Has anyone ever rented space in a florist to sell candles...

[ScentsandMore]

There is a florist in town that is going to be renting a few spaces out in their shop to people that sells items that can be purchased for gifts. The spaces are 6x8 for $50 a month.

I asked them if they have a lot of foot traffic in their shop and of course she told me yes. What else would she say? They are just now starting to rent space out so I asked if anyone else has inquired that makes candles and she said no. They are located on a busy street and from what I understand they are in a little strip center. I am going to go and check it out today.

Has anyone ever rented space in a florist before and if so, how well did you do?

[Rae]

I have done that in a florist/balloon store. I would ask to have an exclusive on candles or she might end up taking too many candle people in which would hurt you. Also, ask her what her policy is going to be on missing inventory. She should be responsible if you have items stolen. I would go shop around her store on a weekend and see what the traffic is like. Also, does she want you to sign a contract?

Rae

[fmsojka]

Yes I have. On two different occasions. But they were on commission. One place my stuff got very dirty. She had her building open much of the time. She didn't dust or take care of the product. When I got it back, it was very dirty and I had to repackage.

Another one was the on commission. They set up booths too. I waited three months to get my money after the holidays. (Something about her partner quitting on her). She put a huge display of someone else's candles right inside the door, mine were put further and further out of the way as she got bigger companies. She said she wasn't doing booths, just displaying the product around the area. She ended up not doing that. Did not keep an inventory sheet, on and on. Started out a great deal, she had plenty of foot traffic, I was selling quite a bit of stuff and better for us than wholesale.

I didn't have her sign a contract. (Neither of them). Not sure that would have helped.

Short of it, I have not had much success with commission, maybe a booth fee would be better. Seems like I always end up with product back not in the same shape, or struggle with getting paid.

[SliverOfWax]

Renting space? Good grief, that's worse than consignment. I wouldn't do either. If she wants your products, let her buy them wholesale like everybody else.

[candlelady]

First thing that comes to my mind, is that she can't afford where she is, so she's renting out spaces to help with the rent.

Nah....I wouldn't do it....

Who would work your spot? Her? If so, then you would have to keep up with inventory, pricing, re-stocking, making sure she paid you for what sold.....and what about "the five-finger-discount"? You know "shop lifting", it happens.

Let's say you are "missing" 40 candles or whatever, and she says, "oh, I only sold 35" then you re out 5....

I don't like those arrangements myself...wholesale, or no sale.

Just my opinion.

[Cissy]

Candlelady.....That's a good one!

"the five-finger discount...never heard it put so diplomatically.

I'll have to remember that one! It definitely does happen and if the economy gets worse, it will happen more frequently!

[MissMary]

Just a note from my own personal observations - a small time florist, every one I've been into that I can recall, the candles were always extremely dusty. Whether it's just time that went by, or that the building was dirty... whatever the reason, I don't know, but I wouldn't buy one. I don't like anything I have to clean before I can use.

[momtohaley2004]

First thing that comes to my mind, is that she can't afford where she is, so she's renting out spaces to help with the rent.

Nah....I wouldn't do it....

Who would work your spot? Her? If so, then you would have to keep up with inventory, pricing, re-stocking, making sure she paid you for what sold.....and what about "the five-finger-discount"? You know "shop lifting", it happens.

Let's say you are "missing" 40 candles or whatever, and she says, "oh, I only sold 35" then you re out 5....

I don't like those arrangements myself...wholesale, or no sale.

Just my opinion.

I have to agree with the above! After being burned once before, a very wise sucessful business person who owns several furniture manufacturing stores in Mississippi and Alabama once told me, wholesale only and NEVER EVER do consignment. He said and I quote "use your money to work for you." In other words get your money and turn it around to work for you buy using it to make other products, buy supplies, etc. Otherwise, you have product just sitting there not bringing you any money and you only have "hopes" it will sell and you are setting yourself up for a let down should something/anything go wrong. So, as Candlelady says "wholesale or NO sale." Sorry I wouldn't do it personally.......what if she closes shop in a few months and skips town after you've paid rent for X number of months? Just a thought to consider

[celicagtca]

Renting space? Good grief, that's worse than consignment. I wouldn't do either. If she wants your products, let her buy them wholesale like everybody else.

I agree with Sliver 100%! I have my products in a flower shop and she buys them right out at wholesale. She usually purchases right before Christmas and she sells out. Candles don't seem to do well in her shop the rest of the year, so why have products sitting there collecting dust. Done the consignment thing years ago and wouldn't go back!

[Debra Phelps]

I put mine in 3 major craft stores in Houston, Tx. I had really nice set ups. The stores were beautiful. They were not floral shops but had a lot of florals in them. What I found is that if you are not there to open and sell your candles, it is hard to sell them. If they do not burn the candles for you, it is hard to sell them. There are so many candles out there. Unless someone is there to sell them, they sit. I came in to restock and they were alway out of place, out of the catagories. Not dusty, but tacky looking. Finally I decided to have a sale to build some interest. I put them on half price for a month. I sold a lot of them. But as soon as they went back to regular price, the sales went down. I did get some regulars off of that, but not enough to do it again. I hate consignment too. If they don't pay for them, they treat them like they don't care. Not worth it.

[sockmonkey]

I wouldn't trash booth rentals or consignment or wholesale. They are all options that appeal to different people for a variety of reasons.

Some people just aren't cut out to go the wholesale route. If you can't get out and market your product, you'd probably be better off renting or doing consignment, because you could wind up with more sales that way than if you only have one or two measly wholesale accounts. Also, when you do wholesale you either have to keep inventory on hand or else you have to be able to manufacture as the orders roll in. For some people, either could pose a problem because of the finances involved. Inventory on hand but not moving means you have a lot of money tied up. If you don't have inventory on hand, then you need immediate access to cash or credit to get the supplies you need to fill orders.

With rentals and consignments you normally don't have to worry about dealing with the public, and you can make as much or as little product as you like, or can afford. Breakage and theft is always a consideration with both of them though. With most consignment stores and rentals, advertising is taken care of for you; with wholesale you're on your own.

As to the florist, I would check to see how long they've been in business. If they've been in business for several years and are just now renting space, then it would appear business must be faultering. I would also confirm exactly how many spaces they are renting out. A few is no big deal, but 1/2 the store would make me curious.

I was at a funeral the other day and a floral shop had sent a couple of unique gifts that I thought were very nice. One was a windchime decorated with a little greenery, and the other was a throw. So those items make me think that if you could make some candles with special scents or label in conjunction with reasons people go to florists in the first place, maybe it could be a good thing, as opposed to people who just put ordinary candles in a floral shop and expect them to sell when people are already buying fragrant flowers--ya know what I mean?

For example, an "In remembrance" candle that might have a poem of some sort on it, or a "Wedding" candle with a special wish printed on it. Try to come up with something a little out of the ordinary to make your stuff stand out.

[SliverOfWax]

Also, when you do wholesale you either have to keep inventory on hand or else you have to be able to manufacture as the orders roll in. For some people, either could pose a problem because of the finances involved. Inventory on hand but not moving means you have a lot of money tied up. If you don't have inventory on hand, then you need immediate access to cash or credit to get the supplies you need to fill orders.

Consignment is nothing more than inventory on hand somewhere else. Either way, your money is tied up. I would rather have it tied up in product I get immediate money for than tied up sitting in some store collecting dust.

I don't like wholesale. After years of doing wholesale, I had a bad experience, and I changed the way I do wholesale business. Now, the only wholesale I do is cash immediately. No 30 day, 60 day, 90 day deals for me. I don't care if you're buying one candle or a thousand. Pay me before the candles leave my sight.

[Ring of Fire]

Take it from me also. NOT a good idea. It is obvious she needs help with the rent and that's a light bulb going off. I did this for almost a year. Never ever again. Who ever mentioned 5 finger discount hit the nail on the head. I think it was the owner of the shop who helped herself.

[Abbiepql]

Everybody has different methods of sales that work for them. I personally have two consignment shops in which I do extremely well. One of the reasons I don't mind "tying up my money" is that - my products are in there those places on "my" terms. I only pay them 25%-35% of my sales which considerable less than the normal 50% of my wholesale customers. That being said, here are the disclaimers that seem to make this arrangment work well for me;

1. I say where I am in the shop, spacewise.

2. I maintain my own space which means I can move the product I want to move and not have to worry about shop owners not picking the right stuff.

3. I can run a sale and get rid of inventory when I want.

4. I can advertise for my other products, parties, etc. without stepping on a shop owners toes.

5. I don't have to deal with waiting for 30 days to be paid on orders that "sit" there cuz the shop owners order what "they like". LOL

6. The shops I picked are very high end consignement shops. Meaning no garage sale stuff, the people that have stuff in there have to pay 50% on their sales and only get approved items in there.

7. They allow me to take orders for products I might not have in stock but are on my site, of course I pay them their fee for that, as I encourage the customer to pick up in the store and coordinate that with times I will be in there doing up keep. This opens up my site to alot of traffic.

8. I don't pay rent.

I realize not all places will do my terms, so if not - I won't even consider them. I don't seek out these places, the owners contact me. Takes a bit more time to maintain these accounts, but they have benefited me greatly and led to quite a few wholesale accounts in other towns and more internet sales.

[sockmonkey]

Consignment is nothing more than inventory on hand somewhere else. Either way, your money is tied up. I would rather have it tied up in product I get immediate money for than tied up sitting in some store collecting dust.

I don't like wholesale. After years of doing wholesale, I had a bad experience, and I changed the way I do wholesale business. Now, the only wholesale I do is cash immediately. No 30 day, 60 day, 90 day deals for me. I don't care if you're buying one candle or a thousand. Pay me before the candles leave my sight.

Yes, money is tied up either way, but as I said, it's up to you to determine how much or how little you want to put on consignment--just as it is with wholesale inventory; however, assuming you do a good business at it, wholesale could require keeping a large inventory on hand. Now if you only have a couple of small wholesale accounts, it's not likely to be much of a consideration. As far as offering terms, that's completely out of the question for the majority of people who would be reading this thread. Some people here have learned rather quickly that when you're a small, independent start-up business offering terms it can quickly backfire unless you're already independently wealthy.

[SliverOfWax]

Yes, money is tied up either way, but as I said, it's up to you to determine how much or how little you want to put on consignment--just as it is with wholesale inventory; however, assuming you do a good business at it, wholesale could require keeping a large inventory on hand. Now if you only have a couple of small wholesale accounts, it's not likely to be much of a consideration. As far as offering terms, that's completely out of the question for the majority of people who would be reading this thread. Some people here have learned rather quickly that when you're a small, independent start-up business offering terms it can quickly backfire unless you're already independently wealthy.

Let's face it...with the price of wax, the business of making candles, period, can backfire unless you're independently wealthy. $77/50 lbs I paid today. Ridiculous. One more price hike and I'm done! 'Course I said that when the price rose to $60/50 lbs, lol. These poor folks who are just starting with no customer base are in for a surprise!

That said, I've seen a couple of local chandlers already drop out, and I've acquired their customers since I'm in the same physical circle of candle buyers, so good on me!

To my way of thinking, consignment (or the equivalent) is the same thing as offering terms, only worse. Either way, the product is off your shelf and on somebody else's, and you hold your breath waiting for the money. IMO, only fools let their money be tied up by someone else. But I work alone with no one to support me, i.e., pay the mortgage, etc, so I probably see it a bit differently than some.

[sockmonkey]

I don't know if you hold an outside job or not, but for some people consignment or booth rental might be the only option they have if they work full time or are busy with kids. So, if they have no start up base, to me consignment seems like a good option for them--but, only if they carefully select the right venue.

Some people just aren't cut out for wholesale business--they might lack the organization, self discipline, and marketing know-how to be successful at it. Other people might have those skills, but simply don't want to invest their time in it because it's a lot easier to pour candles and drive them over to the consignment store whenever they feel like it and not worry about customer issues.

I don't see consignment as the equivalent of offering terms because the product is still in your possession. When you offer terms you no longer have control of the merchandise and can never be too sure whether a merchant will pay as agreed or not, but I can understand why your opposed to consignment.

My thoughts on the whole matter pertain to someone who expressed an interested in renting a space, without mentioning wholesale as an option. It seemed like a lot of responses suggested only doing wholesale, but in reading posts, you can see that many people did consignment at one point or another, so it just seems like a natural progression in this line of business to begin there.

[clonefan80]

We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience....

You can take a hard look at what everyone has said about consignment or jump in and then one day you too can add your two cents about it....