How do I go about selling jewellery/crafts to local shops?

fullahmoolah

Hello, I'm a newbie to the forums, although not to the site, and I've a few ideas for selling handmade items in a local souvenir shop. But I've no idea how to go about it. Do you just walk in with the stuff and ask to speak to the manager and show them the stuff, do you make an appointment, how do you go about negotiating a price and so on - if anybody has any advice whatsoever, I'd be very grateful. Thank you!

LJM

i would go in and have a word with them they may be willing to take your items but you may find that you will not get any money until and item sells and then the shop will also take a percentage,dont know unless you ask though

jcr16

i used to do thsi loads.

what i did was my reasearch first going into the shop seeing what sort of stuff they sold, they i made jewellery suitable for their ranges. i then would take a selection with me and speak to the manger or owner, if they were avaible i would make an appointement of when to call. i also would visit 4 or 5 shops in the town and say i would only stock my items in one shop, so it would be first come first served. as it happend i did have one area where i had two shops, so i told both owners and agreed i woulnd't give them the same item's they were both happy as they wanted uniquness.

Most items i did on a sale or return. which meant if something wasn't selling i would exchange it. i generally went weekly to the shops to replenish the stock . this way it always kept my displays looking fresh and different.

I did have one shop who would buy my jewellery up front, she used to buy a months worth at a time, but i;d often be going out weekly with more stock. but we agreed at end of season what didn't sell i'd buy back.

I always felt it was important for the shop owner to feel comfortable with selling my stock knowing if it didn't sell they wouldn't loose out.

I found this method brillent, as i built a good relationship up with the sellers and year after year they would come back. quite often putting in design request.

AS for price i would say i want x amount what you sell i on it on for is up to you, some would make a 100 % some 50 %. i always offered a discount if say a bracelet was £2.00 each but order 20 from me, i'd sell them for £1.50 each.i was still making my mark up, but it also gave the shop owner more flexabilty.

fullahmoolah

LJM and jcr 16 thank you both very much for your help, I just wasn't sure if there was some kind of procedure to follow. I've hit "thanks" buttons under both your replies, I hope that's the right thing to do - still trying to find my feet in these forums!

Much obliged!

LJM

hi hope they have given you a few ideas, good idea to start getting friendly with shop keepers in your local area as word of mouth spreads fast too xx

All4ABargain

Thanks fullahmoolah for starting this thread - I'm wanting to do the same thing locally too. Thanks guys for your very helpful replies as I had no idea how to go about it either.
I'm currently looking for the most cost efficient sterling silver findings, chains and boxes to sell, anyone got any recommendations for websites? So far I like the look of https://www.palmermetals.co.uk for the SS findings & chains and http://www.boxdisplays.co.uk/inexpensive-plain-card-box-range-insert-option-65-c.asp for the boxes. Haven't tried either yet though - anyone else got any recommendations? Thanks!

LJM

i tend to dig around on ebay alot for my findings and beads etc

fullahmoolah

Hi All4A I've only ever looked for non-silver findings cos I'm really just tinkering around at the minute so sorry I can't help. I guess I would be trying Ebay as well, but if you do try Ebay, your seller might have a shop outside of Ebay. I was buying stuff from an Ebay seller then I noticed that she had stamped her invoice "save money, buy direct" and had put her website URL on it, and it's a little bit cheaper if you buy direct from her website. This is the first time I'd ever noticed this cos mostly I bin the invoices.

LJM

yes ive had a few of these and i sometimes get a discount maybe 10% of first order through their non ebay shop

All4ABargain

Thanks LJM & Fullahmoollah! So far I haven't been able to find the exact kind of sterling silver bail I need on ebay (but palmermetals do them), but I'll keep looking - you never know when somebody puts things up! I did have success with the boxes on ebay though - MUCH cheaper when postage costs are factored in - thanks for the tip about checking the invoices for websites - I'll definitely be doing that!! Getting excited at the thought of actually selling some stuff in shops! :j

susiecm3

I have heard pandahall mentioned a lot on jewellery forums, not used them myself but they seem popular