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dusty attic Jul 6, 2007

Hi, I wondered if anyone could give me any advice.I have just had a lady contact me and she is opening a new teddy bear shop in New York called Janes Attic. She would like to have some of my bears in her shop which is great, but could anyone tell me the discount that you offer to shops? What seems to be the going rate these days?
I have never sold to shops before as I have never really needed too, my bears seem to find new homes well. But I quite like the idea of having a few bears for sale in New York, Any advice would be great.
many thanks Chloe.xx

Gantaeno Jul 6, 2007

As far as I'm aware, bears go into shops on the basis that you get your money when they sell your bear, and the costs are usually quite high, like 30-50%... maybe you'll be able to strike up a deal

JAC-Q-LYN Jul 6, 2007

Hi Chloe

The same shop contacted me yesterday, they are not very clear on whether they want Sale or Return or to purchase.  I personally do not do sale or return, but do supply to trade.  Now with my Shop Owners hat on, a lot of bear artists only offer 5/10 per cent which in todays day and age is not good enough(stirring up a hornets nest now!)LOL some offer a discount depending on how many bears you order, for example 5 at a time would be 15 per cent and over 5 would be 20 per cent.  If you give a reasonable discount you will be allowing the shop to turn them over quicker and also keep in line with the prices you sell at.  I do pro forma on first order then if 30 days credit required I ask for 2 trade references and a bankers ref, this is standard practice in the UK dealing with suppliers.

Hope this is a little help.
Good Luck
Hugs
Jacqui

Jare Hares & Bears Jul 6, 2007

I'll jump in on this one...  Most of the work I do is at the wholesale level.

If it is a new shoppe I would ask for references and then check those references.

We buy materials and supplies with wholesale in mind.  That way we can offer a discount that shoppes like and are still able to cover our expenses.  We know at what price levels we can buy fabrics and then can still offer our wholesale discounts.  There are some fabrics that I will not wholesale, the expense is just to great.  If a shoppe wants that piece I might extend a small discount, but not the normal discount.

I never do consignment, it has never worked out.  Shoppes would tell me that they have sold the bears and want more, but it would be months before I got paid.  That is not the right way to do business.

For the most part I expect payment when I ship.  That payment must clear before shipping.  Many of my shoppes give us a credit card to use.  If you get a check find out from your bank how long it will take to clear.  After the check has cleared then ship the order to the shoppe.

I don't like to give 30 days net, because my budget is tight.  The few times that I have given 30 days it has taken 60 to 180 days to collect the payment.  If you decide to give 30 days net, then I would spell out terms and get the customer to sign the order with the terms spelled out.  And give the customer a copy of that order.  i.e. If invoice is paid in full before 30 days then there is no interest charge, thereafter an interest rate of 18% per year or 1.5% per month coumpounded will be charged on the remaining balance every 30 days.  Simply having that stated on the invoice the shoppe is more likely to pay the bill on time.
For example.
$1000 order
Paid in 30 days will still be $1000.  Balance due $0.00.
After 30 days
$15 in interest plus the orginial $1000.  Balance due $1015.00
After 60 days
$15.23 in current interest fees, $15.00 in past due interest fees, plus the orginial $1000.  Balance due $1030.23.

If they don't pay on time stand firm behind the policy that you have set forth.  Don't back down because they had to have a knee replacement, that is not your fault.  They knew the bill was due and they should have made arrangements to pay the bill on time.  Don't be harsh or curel towards people, but don't be a push over either.  You can always work out payment arrangements, but remind them that the unpaid balance will have a interest fee.  Remember that you have bills to pay too.  You try not paying your rent on time what happens?  Or you forget to pay your credit card bill?  You get charged a late fee or you get a late fee and an interest charge.  It doesn't matter that you had to get your knee replaced, you still have to pay the bills.

And the best advice that I can give you about this is to contact a local small business group/organization that can help you write a billing policy.  Explain to them what it is that you are doing and ask for help on how to set up charge accounts.

DebbieD Jul 6, 2007

:clap: Way to go Jare!!!   :clap:   You spell it out beautifully.

In the past I tried consignments ~ with rock paintings.  It failed horribly.  Well, not horribly for the shop owner, they had free merchandise, and I had to hound them for any paintings sold.  Worse, they sold one of my paintings, and gave the commission to another rock artist who had their merchandise in the same shop! 

I did have the offer of a shop to buy wholesale, but the owner wanted my bears to resell (reasonably) for $150.00.  She wanted to buy them outright (given the last consignment fiasco I was all for that).   Where we parted differences was the price for sale.  She literally wanted them for the normal wholesale price ~ which is half ticket price.  I said no, thank you.  I was highly honored that she thought enough of me to want to put my bears in her shop; however, at that price, it would not have paid for the amount of work that went into each bear.  For me, I did the math, and it just wasn't feasible. 

However, it is different for everybody.  As Jare suggests, get references, and then check them.  She might be 'opening a shop' but you sure as heck don't want her to whisk into thin air with your bears in hand....unless she's paid for them outright of course. 

Best of luck with your choice 

Jare Hares & Bears Jul 7, 2007

Debbie, thank you.

I will say further that most shoppes expect a ~50% discount.  Most artists that I have talked to about this subject discount anywhere from 10% to 50%.  The closer you can get to the 50% discount the more wholesale work you will get.  Some artist can do this, many are unable, and there are those who are unwilling.  If you decide to do wholesale, then you need to create a line of bears/bunnies/elephants/lions/tigers/cats/dogs that you can make and sell at the wholesale level.  Many shoppes are happy to get any discount at all. 

If you want to go after the wholesale market then you need to adjust your mind set.  You need to start buying materials and supplies with wholesale in mind. 

Get your orders out in a timely fashion.  If your wait time gets close to 6 months then you need to tell your shoppes how long the wait is.  I always ask my shoppes how quickly they want the order, most expect to get items within 4 to 6 weeks.  Some will tell me that they need their order by Sept 1.  And with the rabbits at Toy Fair they want them within a few days.  I do my best to get those orders out quickly.  If they have part of the order that they need quickly I work on that part and get it shipped off right away, then I finish the rest of the order within the normal time frame.

If you should decide to do consignment...
1. make a detailed inventory list, keep a copy for yourself and sent a copy along with your inventory to the shoppe.
2. communicate with the shoppe on a regular basis (remind them that you are out there & expect your payments in a timely fashion)
3. have it spelled out clearly when you expect to recieve payments (once month is normal)
4. If possible visit the shoppe, you can check out the other inventory and see what is selling.  Then you can use this information to your advantage.  Plus, you can see your inventory, the conidtion that it is in, and you will know when something has sold.

dusty attic Jul 7, 2007

Thank you everyone for your great advice, i now  have a lot to think about. :hug:  :hug:

puca bears Jul 12, 2007

Hi Chloe
I just got an invitation from the same shop - I KNEW I'd seen something on here (yes - I was right!)..
just wondered if you had found out any more info, or taken the whole thing further?
huggies
Maria

Tami E Jul 12, 2007

We buy materials and supplies with wholesale in mind.  That way we can offer a discount that shoppes like and are still able to cover our expenses.  We know at what price levels we can buy fabrics and then can still offer our wholesale discounts.  There are some fabrics that I will not wholesale, the expense is just to great.  If a shoppe wants that piece I might extend a small discount, but not the normal discount.

That is good thinking!!! I have done limited wholesale selling and I work with a wonderful shop (My Friends and Me) and soon, Toy Shoppe, but I use so many of the dense long furs...for nearly all of my work...I really need to consider that!!!

You should offer a class in this, Jared. Teach me o master!!