kforbs126 Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Ok here's the story, I just had an auction on Ebay up for some tarts I made, I had ebay credit and wanted to see if i could sell them, anyways a guy contacted me saying that he would be interested in buying wholesale from me after i send him some samples and if he likes the samples he would do wholesale.Now I have NEVER done anything wholesale, always just friends, family, small craft shows.The tart I tried to sell on ebay, see candle pic forum, is a 1oz tart in a foil wrapper.He I guess is looking for a new supplier cause he currently pays .40 each for the same kind of tart and wants to pay around .30 each.Now it costs me .16 to make each one of those tarts as long as i don't put any packaging or labels on them. Now i know nothing about wholesaling, do you put your label on or not? He said he would drive and pick them up eliminating shipping costs.Is this worth it? He said he would order 600 from me at first, but i figured that would only be a $90 profit. I can't decide if this would all be worth it or too much of a hassle for a small profit.Sorry this just happened today and well he wants me to get back to him by tomorrow....I have no idea what to do! Help and opinions needed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindym Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Wholesale price should be 2 x's you cost plus packaging. If you are not making the profit you need to feed your business it is not worth it. JMHO I actually have learned to put a buffer in my calculation for costs as well, as prices are so crazy that I don't want to have to just give a price increase to my accounts without at least a 6th month lead time. I do buy in bulk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kforbs126 Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 I'm waiting back to see if he actually wants them packaged or just in the wrapper. If not packaged I would go .32 cents each, which is 2 times my cost. I do buy in bulk with everything I use except for my wax which I normally just buy a few 50# boxes at once.Personally it might be a good thing to do as I would have or it seems to have steady business from him if he liked it. But I'm waiting on him to provide more info as to where he sells it, etc. Can anyone tell me any specific questions I should ask him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southern.scents Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Ask for business name, phone number and address. Do a search and make sure he is legit. He could be looking for free samples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeJae Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 I agree, I have had people contact me through my website and say, someone referred me to your site and said your products are great, if I could get some samples I might want to carry your line in my blah blah store.When I ask the store name, they give one, then of course I need an address to send it to, when you check it out, they don't own anything but maybe their house and are just trying to get freebies. Be careful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ring of Fire Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Ditto, I get that from ebay all the time and haven't sold on ebay for at least a year, if not longer. Most emails asking for free samples are not legit, IMO. A serious business person would at least offer to pay for the samples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kforbs126 Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 He offered to pay for the samples through paypal. He said he runs a small store in a craft mall. He also said he doesn't put the person's business label on the tarts also he doesn't want them packaged either.He gave me both his home number and cell phone number.I was only planning on sending him like 6 tarts, so i guess if i get ripped off for 6 tarts i just won't do that anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggie Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 This could very well be legit...and then again not.I would first do a reverse phone number search online and see what you find.Also...I would never allow a stranger to come to my home to pick up products. As much as you want something to work out...be careful. I would do a bit of checking...like where is the small store and the craft mall. I would ask him when he is going to be in his store and offer to drop them off there. Maggie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kforbs126 Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 Definitely wouldn't allow the guy to come to my home, I would meet him somewhere or drop them off. I'm doing some internet searches right now and also my mom works for the state and can look up information for me.Just found this on craiglist.This is the guys number and email.http://columbus.craigslist.org/ats/399033187.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kforbs126 Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 Also found his website.http://finderskeeperscrafts.com/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavenScentU Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 I don't understand why someone would care about shipping tarts. How far is this guy driving. They aren't heavy to shipping. I also wouldn't let someone come to my home unless I had hubby there, but that still would questionable especially off the internet. To sell wholesale this person has to give you his business id # or state tax # number. Plus isn't it illegal or against ebay's rules to solicit business...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSoaps Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 He also said he doesn't put the person's business label on the tarts also he doesn't want them packaged either.I know this may end up sounding a little strange at first, but I would charge him MORE for NOT having my info on the tarts. Essentially, not having your company's info on the product would make it a private label product. By having YOUR info on the product, customers can either come directly to you for purchasing more (or other) products in the future, resulting in more sales, especially if he's only wanting to carry this one item from you.Also, if another company comes into his store to scout for potential products, or if someone shops, loves it, and refers it to someone who might want to carry it, they have no way of ever reaching you about it because there is no info for them to get. I hope I'm making sense.Private Label means they have the privilege of keeping their sources private or relatively private from the final consumer. I've always felt that they had to pay extra for that right. Now if you're okay with this, by all means, don't worry about it. I sell unlabeled CP soaps, intended for other crafters to sell under their own label. But that's through my supply company. When I offer private label through my retail/wholesale company, it's a whole different ballgame. I hope I didn't totally confuse you on this! I need to stop reading through the CT boards to wake me up in the mornings! LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kforbs126 Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 Soapers,Thanks for the info. I do agree with the whole charging more for private label. But he said he would give my info out if someone seriously asked for it and wanted to buy from me. But he said he perfered not to have my label on them while selling, which I sorta understand. I also told him there would need to be at least a minimum order of 600 per order to make it worth both our times.Any suggestions on the best way to ship that many tarts? Never done that before.I just mapquested it and this place is about 2 1/2 hours from me so I'm thinking shipping would be cheaper than a roundtrip of gas for 5 hours.I'm making up some tarts now to send them off to him, hopefully he likes them. he agreed on .32 each which is double my cost of production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Candelishis Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Plus isn't it illegal or against ebay's rules to solicit business......It's against Ebay's rules (not illegal, however), to solicit on Ebay. However, if someone contacts you asking for your product, that isn't soliciting. If she had contacted the guy asking if she could sell things in his store, that would be soliciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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