Diary of a Poor Person aged 46 1/2

fc123

macgirl wrote: »

I'd even go higher than that pricewise - have a wider pricing structure. Even stocking a few items you think are too expensive, might surprise you with sales (not everyone is as money conscious as us )
People like to buy something special as well as affordable for one-off / not on the high street purchases.

Then you become a destination for something different/special and customers will think it's more worthwhile buying the add-ons for a fiver for future presents, as well as making repeat purchases.

People are definitely hooked in with free P&P when spending over a certain amount - or 10% off offers. Boden are very good at this. Good luck!

The P+P thing is a tricky one on low cost items but I think if free p+p can be made from margin, it pays off as a first order may be low as people want to try you out....so seems a bit gutting 'losing' £2 from a £5 sale (and the cost price was £2) but 20% is still good even if you are charging VAT (as you will have the offset anyway).
You then gain from bulk purchases and higher priced items....so it should even out.

I am not a big fan of free gifts and 10% off etc but I trade in a different way as I create our product so can manage where it is sold etc...so don't ever get undercut.:) But I can see them being popular with gift purchasers as they get a freebie.
I guess you have to do the sums on the cost of the free gift against the cost of offering free P+P.


I would also consider getting in some branded goods (like Cath Kidston) if you can as, though they are pricier, they drive traffic from a brand search and enhance the value of the core range. They may not even sell that well and you take a hit but the gain is invisible on the other sales generated from the customer who likes brands but selects from non branded items (as good value).

Doing as many fairs and stalls as you can will get you traffic too from happy customers.

I trade with my home address (as studio in one of our houses until June when I rent a new studio in London) and I have no problem with people knowing my address as it is where I currently trade from .
I am not a fan of PO boxes either. A perm address (even a resi one) gives a feeling of stability.

I do get calls at midnight on things (esp recently with the celeb thing) and from people stuck on what size to order and it's just one of those things ...I even had people turn up at the house thinking it was our old shop to buy a dress but it was fine. They thought I was quite mad though as our Brighton rental house is a bit eccentric and very derelict.:o

Ads? I have no idea what they cost or if they work but an ad on mumsnet should bring in extra footfall.

Anyways...just writing what is in my head and PM'd you too.

mrscmr

ok im hearing everything u saying and working at top speed....

have about 20 pages to finish by morning! um will be very grim looking by then!

will update then...

@FC123 - thanks for ur pm etc etc etc etc etc! xx

fc123

Just thought...I am 47 in 2 weeks time...when do you hit it? New diary title.
Diary of a not so poor person aged 47.

fc123

mrscmr wrote: »

ok im hearing everything u saying and working at top speed....

have about 20 pages to finish by morning! um will be very grim looking by then!

will update then...

@FC123 - thanks for ur pm etc etc etc etc etc! xx

I was thinking about the difference when buying to sell online as opposed to Real life.
Our shop used to only sell 15% of my label and I bought in loads of stuff from brands, accessories, bags etc and bought based on the customer demo at the time of year ....summer would be visitors so we always had plenty of £5 and £10 accessories which were impulse buys..yet in the winter, I bought differently as more local trade and so on..

so thinking along these lines...........

.............with internet selling, I imagine you could end up selecting stuff that posts well (ie not breakable and lightweight) as you can make more on lightweight goods as post costs less ...so you end up not stocking heavy items (??).....it's quite interesting really.


On P+P we have started charging £8 for US and Europe post as it now costs us £9 odd to send but still free for UK. I sold a few things today with the £8 and no complaints yet....but I may go back down to £5.
It's a flat rate though so if they buy 3 items, it's still £8.

mrscmr

anyone awake?

probably just me then

mrscmr

off to bed now...

Happytogetdebtfree

Morning mrs c hope your ok and the sad face is just for the saddess of noboday been up :-) speak soon x

macgirl

Cath Kidston is a good shout if you can get it - will send a PM with some other info

mrscmr

how odd thought i had posted something - clearly not!

well 3.5 hrs sleep for me!

we have uploaded our first blog, added new lovely items and put on a couple of intro offers. we have had a very good friend put a link on their website and they are on TV today so hoping that we get some traffic as a result of their publicity!

omg i feel grim! onwards and upwards.. just tweeking a few things that i didnt do last night

have a great Friday all xx

mrscmr

ok well have uploaded about 5 times this morning...

@macgirl... thanks for ur pm and very interesting! xx

have had good sales today sooo... everyone who is sharing their thoughts I say thank you so much!

keep them coming!
x