ajna Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Hello, I had a lady who emailed me saying that she was interested in haveing my candles in her floral shop as a consignment, and would also be interested in having my bath and body line for her gift baskets. The thing is she lives about 45 mins away from me, so if i do decide i want to have her carry my items, i would either have to ship them or drive out to her. Do you guys think i should try this? i know some of you guys say yall dont like consignments..why is this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grama Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Well, I do have mine in 3 places on consignment. One is local which is no problem at all and the other is about 30 minutes or so from me. Her business is sorta slow, like everything else, and I took her 1 dz candles. I told her if anyone needed something she didn't have to just explain to them that I can't bring just one which has worked well. When she has several she needs then she calls me and I take them and she calls the people that wanted them. The other is about 10 minutes and a good friend of my sons works in same city so I just send them by her if 1 or whatever is needed. I check in (call) with both of them to see how it is going and if they need anything. When I am going in that direction then I stop and pick up money.Of course this all depends on the person themselves and the only 1 I don't know personally is the one about 30 minutes from me but so far she has been very trustworthy and dependable. I wouldn't take any any further from me though. hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairieannie Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Hello, I had a lady who emailed me saying that she was interested in haveing my candles in her floral shop as a consignment, and would also be interested in having my bath and body line for her gift baskets. The thing is she lives about 45 mins away from me, so if i do decide i want to have her carry my items, i would either have to ship them or drive out to her. Do you guys think i should try this? i know some of you guys say yall dont like consignments..why is this?I don't like consignments mainly because when a store owner has money invested in a product, they spend a lot more effort trying to sell that product. In a consignment situation, there is nothing put out by anyone but you. All of the risk is yours. Also, in a consignment situation, there are far too many "what ifs" that need to be accounted for in a written contract and you will find that not many store owners are willing to sign these... for example. What If - one or more of your candles are accidentally broken by a customer in the store. Who pays for them?What if - one or more of your items are shoplifted. Who is resonsible for them?There are other "What if" scenarios that need to be taken into consideration as well, and I personally was just not willing to deal with them. When a store owner purchases your candles, all of that responsibility now belongs to them without any awkward confrontation. You are paid for your candles.. no waiting, no wondering, and your confidence in your business has been boosted hugely! I have been approached many times about consignment, and I only considered it the first time. It was the advice of someone here on this board that made me realize that I didn't want to mess with it, and what ultimately got me geared up to approach my first wholesale account. The first one was hardest, but once my candles were in there, it all got really easy and I was never happier that I didn't compromise... it WAS tempting though, in the beginning, just to get my business name out there, but in the end, I'm very glad I did it my way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candlemama05 Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I personally do not sell on consignment, although i do remember it being tempting at first.If the store owner has no investment, they really have no drive to sell your items. Sounds like the delivery and pick up may eat up all your profits anyhow!Melissa B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flutterbye Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I second the previous posts. I had my stuff in one shop on consignment and will never do it again. You know how you go to most stores and you see all the candles dented up, smudged, scratched etc. ? Well, thats how mine ended up after months of customers picking at them and being rough. So, there were always quite a few candles that never sold because they looked like crap and nobody wanted them...Then it's my loss, the shop owner could care less. But I'm not saying every situation would be like this. Just keep that in mind. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajna Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Thanks guys, I didnt really think about anything before yall mentioned. I can see why she wouldnt care if anything happened to the candles. hmm...i think ill ask her if shell be interested in buying them at wholesale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I would be careful about selling them to her at wholesale. I sell my candles to shops at a retailers discount. Wholesale is more for retailers that purchase by the truckload. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajna Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 i meant wholesale but with a min order of maybe $100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekeeper_sd Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 You know how you go to most stores and you see all the candles dented up, smudged, scratched etc. ? Well, thats how mine ended up after months of customers picking at them and being rough. So, there were always quite a few candles that never sold because they looked like crap and nobody wanted them...Then it's my loss, the shop owner could care less. But I'm not saying every situation would be like this. Just keep that in mind. Good Luck! Same experience here. Retailers don't give a crap about selling your products if they have nothing invested in it. I now sell do wholesale but never ask for a minimum. At first I had very small wholesale orders by not asking for a minimum but at least my products were out there to be seen. Another thing to watch out for, which I have been asked to do a number of times, is retailers that want to buy your products only to re-lablel them with their own labels. The first time I was asked to do this I thought maybe I was being dumb and naive not to since it still meant a sale for me. But, after thinking about how hard I have worked to get my products just how I want them, I realize I don't want someone else getting credit for my good products. Now I politely tell the prospective buyer that very thing and if they still buy from me okay, if not :neener: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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