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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jun 9, 2021 6:58:52 GMT -5
I have been selling wholesale to a local gift shop for about 7 years. Pretty simple. I take in my items and tell them how much I want for them. If they don't like my price they don't get them. I have been doing it with them long enough now that we have set prices for the things they normally buy. I have never cared one bit about how much they sell the stuff for. All I care about is that I am treated fairly.
Be careful on how much you sell. After a certain point here in Michigan the business has to report you and you will need to pay taxes on the income. When that happened to me I just started raising my prices to cover that.
As far as promoting yourself I highly doubt a retailer would want your business card there. His customers would just call you direct then and eliminate the middle man.
Good luck! Chuck
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herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 444
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Post by herb on Jun 9, 2021 8:38:15 GMT -5
I'm a little late to the topic, but I would say you should see what the shop owner thinks the wholesale price should be. Because it is a store and they have overhead (salaries, rent, utilities, insurance, etc) the price they put on a piece might be higher than the price you currently sell the piece for. So if you have something you sell for 100 and the shop is going to sell it for 200 they might be happy with paying you a wholesale price of 100!
In the end, you need to decide what a piece is worth to you. That is the cost of materials, your time spent making it, costs for wear and tear on the equipment you used to make it, etc. Whether you make $5 or $50 from a piece doesnt matter as much as whether you feel what ever you made on the piece was worth the cost and effort to make it
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Post by miket on Jun 9, 2021 9:37:33 GMT -5
I have been selling wholesale to a local gift shop for about 7 years. Pretty simple. I take in my items and tell them how much I want for them. If they don't like my price they don't get them. I have been doing it with them long enough now that we have set prices for the things they normally buy. I have never cared one bit about how much they sell the stuff for. All I care about is that I am treated fairly. Be careful on how much you sell. After a certain point here in Michigan the business has to report you and you will need to pay taxes on the income. When that happened to me I just started raising my prices to cover that. As far as promoting yourself I highly doubt a retailer would want your business card there. His customers would just call you direct then and eliminate the middle man. Good luck! Chuck Thanks Chuck, good points all around. I appreciate you taking the time to respond!
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Post by miket on Jun 9, 2021 9:39:15 GMT -5
I'm a little late to the topic, but I would say you should see what the shop owner thinks the wholesale price should be. Because it is a store and they have overhead (salaries, rent, utilities, insurance, etc) the price they put on a piece might be higher than the price you currently sell the piece for. So if you have something you sell for 100 and the shop is going to sell it for 200 they might be happy with paying you a wholesale price of 100! In the end, you need to decide what a piece is worth to you. That is the cost of materials, your time spent making it, costs for wear and tear on the equipment you used to make it, etc. Whether you make $5 or $50 from a piece doesnt matter as much as whether you feel what ever you made on the piece was worth the cost and effort to make it More good points, thank you. The thing is, I have been doing this because I enjoy it. Period.
But I wouldn't mind making some money off of it- so I can buy more rocks!
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Post by fernwood on Jun 9, 2021 10:47:35 GMT -5
I have sold some items at a consignment shop. They let me have a business card attached to items.
I just got tired of raising my prices so much, just to cover material costs and minimal for my time, in addition to their 30% consignment fees.
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Post by Rockindad on Jun 9, 2021 20:33:23 GMT -5
I have been on both sides of this when I had my woodworking business. Yes, a legitimate business has all kinds of burden that would make your head spin: payroll, insurances, licensing, rent, utilities..................Bottom line is that is not your problem, you need to be happy with the price you get. Ideally you will not only cover the cost of materials, tool replacement, a % of your utilities and a bit of your time. I know you are primarily doing this for your own enjoyment, like most of us, but be fair to yourself.
I mostly did one off custom work and dealt with the end customer myself. I did have interest from some furniture stores who wanted me to provide them with tables for them to sell. They got the exact price that I would give any customer because my cost and labor is the same no matter who is getting the end product. Some bought, some not. All good.
The only time I ever gave anyone "wholesale" prices actually involved a sister of one of the furniture store owners. She was quite the serious crafter and had many ideas for creations. As our relationship grew I would help her layout/design to expedite fabrication. Things like display stands, candle holders, etc. Quantities always in the dozens and often hundreds. Could easily justify better pricing on my end as time per piece was much lower by streamlining fabrication methods. Much different than my normal one off custom work. This could easily apply to your situation- will you be offering all unique pieces or a number of designs that you will get better and better at with repetition. Lots to think about.
Best of luck Mike, I'll be following.
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Post by miket on Jun 9, 2021 20:59:21 GMT -5
I have been on both sides of this when I had my woodworking business. Yes, a legitimate business has all kinds of burden that would make your head spin: payroll, insurances, licensing, rent, utilities..................Bottom line is that is not your problem, you need to be happy with the price you get. Ideally you will not only cover the cost of materials, tool replacement, a % of your utilities and a bit of your time. I know you are primarily doing this for your own enjoyment, like most of us, but be fair to yourself. I mostly did one off custom work and dealt with the end customer myself. I did have interest from some furniture stores who wanted me to provide them with tables for them to sell. They got the exact price that I would give any customer because my cost and labor is the same no matter who is getting the end product. Some bought, some not. All good. The only time I ever gave anyone "wholesale" prices actually involved a sister of one of the furniture store owners. She was quite the serious crafter and had many ideas for creations. As our relationship grew I would help her layout/design to expedite fabrication. Things like display stands, candle holders, etc. Quantities always in the dozens and often hundreds. Could easily justify better pricing on my end as time per piece was much lower by streamlining fabrication methods. Much different than my normal one off custom work. This could easily apply to your situation- will you be offering all unique pieces or a number of designs that you will get better and better at with repetition. Lots to think about. Best of luck Mike, I'll be following. Thanks Al, that was good to read. I have come to the decision that I'm going to be fair to myself for sure. Everything I do is unique- there may be certain similarities in the pieces, but there are no two the exact same. I emailed photos of ten pendants today as examples, we'll see if they get back to me. Thanks again!
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Post by Pat on Jun 9, 2021 23:06:18 GMT -5
miket. Good luck and best wishes whichever you choose.
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Post by miket on Jun 9, 2021 23:13:10 GMT -5
miket . Good luck and best wishes whichever you choose. What? Make my own decision....I can't do that! Just kidding, thank you Pat. Although I'm sure I'll ask for more advice!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,676
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Post by Fossilman on Jun 10, 2021 9:14:46 GMT -5
I sell wholesale, but I will do it with what the market prices are at that particular time and the business still makes a profit and I'm happy and so are they... I still come out ahead when I sell my material (I set my prices and they don't argue the point) and it does get attention from other buyers and have sold to others....
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Post by miket on Jun 10, 2021 9:22:11 GMT -5
I sell wholesale, but I will do it with what the market prices are at that particular time and the business still makes a profit and I'm happy and so are they... I still come out ahead when I sell my material (I set my prices and they don't argue the point) and it does get attention from other buyers and have sold to others.... Thank you, Mike. Still no email... To quote Mr. Tom Petty, the waiting is the hardest part!
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 10, 2021 14:00:17 GMT -5
It depends on you goals. Mine is to make cabs. To reach the goal I need to sell cabs in order to buy lapidary material and supplies. I price what I consider reasonable. Since I am not paying myself for my time, I could sell cheaper but don't want to undercut those who are trying for income. My best customer is a silversmith. I like to work on a variety of material and she buys a variety of material. Typically, my other sales are what is popular. Our current agreement is 25% off and I reluctantly make her earring cabs at $20 a pair. My second largest customer is also a silversmith and has never asked for a discount. I add nice cabs to her order. The silversmiths are looking to create income with price being a factor of the cabs, silversmithing costs and time. Less expensive cabs allow her to be more competitive with selling price.
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Post by miket on Jun 10, 2021 14:30:54 GMT -5
It depends on you goals. Mine is to make cabs. To reach the goal I need to sell cabs in order to buy lapidary material and supplies. I price what I consider reasonable. Since I am not paying myself for my time, I could sell cheaper but don't want to undercut those who are trying for income. My best customer is a silversmith. I like to work on a variety of material and she buys a variety of material. Typically, my other sales are what is popular. Our current agreement is 25% off and I reluctantly make her earring cabs at $20 a pair. My second largest customer is also a silversmith and has never asked for a discount. I add nice cabs to her order. The silversmiths are looking to create income with price being a factor of the cabs, silversmithing costs and time. Less expensive cabs allow her to be more competitive with selling price. Thanks Steve. Our goals sound about the same. I want to play with rocks, it's not my main source of income. Of course that means material and supplies- however, I think everyone should get paid something for their time. Yes, a lot of us are doing this as a hobby-something that we enjoy- but most of the people here do things that the general public can't or doesn't do. Yourself included. At the end of the day I suppose I'll figure all of this out and come up with what I think is fair and reasonable to both the retailer and myself.
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 10, 2021 14:48:34 GMT -5
I don't keep any statistics. The income and expenses are mixed in with everything else. Just using the Etsy stats, cab income is greater than material and supplies to the extent I can buy almost anything I want without having to justify it. That is my payment.
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Post by miket on Jun 10, 2021 15:03:09 GMT -5
I don't keep any statistics. The income and expenses are mixed in with everything else. Just using the Etsy stats, cab income is greater than material and supplies to the extent I can buy almost anything I want without having to justify it. That is my payment. That makes perfect sense...
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Post by miket on Jun 10, 2021 16:50:22 GMT -5
So this is interesting. I just talked to my coworker and apparently it's a brand new store- I could tell that the website was but didn't know this. He said they have about 25% of their stuff unpacked and their grand opening is next weekend. I'm not sure what their background is, I'll have to talk to him a little more.
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tumblee
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2021
Posts: 154
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Post by tumblee on Jun 11, 2021 1:40:51 GMT -5
Take Wally mart for instance. They have such a large market, they can dictate what you sell for or go elsewhere. If you have something in demand, and limited options for them, you have the upper hand. Hard to compete with slave labor as in China. Time to draw the line. Amazon and ebay need a "made in" check box... Good luck!
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Post by miket on Jun 11, 2021 9:16:32 GMT -5
Take Wally mart for instance. They have such a large market, they can dictate what you sell for or go elsewhere. If you have something in demand, and limited options for them, you have the upper hand. Hard to compete with slave labor as in China. Time to draw the line. Amazon and ebay need a "made in" check box... Good luck! Yeah, there are people willing to undercut- and force people to sell for less- in all industries and all countries for sure. I agree on the check box. Thanks!
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 11, 2021 13:38:39 GMT -5
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Post by miket on Jun 11, 2021 14:27:46 GMT -5
Wow, I didn't even know Walmart sold cabs. That's nuts. And I see they're the same price...but I'm probably safe in assuming Walmart didn't pay that price from the seller. Thanks Steve.
Edit- Just did a quick search of cabochon on Walmart.com, I should have guessed that even though they're on Walmart's website, the stuff is sold and shipped from individual sellers. I wonder what Walmart's cut is on that kind of thing...
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