Wholesale Question

[Guest EMercier]

I sold a case to a lady (now I might be regretting it). I do have a min, but she's a small shop. I worked with her. Well, she wanted more, but went on my website to look at how much I sold my candles for. I gave her a wholesale price on one, not retail that I give to customers. If I went down to $4 (I'm not) she'd get $1 off. I stopped by the store a while ago to see how much she sold them for and she wasn't there, but the girl that worked there didn't know. That's great because if I wanted to buy one, how are you going to sell it to me. If she wasn't so busy running her mouth!

ANYWAY...How do you guys do the wholesale pricing? I know about the division and all that. But I tried explaining retail is different from wholesale.

[Janette]

I'm not sure I quite understood your post as far as your retail and wholesale price, but here is how I work mine out. Wholesale is the lowest price I can sell a product for and still make a worthwhile return for my labour and investment. My retail price is double my wholesale price. When I retail my products myself, they sell for the same amount as they would in a store (providing the store marks up 100%, some mark up higher). HTH Janette

[smart tart]

Why do you care what she is selling them for? (Not intended as a smart ass question, just wondering) Was this a consignment deal? Or did she buy them outright (wholesale)?

Pretty wierd if she owns her store and you had to explain the difference between wholesale and retail.... :undecided

But as long as she has paid your price, it's all good.....don't worry about it! You have made your $$

[Guest EMercier]

I wondered just to see how much she could get for them. I've always only charged 3 times my cost. I've always heard my candles aren't that expensive at all. I would have to reconsider raising prices.

Just wanted to make sure I was right. The darn lady had me thinking twice. I didn't care about the price. I already got my money and I sold to her wholesale.

I also felt it took my off balance a little bit for me to have to explain that to her as if I was trying to get over.

[rascal418]

I also felt it took my off balance a little bit for me to have to explain that to her as if I was trying to get over.

deja vu. I have a shop owner like that. Dumb like a fox. Even asks my costs to make & imho it's nohdm. Do I ask how much they paid wholesale for an item they sell ? Of course not, but it takes all kinds. What I do ->Smile, be polite, change the subject back to the quality, the convenience, the pricing.

ex ->For repeat business shops it's nothing for me to stop by & give freebies, ie "hey would you test drive this new scent?" = orders. Work it, soon the $ issue will be overcome.

If on occassion you lose a petty shop so what? NEXT!

As much of a thrill as it is to get a store carrying your stuff there's many stores out there that are easy to get along with. hth

btw edited to add> wholesale 2 1/2 * my costs, retail 4, your milage may vary depending on demographic

[sockmonkey]

For my wholesale pricing I get 2-3 times my cost depending on the volume they buy. For retail it's 4-5 times the cost.

For you to be selling wholesale you should already be aware of the "perceived value" of your product in the marketplace. You shouldn't rush out, see what someone is selling your stuff for, and then figure out your pricing structure.

In order for me to set my wholesale prices I determine what I have invested in each unit and what comparable items sell for elsewhere. If I have something very unique that no one else has I can charge a premium for that item.

I do not claim to be an expert under any circumstances regarding wholesale, but to me, I think a lot of people make the mistake that they should base their prices on what one customer charges for their products. Just because one store is able to get an outrageous amount for your product doesn't mean that every shop will be able to perform the same magic. That might be a great selling tool, to say that so-and-so gets X amount for her candles and that perhaps it MIGHT be possible for the current customer you're trying to sell to.

To use this as an example, if you charge $5 wholesale to your customer and she turns around and instead of selling your candles for $10, she's getting $20--good for her. That means she's got a sure moneymaker on her hands and will probably be placing a larger order from you in the future. The store nextdoor to her could buy the same candle, try and sell it for $12 and not have any of them sell. There are a lot of factors--personality of the shop owners, the appearance of the shop, the lines they sell, and the traffic they get just to name a few. If you decided to raise your wholesale prices to $10 just based on what one store was charging retail you won't be getting re-orders from the original customer, and you might have just priced yourself out of range for the new wholesale customer.

The bottom line is that you should have made enough money off of the sale you made to her to make a profit--regardless of what she chooses to sell your product for.

[rascal418]

Re-read my post & realized I'm letting 1 shop owner get under my skin ~~ <sigh & sorry> time to regroup

There are a lot of factors--personality of the shop owners, the appearance of the shop, the lines they sell, and the traffic they get just to name a few.

Very true. Season affects my sales too. I sell a ton early fall to January then it drops off.

[Guest EMercier]

Please, don't get me wrong. I could care less how much she sells them for. Let's get that straight. I just wondered how much she was charging. I really don't care because I got my money. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't underselling myself since she's the first I've had that's all. I understand how to calculate the costs. I've seen some posts here to see how people go past the stores and check up on things. I was kidding on the mark up piece, hence the .