lsbennis Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I met with a vendor yesterday that wants to carry my candles in their store, they have 3 stores locally and do a good amount of business. I'm thrilled that they want to have my candles but they want me to raise the price of my candles by $4 each to match what they will be selling them for. In their opinion they feel my candles are under priced and they feel that the area can support the higher price. This would make my 11oz tumbler which is 9 fl oz sell for $16, I'm not sure it would sell at that price but I don't want to loose a chance to wholesale to this store. What do you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgirl Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 You can always raise you prices, then run sales. It will make the vendor happy and you can still charge what you want.Otherwise, you clients may drop your business if they feel it is not worth while to carry your product if they don;t make enough money from it??Its a slippery slope when you sell close to home.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessex Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Have to ask yourself if the gain of this account will off-set the potential losses from your site, as well as losing the goodwill of current customers when they see the price jump. Of course my first reaction would be to tell them to go stuff themselves. You do not work for them. Of course that could be counter productive also, LOL. I am assuming they want you to raise your prices so customers will not migrate to buying from your website instead of their store. Tough call. Cheers,Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forevershanda Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I'm with Steve in that they are wanting you to raise so people won't just shop from your site instead of them. but, for me, I don't know. I have a problem with someone that is wanting my product trying to tell me, well I want it, but if I'm going to carry it then you have to change how you've been doing your business to please me. I know I"m such a noob and have no idea how this stuff works but I just don't get a client telling you how to run your business?Of course the option of sales is always there. But think of how we are when our suppliers raise their prices, we get a little upset. I would think you would have to have some way of letting your regulars know what you are doing with the price raise but yet sales will keep them at the price they are use to? a 4 buck increase seems quiet a bit all at once and may shock a few. Just my 2 cents that is worth, oh I'd say mud?Shanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carol k Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Maybe give them the option of private labels & your name is not mentioned so you can keep your prices what they are. I would not pay that for a 9oz. candle. Of course I live in rural america & not close to any big cities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lsbennis Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 Thanks eveyone, all great advice, I'm going to take my web address off the wholesale candles for this store, but if customer wanted they could still google the name and find me. I really don't want to loose this opportunity considering they are putting my candles in the front of the store as you walk in, they get between 900 and 1000 shoppers a week so will see how the pricing goes. The good news is that I do not do alot of business from my website at this time, so a price increase would not be that noticeable. I do most of my business from the craft shows with repeat customers, which I have decided that I will continue to sell at the same price at the craft shows so hopefully this will show my loyalty to them.If I do increase the price I will increase it to just under $15 and do specials of some sort as well as maybe a flat rate shipping which would help offset the price increase. Anyway thats what I'm thinking about trying, if it doesn't work its not written in stone and I can change it. :embarasse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SliverOfWax Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Maybe give them the option of private labels & your name is not mentioned so you can keep your prices what they are. I would not pay that for a 9oz. candle. Of course I live in rural america & not close to any big cities.That was my thought except some contact information has to be on the label. I would simply leave my web address off their labels. If someone is search savvy enough to find you, oh, well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessex Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Actually, if a candle is private labeled, your contact info does not need to be on it. But the name of the retailer must be qualified by a phrase such as "manufactured for..." or "distributed by..." This does not mean you are not responsible for liability issues, because the retailer will have your contact info in their files. As long as the manufacturer can be traced through paperwork, all is legal.Cheers,Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbs Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I've seen your candles and website and love them both! I know I'm a newbie but if my opinion counts I would buy your candle for $16. That's of course, if I had no idea how to make one and did not know the costs to make one and so forth. I would assume the average customer has no clue to all that and would base their purchase on the appearance and smell. And the appearance alone would make me think they were worth the $16.I am in Atlanta though and lived near San Francisco for most of my life. So I'm used to the prices of big cities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noodle Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I have a problem with someone that is wanting my product trying to tell me, well I want it, but if I'm going to carry it then you have to change how you've been doing your business to please me. I know I"m such a noob and have no idea how this stuff works but I just don't get a client telling you how to run your business?I am not new in this business and I would never in a million years accept anyone telling me how to run my webstore. I would be polite about it, but NO WAY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnvyCandles Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I am not new in this business and I would never in a million years accept anyone telling me how to run my webstore. I would be polite about it, but NO WAY.I see this in an entirely different light... I do not see the store telling you how to run the webstore, but we are talking about everyone making profit here... from their aspect it is NOT a good business move for them to "mark up" your product. It is a make or break type of thing...Compare the sales you will make in a B&M store with the sales for this particular product on your website...You mentioned you do not sell that much from the site; I would either remove it from the site for a trial period and/or remove the web addy from the product.JMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuminousBoutique Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 This is why I only do private label in the candles... I have one store who sells my tumblers for $32.00, and does well with them. (its all in branding, and a cult following, for this particular shop. People are buying a "name" an "aesthetic" and keeping up with the joneses)another who sells them for $12.95 and does just as well, not always better. Depends on the season.they both pay the same wholesale price. I know what works for one business doesnt work for another, but I would not accept someone asking me to raise my prices so that we didnt compete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noodle Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I see this in an entirely different light... I do not see the store telling you how to run the webstore, but we are talking about everyone making profit here... from their aspect it is NOT a good business move for them to "mark up" your product. It is a make or break type of thing...Compare the sales you will make in a B&M store with the sales for this particular product on your website...You mentioned you do not sell that much from the site; I would either remove it from the site for a trial period and/or remove the web addy from the product.JMHOThat is fine. I just disagree, and I completely agree with LuminousBoutique. Competition is not my responsibility in someone else's business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb426 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I know there are two sides to this issue but I just wouldn't do it. Give in to this and there will probably be more demands later. But that is just me and you have to decide how badly you want this account. You could remind them that with shipping, the prices on your website are probably comparable to their b&m store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Here's how I do it. When I decided to start wholesaling my candles to local retailers I set the price on my website the same as the 'suggested' sale price I give to my store vendors. Then I put my candles on sale on my website and sell them for what I want.I also remind them that we are completely different venues and customers buying from my website are paying shipping costs so they are more likely to go to a store location to purchase. My customers also ask me about local shops that sell so I advertise the shops on my website and on location at various markets and craft shows. So the vendor gets free publicity along with the account.But if you don't feel comfortable about it don't do it. I set my price and give them a suggested price. Not the other way around. If they want to sell at a higher price thats their decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lsbennis Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 Well they didn't say I "had" to change the prices on the site just if I would consider changing the prices, as in their opinion they were under priced for the local market. I don't know if I agree with this but I do agree that the store location may be able to get that price, will see.I'm willing to put the price up $3 dollars more, not $4 and do a free shipping or a buy one get one with a certain % off to adjust for that, at least for a little while and see how it goes, I still plan to sell at my regular price at the shows and to my repeat customers, since they are all local they never go through the website anyway.I do feel somewhat obligated since they are giving me such a good location and will also be selling my soaps which I don't have on the site, and I will be the only candle company in the store, so I will give it a try for now and let you know how it goes, I really appreciate all your feed back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplybeelightful Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Here's how I do it. When I decided to start wholesaling my candles to local retailers I set the price on my website the same as the 'suggested' sale price I give to my store vendors. Then I put my candles on sale on my website and sell them for what I want.I agree totally. I tell my retailers that they are free to sell for whatever they want but this is what I'm selling for...For one thing, you are selling to them WHOLESALE, so you are selling your candles to them for a discounted price. If you sell a candle online for say 20 bucks and wholesale for 10, which is the better for you? Besides, as stated before, your customers are paying shipping and their's are not.Trust me, if you are doing craft shows, you will eventually get online orders.I totally disagree with selling my products for private labeling. I NEVER do that! I worked damned hard to get my products where I want them, I'm certainly not going to let someone else take the credit for my hard work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricofAZ Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) I like the idea of private label. Do it nicer than your own. Then some day inch up your prices to say "comparable to private label" etc. You could go into competition with yourself. However, I would make something different about the private label. Slightly more FO, or more vibrant colors, etc, so that it is not the exact same product. Kinda like Chevy and Cadillac.The bottom line is always supply and demand. If the demand exceeds the supply, make more. If you can't make more, raise the price until the supply works out. If the supply exceeds the demand, market better or lower the price.Sounds like the demand is increasing and your store wants to raise the price. Something to think about. Edited February 24, 2011 by EricofAZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricofAZ Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) And of course, I think Yankme Candle is the golden standard, but not the leader of the pack. I've heard many folks tell me they like Yankme and even the dear girlfriend who likes my candles wants to have a Yankme once in a while. However, I've heard many say they don't like the wax leftover in the Yankme and want the walls to at least catch up. They don't mind some leftover, just that they feel the Yankme has too much. Tough call. I don't like hot containers, but I can get a decent catchup going at a reasonable container temperature.So it is possible to market higher prices than Yankme, methinks. Edited February 24, 2011 by EricofAZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SliverOfWax Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I like the idea of private label. Do it nicer than your own. Then some day inch up your prices to say "comparable to private label" etc. You could go into competition with yourself. However, I would make something different about the private label. Slightly more FO, or more vibrant colors, etc, so that it is not the exact same product. Kinda like Chevy and Cadillac.The bottom line is always supply and demand. If the demand exceeds the supply, make more. If you can't make more, raise the price until the supply works out. If the supply exceeds the demand, market better or lower the price.Sounds like the demand is increasing and your store wants to raise the price. Something to think about.And of course, I think Yankme Candle is the golden standard, but not the leader of the pack. I've heard many folks tell me they like Yankme and even the dear girlfriend who likes my candles wants to have a Yankme once in a while. However, I've heard many say they don't like the wax leftover in the Yankme and want the walls to at least catch up. They don't mind some leftover, just that they feel the Yankme has too much. Tough call. I don't like hot containers, but I can get a decent catchup going at a reasonable container temperature.So it is possible to market higher prices than Yankme, methinks.That gave me a headache.Something you might think about that I don't think has been mentioned:Change the scent names on the ones the store buys, and don't have those scent names on your website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lsbennis Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 "I totally disagree with selling my products for private labeling. I NEVER do that! I worked damned hard to get my products where I want them, I'm certainly not going to let someone else take the credit for my hard work." I have to agree with Simplybeelightful on this, maybe its an ego thing, I don't know, but what I'm hoping to get out of this is some brand recognition, with that comes the ability to perhaps charge a little more and having more retail opportunities. Also by the retailer charging more, I can charge more for my wholesale, so it does help me as well. So it might not be a bad thing to have brand recognition at that price, however I can also seeing it perhaps not working, but for now I'm going to keep a positive spin on it. IDK, well see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I have gone through this exact same scenerio. To make a long story short, I no longer sell to them wholesale. I just couldn't swallow them telling me what my prices would be. If they are to embarassed or feel ashamed that they are marking my product up that high, then that is their problem. Idk, I have always enjoyed giving my customers good value and she wanted me to raise my prices to match what she wanted to sell them for. Well, sorry charlie, but I don't want my candles that high. I will LOOSE customers! Yup, it is tough close to home. Now I have a store 75 miles away, and they mark them whatever they want. I don't care, and they don't care what I sell mine for. It works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshK Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 MY 2 cents would be, don't respond with a "no". When they asked you to raise their prices they are not really trying to bully you into running your business their way (usually), they are simply voicing a concern (people will go into their store smell your candles, like them, then pull out their iphone and find it on your website cheaper). If you don't want to raise your prices, but still want this account you should respond with a counter request that addresses their concern (if you say no either the conversation ends and the deal stops or they bite the bullet and agree. If you give another offer then they have the chance to say sure, no, or give a further offer). From what it sounds like they are being reasonable, giving you prime placement in their store, offering to make you the exclusive soap and candle line in their store and so on, I'll be willing to bet they'd consider other options. Offer to make an exclusive line for their company you can change the colors scents and packaging, still prominently feature your brand but include "exclusively at [store name]"Or ask for a minimum - let them know if you raise your prices you risk losing current customers, you're willing to do that but only if they commit to buy x amount from you each month for the next 12 months to limit your risk.If you get creative you can usually find a solution that works for both companies and hopefully builds a lasting and profitable relationship.Good Luck,Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lsbennis Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Thanks Josh, those are all really good ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernadette Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Yes, like when I did wholesale, for one place that asked for similiar conditions to this situation, I offered them fragrances that I only sold to them. They were terrific scents that the customers really liked, and I made sure they were compatible in candles and soap. 9 out of 10 customers got both! The customers came to my website to try other scents, since they were thrilled with those in the stores that they could have a "hands on" experience with. The store was happy, the customers were happy, and I was definitely happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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