How much inventory to start selling?

[Paintguru]

Another quick opinion/your story question.  What did people do for building an inventory when you started selling?  Did you just have a small number of scents/sizes?  Did you go crazy and make a ton of inventory?  Production on demand?  Just curious how people on here started out and any lessons learned.  

[Jcandleattic]

For my candles it was production on demand, along with what I already had on hand. For soap, that was a little different since it takes a bit more planning. I don't take requests to make soap unless a) I know I'll be able to sell what they don't buy, and/or b.) they buy at least half the batch. Even though my batches are small, (3-5lbs) I have been burned by making special requests then the person only bought 1-2 bars, or nothing at all, and then I was stuck with a whole batch of soaps that wouldn't sell. 

 

[Paintguru]

1 hour ago, Jcandleattic said:

For my candles it was production on demand, along with what I already had on hand. For soap, that was a little different since it takes a bit more planning. I don't take requests to make soap unless a) I know I'll be able to sell what they don't buy, and/or b.) they buy at least half the batch. Even though my batches are small, (3-5lbs) I have been burned by making special requests then the person only bought 1-2 bars, or nothing at all, and then I was stuck with a whole batch of soaps that wouldn't sell. 

 

 

Yeah when I was doing soap for a bit, it was a major issue without a consistent customer source.  I like the on-demand idea once I decide my fragrance lineup.  Of course, if I ever venture to craft shows, which I'm sure I'll have to at some point, I'll need a good supply of stock.  

[Sebleo]

Great question! That is what I have been working on this week. Literally about to start building inventory right after I post this! How many pounds of wax do I have/how many pounds of each fragrance should I make? 

 

I have decided to make 3 pounds of each fragrance split between sample sizes, clams and individual pieces to be sold by the pound. Some scents I may do less and some more. But, that is my baseline. 

 

Then when I'm all done I can reevaluate. 

[Candybee]

A lot may depend on your selling venues.

 

For example, I sell mainly at farmer's markets and craft shows. I eventually found through trial and error that inventory planning had a lot to do with how much my table(s) will hold. For markets I do 2 tables for mostly soap and some B&B like lotions, lip balms, body sprays, etc. For craft shows I do full 3 table set ups so its 2 tables of soap and B&B and one table of candles. I sell candles in the fall and holiday season only.

 

From this I found that what my risers hold is would be how many candle scents I bring. I use 2 risers for my candle table. Each riser will hold 7 candles on each step and there are 4 steps. So I make 14 scents and a minimum of 6 candles per scent so I have some extra per show. Thats approximately 84 candles or 7 cases per table. However, I typically bring 7-10 cases as some scents may completely sell out and I want extra inventory. But bringing more than that simply means carrying unnessary inventory to a show. I am by myself and can only sell so much.

 

For my 2 soap tables I carry 10 soap boxes that each hold 30 soaps and I divide those into 3 scents. So that give me 30 scents x 10 = 300 soap for two tables. I usually carry 300-400 soaps.

 

B&B is a little different. I only make 5 lotions and bring a half dozen of each. Lip balms can pack into small containers or boxes so I usually bring about 50 in assorted flavors. Body sprays are whatever fits on the small riser which is about 36 so I bring some extra.

 

Other people may have busier shows or markets, but here in the valley that's what works for me. Also, sometimes when I know I am doing a high traffic show I bring everything my car can carry and then some. Two day shows I know I can take inventory the night before and load up my car for day two. So it works out.

 

I have a website but I don't really promote it much except through my Facebook page, and promotional brochures, and biz cards. I don't get a lot of traffic on it except my customers that can/t get to my shows use it. But I always have lots of inventory at home so no need to worry about making extra.

[Shari]

I only do B&B and I'm pretty much right on track with Candybee.  I too have 30 fragrances.  I have lip balm, sugar scrubs, roll-on perfumes and bath bombs.  This year I'm adding a couple more items.  Indoor Craft shows I do 2 tables. In my tent & for 2 days shows I do 3 tables. 

[kandlekrazy]

Candles & Melts only when I started but I basically made a # of melts and 3 candles of each scent that I was ready to sell (I had a ton of scents that either were untested or I wasn't happy with yet).  Lesson learned, I guess I could have had more of some scents and less of others but on the other hand you never know your customer at each show you do.  I learned later that sometimes the scents that sold out at one show barely moved at another.  Something you'll learn as you do the same show repeatedly.  Now if you're talking in a store I have way more inventory available because my booth is big enough to hold it all.

[LitUp]

We started with almost 50 different fragrances, which was a ton to try and handle starting off.6-10 candles of each. We quickly scaled back....to 34 I think still insane honestly looking at it now. Overtime we saw what sold and what didn't and currently sit at about 15 year round fragrances. Each event is different so its hard to say how much you need but I feel its always better to over prepare then to lose out on sales. 

[Candybee]

Something else that isn't mentioned so far is that I have found that too many scents actually confuse customers and can kill a sale. I used to carry 30-40+ scents when I first started too and have since learned to cut back to what fits on my risers. It makes the display look more professional to have all your same scents lined up together.  My customers seem to like the how they can easily find what they are looking for and its a lot easier on me to make more of 14 scents than 40+.

 

Plus it doesn't matter how many scents you have to choose from, there is ALWAYS a customer that wants something you don't have. I just point them to something similar and can often turn it into a sale.

[Paintguru]

16 hours ago, Candybee said:

Something else that isn't mentioned so far is that I have found that too many scents actually confuse customers and can kill a sale. I used to carry 30-40+ scents when I first started too and have since learned to cut back to what fits on my risers. It makes the display look more professional to have all your same scents lined up together.  My customers seem to like the how they can easily find what they are looking for and its a lot easier on me to make more of 14 scents than 40+.

 

Plus it doesn't matter how many scents you have to choose from, there is ALWAYS a customer that wants something you don't have. I just point them to something similar and can often turn it into a sale.

 

Good points.  Now have you reduced your scent selection for both live shows and your web sales or just for the live shows?  I'm testing a choosing my fragrances as we speak, and it will be hard to figure out my final number of scent choices.  Plus, I guess there is no rule that you can't add more scents later once sales start to increase!!  

[Candybee]

3 hours ago, Paintguru said:

 

Good points.  Now have you reduced your scent selection for both live shows and your web sales or just for the live shows?  I'm testing a choosing my fragrances as we speak, and it will be hard to figure out my final number of scent choices.  Plus, I guess there is no rule that you can't add more scents later once sales start to increase!!  

 

i only do candles in the fall & holiday season and don't carry them year round. I also don't sell them on my website. My website is mostly for showcasing my soap. I run a soap company after all so its mostly about soap.

 

For candles, choosing the number of scents you carry is easier if you have a theme in mind. I have a set up that holds a certain amount of scents. Since I can fit 2 risers on my table and they each hold 7 jars across each step, carrying 14 scents was an easy decision and made sense. I also do only fall and holiday scents so doing 14 scents gives my customers a good variety of themed scents.

[Paintguru]

 

10 minutes ago, Candybee said:

 

i only do candles in the fall & holiday season and don't carry them year round. I also don't sell them on my website. My website is mostly for showcasing my soap. I run a soap company after all so its mostly about soap.

 

For candles, choosing the number of scents you carry is easier if you have a theme in mind. I have a set up that holds a certain amount of scents. Since I can fit 2 risers on my table and they each hold 7 jars across each step, carrying 14 scents was an easy decision and made sense. I also do only fall and holiday scents so doing 14 scents gives my customers a good variety of themed scents.

 

Ah perfect.  Yeah I haven't even gotten into planning any sort of craft fair display yet.  I can imagine soaps and candles are the same way where you don't want too few or too many scents.  My thought is that one has a full lineup on their website that they can make "on demand" (not really possible in the soap making world), and then if/when I do a show, I would bring a subset of those scents with and display what makes sense.  It is all just new and slightly anxiety inducing, that is all :).  

[Candybee]

When I first started I had a candle business and was thinking along the same lines. But I learned some good lessons along the way. Making candle's on demand can be problematic especially if you plan to carry a large number of scents.

 

For one thing, carrying a large number of scents means a lot of money up front to buy all those fragrances, pay the shipping, and storing them. If you are running a business that can eat away at any profit having too many scents and can also run you out of the business if you aren't careful.

 

If you are planning to make candles on demand for your website then this can interfere with events in your life, holidays, and weekends you plan to do shows and days you plan to make candles for the events. It can also mess you up when you get multiple orders but not all at the same time. It works better to have inventory ahead of time if you plan to sell on a website. Not saying it can't be done but am saying it is problematic and it would mean you have to be able to fulfill an order even if your time is compromised. Plus don't forget stock supplies. If at any time you are out of something, wicks, wax, jars, FO, etc. and get an order you can't fill it until you restock. If you already have inventory, then you can pull it off the shelf without having to scramble to order supplies.

[Paintguru]

59 minutes ago, Candybee said:

When I first started I had a candle business and was thinking along the same lines. But I learned some good lessons along the way. Making candle's on demand can be problematic especially if you plan to carry a large number of scents.

 

For one thing, carrying a large number of scents means a lot of money up front to buy all those fragrances, pay the shipping, and storing them. If you are running a business that can eat away at any profit having too many scents and can also run you out of the business if you aren't careful.

 

If you are planning to make candles on demand for your website then this can interfere with events in your life, holidays, and weekends you plan to do shows and days you plan to make candles for the events. It can also mess you up when you get multiple orders but not all at the same time. It works better to have inventory ahead of time if you plan to sell on a website. Not saying it can't be done but am saying it is problematic and it would mean you have to be able to fulfill an order even if your time is compromised. Plus don't forget stock supplies. If at any time you are out of something, wicks, wax, jars, FO, etc. and get an order you can't fill it until you restock. If you already have inventory, then you can pull it off the shelf without having to scramble to order supplies.

 

Understood, and I agree that much of the expense tied up in supplies is really in the fragrance oils and how many one chooses to carry.  Like I said, perhaps the way to go is to start small on the # of fragrances (3-5 scents in 4-5 categories) and then adjust/add as the market seems to dictate.  Have 3-5 of each scent and size in stock and make additional ones as others sell.  Wax, wicks, and containers are fragrance agnostic, and can be aided by economy of scale.  Until the business get's off the ground, everything else is played by ear (I think).  

[Candybee]

3 hours ago, Paintguru said:

 

Understood, and I agree that much of the expense tied up in supplies is really in the fragrance oils and how many one chooses to carry.  Like I said, perhaps the way to go is to start small on the # of fragrances (3-5 scents in 4-5 categories) and then adjust/add as the market seems to dictate.  Have 3-5 of each scent and size in stock and make additional ones as others sell.  Wax, wicks, and containers are fragrance agnostic, and can be aided by economy of scale.  Until the business get's off the ground, everything else is played by ear (I think).  

 

Sounds like a good plan! I also used the 3-4 scents per category. It helps round out your scent choices.