Need help, i Did a dumb thing

[sassy-girl]

2 YEARS AGO, i let some on my "friends" take 20 dozen or so of my candles for resale. I'd known them for years and at the time,well,they worked for the same company as my mom did.. They needed some extra income and iwas trying to help, They were suppost to pay me for the candles,9 months later, but i let it slide, since they worked with my mom and i figured they needed a bit of help. i Then they both got fired and i lost track of them.. NOW I found out a few months ago,, Got a call from someone who purchsed 96 candles from them @$1.00 EACh. WHAT DO I DO NOW? I know everyone will say approach them.. but HOW? I've spent the last 6 months tracking them down,, i do have what i think is an address..should i proceed?

[MissMary]

This may sound odd, but you gave the candles to them for resale - they resold them and you are upset, did you actually sell them to them like wholesale or give them away? Sorry, it's a bit fuzzy because there's some missing details. Did you ever tell them they must give you X amount of money from the resales?

Sounds to me like you might be upset over the price, but maybe they tried some avenues that never panned out and just wanted to get rid of them?

[Jadryga]

Even so, they should have returned the candles if those avenues didn't pan out.

I think Sassy "gave" them the candles on a consignment basis, so she placed the stock with them, and they were supposed to pay her the wholesale cost later once they'd sold them and were able to, rather than on the spot.

These "friends" though apparently just used the candles to make a quick buck, and seem to have no intention of paying Sassy.

[sakura]

I'm sorry to say this, but maybe you will have to count those as a loss. I agree with Jadryga, maybe they used them for a quick buck after being fired. Consider it a lesson learned.

As for the person that purchased 96 of them for $1 each, well, tell them that it was an incorrect price. Maybe they will still purchase from you...maybe not.

[mindy5140]

I would take it as a loss, it's been 2 yrs. if you were really worried about it you wouldn't of agreed to wait 9 months for your money. Who's to say they will pay you after all this time, then you might have to go to small claims court etc..... Is it really worth it?? It's a lesson learnt, you can't trust anybody especially friends, they want a quick buck to.

Just like a friend told me before about making candles, if you can do it then I can do it.

Maybe you should sell your tarts $1 now, since someone did buy 96 of them for that price. If not then I would tell them you do wholesale your candles but if you want to buy from me then the price is this.

Mindy

[MissMary]

It would have been nice if they had paid her, but it sounds to me like, since she lost track of them - it's quite possible they lost track of her too. Not in their heads so I don't know, but it's a possibility.

[Tess]

I would try to get the money from them, but dont count on it. You sound like a nice person, but let me give you some biz advice.

Niceness and generosity is not business. If you want to succeed and grow your company you will never do it by being nice or doing these favors.

Keep your niceness to politeness and proffesionalism. Your not going to get anywhere when you are trying to make a buck, and using your biz to do "help people out of a finacial situation".

I have been burned twice. Never recovered product nor money.