Online Sampler Boxes..

[leisa2003]

I was just contacted in regards to having my product/samples (50 of them) to be in Sampler Boxes that will go out to people who purchase them. Have any of you ever participated in something like this? It seems to be a good way to get your products out there and potentional new customers. Alot of the vendor's are putting in special promotions or discounts in their samples as well,..I have never done a promotion or discount because I'm not even sure if using the PayPal shopping cart even allows you to set something like that up.

Any advice/input?

[SliverOfWax]

I'm sure there are many threads about this. It used to be very common and popular. Some were very good, some not so much.

[leisa2003]

I'm sure there are many threads about this. It used to be very common and popular. Some were very good, some not so much.

Actually there is very few, and all of them except one with not much feedback is pretty old and their are some new Sampler Box Companies out there, as well as new crafters to the market that may be involved or have been involved in such.

[Kitn]

I have been asked many times, I say no.

[laurenscandlebakery]

I was invited to join one via Etsy. I thought it was a good idea and considered it, but then I noticed that almost every company involved was a candle company. I didn't want to be 1 of 50 candles in the box..I think that kinda defeats the purpose? I'd consider one if it was a better mix of items: soaps, lotions, candles, body sprays, mineral makeup, etc.

[NaturallyTru]

I haven't because I hear too much about the results not being there. Most people are just going for the free merchandise (or minimal price) and not reordering. At least that is what I have heard.

[annie123]

Yes, I did 3 or 4 a few years ago. It is a great concept for the people who run these samplers box programs but IMHO I think that it is a big waste of time and money.

The boxes I did always had samples from the 2 or 3 other competitors (nice)...I also included a discount coupon and never got any orders. You can create your own sampler box for your customers or you can just hand out samples at shows.

[Candybee]

I don't give out samples. I am open to negotiate a price if they are willing to pay for samples or have purchased from me before. Someone who contacts you out of the blue that wants free samples I would just ignore.

From what I have heard of these 'sampler box' companies is once in a while a good one comes along but the majority are worthless. In any event-- not a single person who participated in one of these ever got sales generated from the samples. So to me that is a waste of money.

[thompsontraditions]

I agree with all the other posts... if you find a good sampler box co. it may be worth it, but in my experience it can be a waste of time and money. Most always, it's the sampler company making the money and the one in the box generates little to no sales from it.

[funkymonkey66]

The people selling the boxes make out well but they are not worth it. I saw a recent one done by a candlemaker. She kind of went away for a while and came back as a promoter for other's people's craft/candle businesses and created somewhat of a pretty decent sized fan base. Then once she got popular enough she shut out all the other business's and showcased only her candle items.

I think that's totally shady, to think about all the people that gave her free stuff and advertised for her with link exchanges and she got to sample the competition, copy their blends and dip into their customer base. I guess I'd be furious too.