, are not in contact with the lid or latex, they should stay good for a long time. It's true that patchouli gets better with age. Same for sandalwood, I've found. The mints can be picky of their surroundings and can turn faster than others. Same with eucalyptus. I offer this information from first hand experience. I've been working with EOs for over 25 years.

During the summer, I sent out an email to all my loyal customers and put something on sale one weekend a month. I sent in the email, an attachment with a coupon that they had to bring in to redeem. Once I gave a sample of soap of their choice, which was a half bar. Once I gave out a half bar of the soap I made for my mom for years. It was Mother's Day weekend and I was honoring my Mom that way who passed away 3 years ago. I put that in the email and it really brought people to my booth. Many of them also bought things since they were in my booth anyway. I did percentages off certain items, that sort of thing. It worked well for me.

At the end of my market season, I ran a special on soap only. Buy 6 and get 2 free. I did this to thank my patrons who support me over the season and like to stock up for winter. And to get rid of end of the season soaps so that my inventory goes down. I sold so much soap, it was amazing. Everybody was so happy to get those extra 2 bars for free. It was very successful. I wasn't at the last market, myself. I had one of my employees man the booth. I was manning a booth at a holiday fair. In retrospect, I should have been the one at the market thanking all of my customers and giving them a little extra something. Next year will be that way.

Then leave them at doors. Post it in your church bulletin. However the word can be spread. The idea is for getting the word out for the home sale. To boost sales. Thinking off the top of my head, I'm sure everyone can sift through what may work for them and what wouldn't, legally, financially, time-wise, etc. It's about getting off the duff and getting excited about doing something to introduce more people to your products. Put your energy into getting excited about your products and people will get excited about your products as well. I see this all the time at fairs and farmers markets - the difference in sales numbers between people who are happy in their booths and people who are in bad moods, sit in low chairs, get the "desperate look." I greet everybody enthusiastically who comes into my booth. I am friendly and personable. I compliment people on what they are wearing or hair style, something. It makes people feel good about being in my booth and buying and then coming back and buying more. I stand and don't sit. I'm there to sell, not relax. I train my employees to act the same way when they are working my booths. My employees know to be personable and don't bring chairs with them, either. I get feedback from other vendors on my employees and keep the ones who consistently get good results and compliments. I run sales for returning and consistent customers who buy from my website and will, on occasion, throw in a little extra in their order box. This keeps them coming back. If I am out of something, I send an alternative and then, when I have the item they want in stock, I send it to them, my charge, not theirs. That keeps them coming back and it's kept a roof over my head for years.

You're other thread about that show made me sad. I am so sorry!

My domain is with godaddy and my host is http://quidnunc.net/main/ I'm very happy with them. I needed tech support today and got it fast and friendly. Answered my questions and well worth the $140 a year. I can have up to 99 website email addresses and 100 aliases.

Cranberry seeds sound interesting. I might want to try them. Where would I go to buy some?