NoOneSpecial Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 (edited) My sales are down 50% from where they were last year and I'm wondering how everyone else is doing. Edited September 17, 2009 by NoOneSpecial typos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carol k Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 My last several show have been down 50% also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda (OH) Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Ditto . . .am hoping the next 2 Saturday shows will make up for it ! People are buying but with smaller orders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grama Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Ditto with online orders. But I do have 2 fundrasiers coming in, one this week-end and 1 the next and also probably another one that will be turned in first of Nov. Then the online orders will pick up, when you are neck deep in fundraisers or wholesale orders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou lou Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Mine are down from last year. I am glad I am not the only one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtohaley2004 Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Same here but then again.......candles aren't considered a neccessity to survival right now. I still get orders but they are for air fresheners and votives with are cheaper. Everyone is feeling the impact in some way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candlelady Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 My website has cobwebs. I have 3 fundraisers going now. My wholesale customers are getting ready to bombard me though.Sure do hope this Holiday Season makes up for being so slow all year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorrie Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 (edited) My candle sales are the same as last year.Soaps are up from last year.Supplies are way up from last year.Sales at bazaars/craft shows are up slightly also.Website orders are slightly up from last year more people calling in orders because they want to talk to a real person.We figured that Michigan is hit so hard by unemployment that sales would be down dramatically but there aren't. Weird. Edited September 18, 2009 by Lorrie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WendyByTheBay Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 My B&B sales are strong. I quit making candles to just concentrate on the B&B. Hope it gets better for everybody soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicky_CO Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Local sales are strong web sales stink. I have a couple of my biggest shows coming up and I am a bit worried but am hoping for the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evesorto Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 When I compared last year Jan-Aug to this year Jan -Aug, I was down appx 10%. Craft shows were down, by 30% but people callled and came to my house to buy (I guess that I'm developing a following?). I had a few nice home parties. People bought less this year than last year. Avg $ per person at last year's parties was $40 per person, this year about $30 per person.I feel somewhat upbeat about the coming months. This is candle season. Time will tell. Good Luck to everyone.Eve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I do a lot of craft shows and farmers markets along with my website. Website sales are up slightly for me this year but still awfully slow.Craft show/famers markets were down 30% for me in August but went up 40% so far in September as compared to last years sales.I see a lot more 'browsers' at shows but repeat customers must be spreading the word cause they are still spending and coming back each year. So my sales are increasing this year as a whole. That plus I try to find the best paying shows each year and stick with em while dropping shows that aren't moneymakers for me.So if you are doing craft shows I'd say sales are good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatlinPM Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I've been surprised as we are actually doing better than we did last year, but we mostly do farmers markets. Our web sales have been slow but are definitely picking up. I've been focusing on improving my google ranking and advertising more. Also we are going to be having an article about us coming out in a local magazine on the 24th so I'm curious to see how that impacts sales? Other than that I'm very excited for the holiday season and just like last year have shows planned for every weekend through the holidays. I guess we'll see how it goes :smiley2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunkie68 Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 In a word, dismal. I haven't done any shows at all this year, what with the baby arriving in April, and now I just don't have the time or the energy. Online sales have been pitiful. I think I'm going to toss in the towel as any kind of business and go back to this being a hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evesorto Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Did first two fall shows this weekend. Both down appx 25% from last year.Eve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
botanica Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 In a word, dismal. I haven't done any shows at all this year, what with the baby arriving in April, and now I just don't have the time or the energy. Online sales have been pitiful. I think I'm going to toss in the towel as any kind of business and go back to this being a hobby.Same as you, Bunkie. My sales were down so much last winter that I decided to take a break after having my baby in January to concentrate on her. I have considered throwing in the towel, but have decided to hang on and try a couple of local shows this holiday season. I've also kept my one wholesale account, and probably will do my own open house for Christmas. Wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mparadise Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Overall we have been fairly quiet BUT had 2x the sales (compared to the last 2 years) at the street festival that I did yesterday so hopefully things are starting to look up. My sales were MUCH smaller totals ($3-7 ea vs $10-20 in prior years) but they add up so make sure to have things in lower price ranges to help. People definitely *want* to buy, just can't spend as much as they have in prior years. My soaps, car fresheners, 2 oz lotions and smaller candles all sold well but the larger jars and B&B sets barely moved (sold WELL at this show in prior years). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Thats what I have been doing is putting out stock at smaller sizes. People buy those up. I have items from $1.50 to $4 in a low price range but I still offer regular and large size items. There are some folks that just want the large size candle please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mparadise Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Yep! 90% of what I sold was under $6 each but I did have a couple of large jars and large loaf candles sell too. The other thing that REALLY helped was to do a "special" my small lotions/hand sanitizers & soaps are usually $3.95 each but I did a sale yesterday for 3/$10 and sold quite a few of the mix and match sets of 3. This was especially helpful since I included my kids soaps. Mom & the child would pick one for themselves and because they could get a third at a discount MANY of them also grabbed one for Dad or Grandma making for more sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccajo99 Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 I can be a smart a.. and say that mine is up by quite a bit... but then again, that won't be fair since I did not sell a thing last year and the only thing that I have been selling this year was some laundry soap to friends. so maybe that doesn't count I'm hoping that next year is a lot better for everybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevcher Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 well, considering I lost a few of my biggest long-time clients due to store closings, things were very bleak at the beginning of the year.But it only pushed me to work harder and now I have new clients and several fundraisers and I can barely keep up !so far my shows have been good, but my biggest show is next weekend and that's the one I usually gage my customers spending on.Last year, gas was almost $4.00 a gallon when I did that show and it was the best year out of 9 I ever had down there !I know my shop sales are way up this year, people are really supportive of handmade and buying local and I'm very happy about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asheebeans Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 My sales are down but I am ok with it. School and my 9-5 job have been keeping me hopping lately! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noodle Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 I don't do shows, so I cannot relay anything about that. However, my web sales are up a lot which honestly is surprising for me. I consistently find August and September to be the two worst months of the year. Not so this year and I am glad! My summer scents were slower, but other scents did exceptionally well. I hope to have a kick butt holiday season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcrafter Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 My sales are also down 50% at a market where I have been for 13 years. I always come up with new stuff each year and even during the season. Many people at this market are complaining of the same thing. I'm off to do another market today, this is the last day for this market, and I'm pretty even with last year, maybe down just 10%. It's frustrating because my husband got laid off in April and hasn't been able to find a job yet, his unemployment ran out and we got a check this week for a whopping $134 and he can get an extension, but next week, there will be no unemployment check coming in. It's getting pretty scary. We moved last month to a cheaper (but nicer!) place and it cost 3 grand to move in. I had the money saved, but it was nice seeing that money in the bank account. We just got our "deposit" check back from the previous landlord who always said we were their best tenants ever and he screwed us out of all but 100 bucks, charging us for normal wear and tear. I am going to the tenants' union tomorrow. I left him a long message yesterday. Was as nice as I could be, but was very clear that I was going to fight to get my deposit back. I am so keyed up about money right now!oh...what was the question? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deedee25 Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 I can be a smart a.. and say that mine is up by quite a bit... but then again, that won't be fair since I did not sell a thing last year and the only thing that I have been selling this year was some laundry soap to friends. so maybe that doesn't count I'm hoping that next year is a lot better for everybody.:highfive: Love the honesty! I don't think the tarts I sold to my friends would count either. :laugh2:I wish everybody a very profitable year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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