Trade Days was the worst

[SliverOfWax]

lol, I hope you don't think having 2000 puppy mill puppies for sale is a good thing. I can safely say from an expert quality dog breeding point of view that selling puppies in that manner is about as bad as it gets. Reputable breeders of sound puppies would never do such a thing.

And yes, I do know that the words "trade" and "swap" are synonymous. I'm perfectly familiar with Canton. Someone here thought you were talking about a trade show and I merely explained that Canton is not a trade show.

[bwc]

Debra, you must really be a good cold call seller. I would never have the cojones to do that, but my husband could do it as he used to work for Pepsi and did cold calls all the time. Best of luck to you.

[Debra Phelps]

Like I said Sliver, I misunderstood and owe you an apology. I know the animal section well. I thought it was puppy mill too. But I got to know a lot of the breeders and found that there are many good breeders there too. I am not saying that it doesn't have puppy mill too. But a lot of the breeders are just people that breed their 2 dogs at home.Give the pups a lot of love and sell them at Canton. I have 5 dogs from Canton. And each of them are just fine. I think the better breeders turn anything in that they see isn't right. I know this, if I was running a puppy mill, I sure wouldn't go out there with all those breeders. They would turn me in, fast. I love to go. I have never seen anything bad. I guess if I did, then it would kill me.

[Debra Phelps]

It took me along time to get over being shy. But I had people that wholesaled from me, and they went out and sold them. After I watched that for awhile, I got interested. That is why I tried it in Ark. And it was easy. One of the sellers was teaching another how easy it was to sell them. He went in, went to the counter. Unscrewed the candle, and left it on the counter. They walked thru the store shopping. They watched that candle. Soon the ladies all went to smell it. They sold candles. I don't remember how many. I thought that was cool. He wanted to show the other guy just how easy it is to sell. No pressure to the customer at all. They didn't have to smell it. I am very gentle when I go in a new place. I still don't like to do the new places. But once you are in, and they buy, it is easy to go back. Some want you back every month. Others are once a year buyers,etc. You have to weed out the ones that don't buy a lot and stay with the steadies. Once you build up these customers, you got it made. Then check on the others now and then. I have one area that are calling me if I am not down there once a month. They want their candles. At one of my schools, the teachers follow me to the teachers lounge to make sure they get the ones they want. Believe me, you will be loved. They love the candle lady. Itis getting easier all the time. But I am shy too. I hate pushy sales people. That, I am not.

[Meridith]

You sounded like you went from door to door as well as to businesses. But, now it sounds like you do like the guy that regularily comes into offices and sells nuts, pretzles and other snacks. I'd think you were nuts to go door to door with the world the way it is today.

I never said you drank, I just recommended that a person not leave their booth to go have a drink. I've heard of someone that did that once. Or leave their booth with someone that does not know their products. I've seen that happen too. We had a great show season so I know what works for us.

eta - typo

[dee263]

Like I said Sliver, I misunderstood and owe you an apology. I know the animal section well. I thought it was puppy mill too. But I got to know a lot of the breeders and found that there are many good breeders there too. I am not saying that it doesn't have puppy mill too. But a lot of the breeders are just people that breed their 2 dogs at home.Give the pups a lot of love and sell them at Canton. I have 5 dogs from Canton. And each of them are just fine. I think the better breeders turn anything in that they see isn't right. I know this, if I was running a puppy mill, I sure wouldn't go out there with all those breeders. They would turn me in, fast. I love to go. I have never seen anything bad. I guess if I did, then it would kill me.

These people are called "back yard breeders." They are the next step up from puppy mills and are not "good breeders" by any stretch of the imagination. They have a dog and b*tch of the same breed so they put them together and make puppies. Good, responsible breeders certainly do give their pups "a lot of love." They also screened the parents for genetic defects or other health problems. The parents have been shown, or at least worked at their original purpose, and titled. Owners/homes are rigorously screened and new owners sign a contract. Pups are required to be spayed or neutered and are sold with limited registration (AKC limited registration means that if the new owner disregards the contract and breeds the dog anyway, none of it's offspring can be registered. Unfortunately, the pups can be registered with one of the "pet" registries and some people won't know the difference.) Good breeders take responsibility for every pup they produce for the life of the dog. If you purchase a pup from a responsible breeder and 5 (10, 12 ...) years down the road can't keep the dog for whatever reason, a responsible, good breeder takes the dog back, no questions asked. Please don't delude yourself into thinking that any person who would sell a pup to the first person who shows up with the asking price is a "good breeder." They are in it for the money, pure and simple. A responsible breeder, who has done all of the things I've mentioned and more, is lucky to break even with a litter of pups.

I've been showing dogs in AKC conformation and obedience for 20 years. I've worked with rescue. I've been a member of all-breed and specialty clubs. I know plenty of responsible breeders, and some not so good. Here are some more examples of what makes a good breeder http://www.akc.org/press_center/facts_stats.cfm?page=responsible_breeder

[Debra Phelps]

Meridyth, I know I spelled that wrong. It is so hard to write on this thing. I find that some of us read it wrong. I thought since you were writing to me and you mentioned staying sober, you thought that I might be a drinker. I am always playing around with everyone, and I didn't want anybody to have the wrong opinion of me. Yes, I would be scared to death to go to a persons house. I stay home now. There are so many crazies out there, it is scary to me. All I wanted to do, is share something that works for me. Maybe someone else would like to try it. We have one area that we have been selling to monthly. We never come back with less than 1800. in 2 days sales. BUT, these people buy cases at a time. It took years to build this area up. It takes time. Once we did 3000. Only once. But it can be good money. I do have cost that comes out of that money. Motel, gas, product, eating out. But we still come out good. Most of the time I sell about 3 cases in a day everywhere else we go. But that one area is really good for us. Plus when you get low on cash, you can get out and run a special. I always pick up 100. if I need it. And I have noticed that the sales have not dropped when selling to the public. Everything else has gone down. But I guess since you are the only vendor in the store, they flock around you. I got to get out now after closing my store and try to build up a few more towns. Once I get started it is not so bad. But I am dreading the first day. Once the day is over with, I wonder what I was worried about. No one bite's me. Or kicks me out. They are really happy to see me and my cute little basket of candles. They seem to want to help you out and buy a candle. I also take cards in the stores and just mention I make candles. Most of the time they can smell it on me. Sometimes they ask me to bring some in. When we go out to eat, I always have a candle with me. I put it on the table. If you go right after the lunch run, the girls have tips and want to buy. They always come to the table and smell the candle. I have learned so many tricks and have taugh many people how to do this thru the years. If anyone wants help with it, e-mail me. I would love to share what I have learned. I want us all to make good money. And yes, it is kinda like the Potato chip guy.

[Debra Phelps]

Dee, I guess I am learning something today. After reading all that you said, I have to agree with you. I guess because I am a responsible pet owner, that I thought most people paying a lot for a dog would be good to it. But I can see it differently now. Thanks for your knowledge. Too bad they can't make those rules at Canton.

[Meridith]

Meridyth, I know I spelled that wrong. It is so hard to write on this thing. I find that some of us read it wrong. I thought since you were writing to me and you mentioned staying sober, you thought that I might be a drinker. I am always playing around with everyone, and I didn't want anybody to have the wrong opinion of me. Yes, I would be scared to death to go to a persons house. I stay home now. There are so many crazies out there, it is scary to me. All I wanted to do, is share something that works for me. Maybe someone else would like to try it. We have one area that we have been selling to monthly. We never come back with less than 1800. in 2 days sales. BUT, these people buy cases at a time. It took years to build this area up. It takes time. Once we did 3000. Only once. But it can be good money. I do have cost that comes out of that money. Motel, gas, product, eating out. But we still come out good. Most of the time I sell about 3 cases in a day everywhere else we go. But that one area is really good for us. Plus when you get low on cash, you can get out and run a special. I always pick up 100. if I need it. And I have noticed that the sales have not dropped when selling to the public. Everything else has gone down. But I guess since you are the only vendor in the store, they flock around you. I got to get out now after closing my store and try to build up a few more towns. Once I get started it is not so bad. But I am dreading the first day. Once the day is over with, I wonder what I was worried about. No one bite's me. Or kicks me out. They are really happy to see me and my cute little basket of candles. They seem to want to help you out and buy a candle. I also take cards in the stores and just mention I make candles. Most of the time they can smell it on me. Sometimes they ask me to bring some in. When we go out to eat, I always have a candle with me. I put it on the table. If you go right after the lunch run, the girls have tips and want to buy. They always come to the table and smell the candle. I have learned so many tricks and have taugh many people how to do this thru the years. If anyone wants help with it, e-mail me. I would love to share what I have learned. I want us all to make good money. And yes, it is kinda like the Potato chip guy.

Yep, sounds just like the snack cart guy. Some look forward to his visits and buying his treats.

[VerticallyEnhanced]

Just curious, but in which part of the market was your booth?

[Debra Phelps]

I was on the log cabin side, the original side. Right on dealers row. Supposed to be a great booth space. Right there by the main lemon ade stand. If you know anything about the area. It was really busy Sat. But they just walked. Hardly any packages. A lot of people go just to look. There are so much stuff to see. They may not buy anything. I know I have done that before. I remember a 200. show one time. I didn't think it would get worse than that. Everyone around me was so dissapointed. Have you been there?