Phoenix traders - what is your most successful selling technique?

ex-dmp

Had a quick look through this thread to find out about Phoenix, first thought comes to mind is, £1.50 a card! If you have a Card Factory outlet in town, you are not going to make a lot at those prices. Even the likes of Clinton cards are suffering big time. In my two local towns Card Factory has queues around the store all the time and Clintons are empty

glitterball

Hi Chapeltwo welcome to Phoenix and MSE. I make sure I have a sign that says £1.50 per card 10 for £12. I very occaisionally sell at £1.20 if someone dosent have the right money. I wouldnt do it routinely though you, are running a business and deserve to be paid for your efforts.

Rosemary_Jane

ex-dmp wrote: »

Had a quick look through this thread to find out about Phoenix, first thought comes to mind is, £1.50 a card! If you have a Card Factory outlet in town, you are not going to make a lot at those prices. Even the likes of Clinton cards are suffering big time. In my two local towns Card Factory has queues around the store all the time and Clintons are empty

Hi ex-dmp,

Phoenix cards are not about chasing those who want to buy the cheapest cards.

Clinton Cards are not suffering big time just because people can buy cheaper in Card Factory shops; they are suffering because people go in to buy one or two cards at a time, and they have overheads that are too big to sustain that. The cost of a member of staff to sell you that card possibly exceeds the profit margin, let alone paying them to stand around when no-one is buying.

I was sent a card last week, and after only a few days on the windowsill (not even a sunny one), I was amazed how much it had curled up, and it wasn't even a cheap one.

People will pay for quality, and the chance to browse a selection and have them delivered so they know they always have a suitable one available. My Mum won't, she likes cheap, so I didn't push it, but I have lots of customers who contact me with orders of up to £60 - regularly. If someone's not interested, keep looking and you will find people who are keen to buy and happy with the cards and the service you offer.

It does take time to build up a customer base though, so keep on going and come back for advice and reassurance. Don't worry if the thread is intermittent, traders are busy people, and turn up when they are notified by their email subscription, rather than posting frequently.

R

novagirl

Card factory also don't deliver to your door which is something that you can offer!

Little_Lou

Is it ok to sell Phoenix Cards at a Car Boot sale?

(I'd obviously advertise PT and set the stall up as if i were at a fundraising event)

Just wondered if its an acceptable selling strategy?

novagirl

You can do as long as you get permission of the organiser of the car boot sale..some don't allow the selling of new items.

charlie1973

can anyone advise me of the current postage charges from phoenix to the independent seller. I am slightly confused over what is what is the norm.

for info I am a newbee and currently have 9 orders, very little stock, the order comes to 101 cards in total. Id like to order them this week, and I know from a brochure drop i did over the weekend i have some more definates coming from them, but Im not collecting those until the end of this month, with my income from the 9 orders i want to add to my stock, ready for the school fair. can i justify ordering now, or do i wait? im realy confused over how i justify the postage costs.

Rosemary_Jane

charlie1973 wrote: »

can anyone advise me of the current postage charges from phoenix to the independent seller. I am slightly confused over what is what is the norm.

for info I am a newbee and currently have 9 orders, very little stock, the order comes to 101 cards in total. Id like to order them this week, and I know from a brochure drop i did over the weekend i have some more definates coming from them, but Im not collecting those until the end of this month, with my income from the 9 orders i want to add to my stock, ready for the school fair. can i justify ordering now, or do i wait? im realy confused over how i justify the postage costs.

Hi Charlie,

Welcome to Phoenix!
Frequency and cost of ordering are often taxing issues for new traders.

Firstly, is this your first order (apart from your business kit)? If so, it is post free if it is placed within the first 30 days of becoming a trader, so that'll solve that one.

Generally orders cost £4 plus VAT if the order is over 150BV (saleable stock before VAT), and £6 plus VAT for smaller orders.
There is a slower service for orders that total less than £30 I think it's £3, but may take 2 or 3 days longer to arrive. Remember that all costs should be noted as business expenses.

The next thing is to find local traders to you, so that if you have a small order which doesn't justify postage, then you can buy the card(s) at trader prices from another trader, and do them the same favour when necessary. Your sponsor, (if local) can help you here.

As regards catalogue drops, my experience is that you get more orders when you only leave the catalogue one or two nights, rather than a week or so, as in that case, people think, 'oh I'll do that later', and the catalogue gets put on the pile, and then given to you in a hurry unlooked-at when you collect them.

If you don't have a lot of stock at the school fair, make sure that you have a lot of catalogues or supplements ready to give out to people, and don't be disappointed if you don't sell a lot, you're there to get known.
It might be worth offering an incentive (and somewhere to sit down) for orders placed on the day - maybe a free jotter pad, a stationery pad,or a pack of 10 sheets from an organiser pad, if you want to encourage orders immediately; and make sure customers know about the lower prices when they order at least ten cards. You can also offer a £5 voucher for spending at their party for anyone who books a party on the day. (remind them that the date can be changed later if it turns out to be unsuitable).

Must dash, keep asking if any more questions,
Rosemary

pootleflump

Could those of you who leave baskets at schools & businesses please tell me how you take payment? I assume you use an honesty box for these? If so, what do you actually use as your box?? I was going to take a box of cards to school next week and cannot for the life of me think what to use as an honesty box.

Bargainloverbec

Just thought I'd bump this thread and see if there are any PTs still out there who want to share ideas?