Jump to content

For the first time I said NO!


cybersix

Recommended Posts

Today I acted like a "perfect" business woman!!!

eh eh eheh j/k, but there is a bride who wants 3 huge pillars for her wedding (3x9), she already saw prices on sites, but asked again what the total cost is. I told her exactly what's on the site. Today she wrote me again, asking if I can do a discount. I told her no, I don't do discount, but I usually include a free gift/sample with each order.

She didn't write back (yet), anyway, I don't care, I have a lot of work to do even without her candles, adn I'm tired to sell myself short.

yay!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stick to your guns! Sometimes people forget that they are dealing with a business person and try to treat you like a flea market vendor!

Doncha hate it when they keep pestering you hoping that they'll get it at their price? - and sometimes you give in just to be rid of them. Guess that's their tactic.

Good for you! :highfive:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey there! Try this one out! A guy from my husbands office wanted two of my Georgia Peach enamel mug candles...OK fine...I pour them up and send them off to work with DH, told him the price (gave them a little discount 'cause I'm just nice...I guess). DH comes home and gives me a check for $10 less than what I told him.

Now, that's pretty bad when DH feels he has the right to do discounts!:mad:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Judy, I may not have the order but I'm really satisfied with myself now. What do they think?? Well my candles are costy, I have to import everything, but if they want something custom made and good quality, well the price is that.

candlelady that must be so irritating! I hope you get a refund from DH :grin2:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had someone ask me to do favors for her wedding, and since I was fairly new at that point, and wanted to get my name out, I offered them at cost. After she reviewed my price, she said she wanted something more upscale then candles. I found out later, her wedding reception was more "dollar store" than upscale.

I think they told me her favors were the jordan mints wrapped in tulle with a ribbon (not even including their names on the ribbon).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure about what you mean with wedding favors, I still can't get the sense, anyway I made 80 pillars for a wedding these are the gift that every guest takes home at the end of the day, we call these "bomboniere". In this case I did a little discount to the couple.

But for three pillars used as a decoration no.

Do you want a very special and unique candle made just for you? By hand? Pay it.

In the tremendous amount of $$ involved in a wedding I bet you can thro in $60 for the candles. Or not?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, Sabrina! Do not sell yourself short. I'm with you on this one. Your candles are worth it and you don't need to discount them just to get an order. I hope you do get the order - at your price!

Your bomboniere and our favors are the same thing. Little something for the guests to take home to remember the day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, Sabrina! Do not sell yourself short. I'm with you on this one. Your candles are worth it and you don't need to discount them just to get an order. I hope you do get the order - at your price!

Your bomboniere and our favors are the same thing. Little something for the guests to take home to remember the day.

Thanks Georgia, so now I know I'm making wedding favors!

I will see if this bride will show up, who knows...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sabrina, I'm in the exact same position.

Someone at my daughters school (one of the mums) is getting married next month, and she asked for a 'large' candle for her table.

We sort of whittled it down to a plain unscented pale yellow candle, with a mirror plate and yellow and white rose petals around the bottom. The candle is 3 x 9.5.

As this will be a display I'm thinking £15, but then thought £12. However, I have to buy the plate, and two different boxes of rose petals, so the supplies for the decoration of it will cost me about £5, so I'm going back towards the £15 I think.

She's asked to let her know how much for just that one and how much for a 3 x 6.5 for all of her tables, so I'm just going to say £15 and £10 for each table.

If she wants them, fair enough, if she doesn't well. I've decided now, not to sell myself short. Although I love making candles, I'm not selling myself short either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sabrina' date=' I'm in the exact same position.

Someone at my daughters school (one of the mums) is getting married next month, and she asked for a 'large' candle for her table.

We sort of whittled it down to a plain unscented pale yellow candle, with a mirror plate and yellow and white rose petals around the bottom. The candle is 3 x 9.5.

As this will be a display I'm thinking £15, but then thought £12. However, I have to buy the plate, and two different boxes of rose petals, so the supplies for the decoration of it will cost me about £5, so I'm going back towards the £15 I think.

She's asked to let her know how much for just that one and how much for a 3 x 6.5 for all of her tables, so I'm just going to say £15 and £10 for each table.

If she wants them, fair enough, if she doesn't well. I've decided now, not to sell myself short. Although I love making candles, I'm not selling myself short either.[/quote']

Yeah, stay hard true as steel!

If we start from the beginning offering discounts, samples and so on, we'd be lost soon!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Stick to your guns and as someone else mentioned you are not a flea market vendor and are not going to be wheeling and dealing. Your price your exactly what it is...your price. :grin2:

Yes! I lost the customer, she never wrote me back. But I don't care for it. I don't want that kind of person as customers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yea stick to your prices! these rude people don't realize HOW much we put into our product, the costs and then the packaging! GEESSSSHHHHH!

But now let me have some cash in my pocket and go to a craft show, I will pay the price they are asking cause I DO know what it takes!

I tell people who asks me if I offer a discount and this is what I tell them::grin2:

I have to pay rent, electricity, adverstising, etc., etc. I am not here for FREE! But then I tell them if they want to pay my overhead each week and month then I will give them a discount!!!!:laugh2: They are my biggest customers and buyu in bulk (no discounts!!!!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A little off topic, but we have a woman in our shop who makes amazing crocheted curtains out of fine crochet cotton. She needs the money, so when someone offered her $150 for a $195 curtain (already a bargain), she accepted it. He said he'd be back. 2 days later he came in and offered $100. I said no. This went back and forth for about 20 minutes, but there was no way on earth that that curtain was leaving the store for less than $150. Anyway, he said he'd be back. 3 days later a tourist came in and bought it for the full price. I was so happy, I don't think we've had a sale all year that made me so happy.

Anyway, stick to your guns and don't undersell yourself. Just because we are small businesses doesn't give other people the right to crap on us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure about what you mean with wedding favors, I still can't get the sense, anyway I made 80 pillars for a wedding these are the gift that every guest takes home at the end of the day, we call these "bomboniere". In this case I did a little discount to the couple.

But for three pillars used as a decoration no.

Do you want a very special and unique candle made just for you? By hand? Pay it.

In the tremendous amount of $$ involved in a wedding I bet you can thro in $60 for the candles. Or not?

Weddings can be costly but pay it. If you want nice candles, pay the price for them, if you want to be cheap and get dollar store candles that are going to drip and burn wrong go ahead. If you want good quality candles pay for them. I have done lots of weddings and have never had a problem. I just did my brother in laws wedding: 115 favors- acetate boxes with 4 oz vanilla tin candles with labels on the top, petals inside the box and matches with little labels on them, 200 floating candles for centerpieces butterflies and flowers, 3 wax wedding cakes for the head table, and 3 hurricanes where people sign the book. It took a bit to get everything together but they loved it all. DONT EVER SELL YOURSELF short, prices are what they are for a reason, good candles take testing and time and people need to appreciate that!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. As I said, I never heard back from that lady, but I really don't care.

In doing these wedding favors I'm doing I discovered how hard is to work on a lot of candles (I usually have small orders), keeping everything on hand, finding a good method to organize things and time, and I'm repeating myself "never again a discount".

Maybe people think that because I'm small they can take advantage, or because mine are handmade candles they don't value as something with a brand on it. I just don't care. Slowly I'm finding people who love what I made and are willing to pay what I ask. A price is a price, or I'd state on the site "your best offer".

Luckily now I don't need selling candles to make a living, so the moment is right to set down a good base. And good rules!

Thanks again

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...