Jokes 'n' stuff

[Stetson912]

Oh, you mean you DONT like putting in 8 hours on a whatever-it-is and have someone ask to sell it for twice what they pay you for it which is a quarter of what you should/could get for it because of your noted and displayed craftsmanship and quality and then not being recognized for the work you've done in the first place? Hehe...

Sounds like my job... Stupid Walmart lol!

I bet it gets frustrating. I haven't had the privilege to sell much of what I make. I've only done a few things for sale for friends so, I can't really relate. Sounds like a nuisance 

[NVLeatherWorx]

55 minutes ago, Stetson912 said:

Oh, you mean you DONT like putting in 8 hours on a whatever-it-is and have someone ask to sell it for twice what they pay you for it which is a quarter of what you should/could get for it because of your noted and displayed craftsmanship and quality and then not being recognized for the work you've done in the first place? Hehe...

Sounds like my job... Stupid Walmart lol!

I bet it gets frustrating. I haven't had the privilege to sell much of what I make. I've only done a few things for sale for friends so, I can't really relate. Sounds like a nuisance 

You got it!  Bigger pain in the rear end than having your rectum removed.  

[Stetson912]

So my next question is, has anyone ever offered you fair compensation to sell your product? I would imagine that's fairly unheard of lol.

Maybe one day I'll have a product good enough people will want to try and rip me off too! Haha

[YinTx]

3 hours ago, JLSleather said:

No, I'm talking about those people who like that word "wholesale", as in you sell it to us at about 40-50%, and 'make it up' on the volume.  Uh.. no thanks-- if getting bent over is bad, then getting bent over a dozen times should theoretically be worse   

50% markup does seem a bit extreme.  Reminds me of the adage about losing $1 an item, and trying to make up for the loss with volume.  erm.. math?

Truth be told, I've mentioned to others I've thought about opening a store.  And immediately everyone wants to put their stuff in a store that I am only thinking about.  All kinds of stuff, not just leather.  I don't think I'd do that for free.  I think it would be nice to have a place for others that make leather goods to be able to display their stuff and get some visibility for their work, and they could make some sales. That's what sparked my interest in this topic.  If I had a store, and I thought your work was nice enough to put in there, and I contacted you about it, why would you get mad at me?   I'd think it was a bit of a compliment.  If you didn't want to, say so, no problem.  If you do, settle on terms you and the store agree upon.  If you can't agree, move on, no harm done.  All that said, what are good terms?  Or as Stetson912 says, what is fair?  

some $/month per item displayed?  $/item sold?  % of item sold? $/sqft/month of display space? some combination?

YinTx

[JLSleather]

4 hours ago, YinTx said:

 If I had a store, and I thought your work was nice enough to put in there, and I contacted you about it, why would you get mad at me? 

I wouldn't.  I'm not sure what I said that makes you think I was "mad" about any of it.  Generally, I just delete them and ignore.  If I get a couple close together in time, perhaps a mild irritation worth joking about on a forum somewhere ..  

[LumpenDoodle2]

There is other things out there that have an interesting 'take' on providing a selljng platform.   I used to sell on a forum based 'auction/shop', and when I first set it up, I added a bit to my prices to cover the site charges.   After all. I have a main webshop, so the forum based one was just an additional outlet.  To me,  it seemed sensible and good business practice to factor in additional charges

The owner gave me a row, and I had to sell my items at the same price as in my own shop.    Fair 'nuff, but a tad annoying that I was being dictated to over the prices of my own goods.

[veedub3]

This type of set up works well for me. My products are currently in 9 Brick and Mortar stores around the US. They are called Stockist.(If this is who you are referring to) Yes they pay a discounted price for my items, but they buy in bulk and pay upfront. I get a fair price for the discounted item because the item is priced to where I am happy with the deal, but once it is theirs, they can do what they want with it - not my issue anymore unless it hurts the brand.

This works out well for me because I would never be able to sell that much volume on my own. I have no real web presence and I hate Social Media. Facebook needs to be pushed off the nearest cliff (along with fidget spinners but that is a rant for another day.) I do use Instagram but I rarely post - maybe once or twice every few months and to get followers you need to be posting 3 to 4 times a day unless you buy followers and I just don't have the time nor the interest in doing that.  I did hire a person to do the Social Media work for me on a 6 months trial period, and although followers and sales increased, it was not even a fraction of the sales I get from placing my items with Stockist. 

My joy is in making the product, all the work I have to put into photographing the item, writing blurbs about the item, advertising, marketing, and social media, is like a second job all in itself, and I am simply not a fan of that - so I chose the Stockist route when it was presented to me. They buy the item from me and they do all the work to sell it - or not - either way, I have already been paid. The products placed in these stores are small leather goods, no weekenders, satchels, messengers, or totes - those along with other leather goods I sell at pop up shops around Atlanta.

For a large established brand, I am sure this makes no since at all, but for a small shop such as mine, it is a great way to get your product in front of people you may not be able to otherwise. It may not be worth it to everyone, but for me it is the perfect set-up.

 

Karina

[Rockoboy]

I tend to agree with weedub3 on this issue. If a person makes something and wants to sell it for $10, maybe they sell 4 per week.

If they can reasonably make and sell that item for $5, but sell 20 of them to 'stockists', the comparison is $40 per week alongside $100 per week.

The major consideration being the time factor to make 20 of the item. If the item is able to be turned out at the quality required and $100 covers material and pays for time taken, I believe it would be a good deal.

Not the least consideration being that it gets your brand out there, and hopefully people will come to you for one-off specials where better money can be made.

[JLSleather]

HEY.. I started out just to make a light-hearted comment we could get a kick out of.  But you make some points here ..

2 hours ago, veedub3 said:

hey pay a discounted price for my items, but they buy in bulk and pay upfront.

Pay upfront is an important part   If the "discount" is acceptable to you, that's all that matters.

2 hours ago, veedub3 said:

Facebook needs to be pushed off the nearest cliff (along with fidget spinners but that is a rant for another day.)

Letting the product speak for itself -- I like it!  WAY too much of that 'other crap' these days ... buy my stuff because it's sold at Jeff's, or Walmart, or Cabelas, whatever (which apparently is it's only value).  Remember those commercials... "as seen on tv .."

I've seen some people who are quite good at graphic design, web programming, "social" media (wake up, people, if they're selling something, it isn't 'social') .. but whose actual product was not good.  So, what do you do?  Go on about "as seen on Fakebook ..."   Yeah, amazing people still fall for that!

3 hours ago, veedub3 said:

They buy the item from me and they do all the work to sell it - or not - either way, I have already been paid.

And there you have it.  

I've sold houses I had a lot more work in than any bit of leather.  If the new owner decides to burn it down, that's up to them -- they can do what they want with it.  But if I'm selling, and you're buying, then WHY are we paying the realtor (store owner)?@!#  It isn't their house.  They didn't do the work.  So I'm not paying them. I don't hate 'em, but I'm not paying them.

 

[fredk]

Interesting discussion this

1.Not very long ago I was contacted by a 'craft' shop. The offer was I rent shelf space in their shop. They do the selling, packing and accounts. Rate was $5 per square foot of shelf per week, minimum 5 square feet for inside regular area, $10 per for main sales area, $15 per for premium area. The shop would take 10% of sales price per item to cover packing supplies. Seeemed a not too bad offer. I and #3 son checked it over. The shop was in the side part of a shopping centre [mall]. We watched it over a few weeks and did a clicker count on footfall. On the best of busy days it had three shoppers average, most days there were none, zilch, nada customers. On-line chat with other crafters, someof whom took up the offer. One sold one fabric handbag in 6 months, one sold a couple of bracelets in the same time. So, not a great place to sell from.

2. On a recent visit to a shop in Belfast to inquire about something I've ended up, perhaps, with an outlet for certain leather goods [not fetish ones - I don't do those] which I never in a lifetime reckoned there was a requirement for in N.I. I need to learn how to make these items - not hard - make them, get them to the shop owner. I think it'll be a wholesale sort of pricing deal. For him I need to keep prices low-ish but it promises to be a lead in to more and other leatherwork