Phoenix traders - what is your most successful selling technique?

mishkanorman

I sell with usborne rather than Phoenix, but to answer your question regarding stall fees the cost will vary from region to region im guessing, I live in norfolk and the fees have been anything from £5 to £20 with charities preferring a % of takings.

Ive had events where ive been sat for 5 hours and only sold a £5.99 book or had a crazy hour at a school and sold £150+

For a bit of research check for other sellers in your area, its tougher if there are 10 other sellers all wanting to attend the same events, equally as tough though if there are no sellers and no-one has ever heard of you ! https://www.stallfinder.com is great for finding events and competition,

also think about your potential customers, it helps if you have at least a few supportive friends and friends of friends !


mishka

glitterball

Hi benbenandme

Orders received through your website come to you and you then place them on Phoenix and they are delivered to you, this allows you to fill them from any stock you might have in hand. You then post to your customer. The web order has a default P&P charge on the customer of £2 you can change this if you wish. I usually deliver free of charge if its local or a smallish order but make the decision on a case by case basis if its going to cost me over £3 then I will charge it.

Cost of stalls I have a max limit of £30 but generally tabletop sales cost me about £10.

Hope that helps somewhat if you have any other questions feel free to PM me and if I can help I will.

orangefleece30

Benbenandme

Just out of interest have you seen the products that Phoenix traders offer, i agree that they are very well priced at the moment at £1.20 but they are also well worth the £1.50 that the price is going up to plus you have to remember that there is a VAT rise due in Jan to 20% which the company simply cannot absorb.

mrsdumplin

Hi all,
I am after some tips if you dont mind...

I have my first event soon and have no idea the best way to display my cards, I was wondering do you split your christmas cards in to catagories, or put them together by price?

Any hints and tips really welcomed, I'm so nervous!.

Thanks
MrsD

orangefleece30

mrsdumplin wrote: »

Hi all,
I am after some tips if you dont mind...

I have my first event soon and have no idea the best way to display my cards, I was wondering do you split your christmas cards in to catagories, or put them together by price?

Any hints and tips really welcomed, I'm so nervous!.

Thanks
MrsD

MrsD,
If you have a facebook account there is a brilliant page that traders use which is full of helpful tips. Also there are tips and hints on the website.

orangefleece30

jojotoo

Mrs D, I did a coffee morning the other day and split my cards into Christmas and the rest. I have two of the card display stands so this worked well for me. I put the Christmas cards out to try and show the packs off well, not blocking a small card with a tall one on the row in front etc. In front of the stands I displayed the packs of angels and paperchains etc in baskets and also strung some of the angels on white wool and hung them up between my stands which helped sell them I'm sure.
Hope it goes well!

novagirl

Evening everyone! I've just sat down and made my goals for 2011. I've been a Phoenix Trader since November and I'm enjoying every second of it.

I find that the best things for me so far have been having a stall at events and making people aware of what I do. People don't know unless you tell them I have also done a brochure drop of the old 2010 catalogues which again lets people know where I am. I also had 2 returned saying that they buy from another trader or they make their own which is fine. (I now know not to pop a brochure through their door next time )

I have also done some simple research online today to get some contact details of groups that may be interested in my helping with them for their fundraising. All looking positive for me. How is everyone else getting along?

henrypootle

I've just signed up with Pheonix and I am eagerly awaiting delivery of my pack. Cant wait to get started!

chapeltwo

Hello, I am new to Phoenix Trading and have my first event coming up soon which is at a local church group which is mainly made up of older ladies. I am sure I will sell a few but think that I should charge £1.20 for all as I am sure some of the ladies may only buy one or two when their friends may buy more and get the discount. Does anyone else sell at £1.20 even if 10 have not been sold and is this allowed? Also do you offer a family discount to family members and if so how much? Know my mum etc will buy and not sure what to do.

thanks!

Rosemary_Jane

Hi Chapeltwo,

welcome to Phoenix, it's a great way of getting to know people.

As for the "is it allowed to charge £1.20 for single cards" - well, yes, it is allowed, but

Think, though, about what your aim is here. If you offer reduced prices to people, they will come to expect it always - it's very hard to reduce discounts later without upsetting people.

You might do a very obvious sign saying that for this first event ONLY, prices are xyz, and make sure people know it's this time only - they might buy more!
Or offer a prize draw, put their name and address on a list to win a £5 voucher (print it from downloads)

Don't worry if it seems to you that you need to be cheap, it hits a lot of us when we start Phoenix; once you've done your first sales etc, you'll realise that people think they are fantastic value and quality and can't buy them fast enough.

If people want cheap cards, they can get them for 39p each in some places. You cannot compete with that, you want to show them how good the cards are in quality and that their friends and relatives will be delighted that they are worth a good card.

Make sure that you have your sample cards out for handling and passing round. Once the card is in their hands, they won't want to let go.

Good luck,
Rosemary