Monday, April 28, 2008

Consignment Attempts


Well, this weekend, like I said in my post on Saturday, I brought some of the Katelynjane bags to a local store. As soon as I had finished ironing them, attaching tags, and worked up the gutz to actually go, I drove down, took a deep breath and asked for the owner.

To make a long story short, she said that she normally doesn't take crafts that she tries to stick with vintage products and wholesale items from larger companies. Another point she made was that she has tried to sell bags before but they haven't moved fast at all. She said to let her think about it and to call her early this week...so we'll see what she says then, but I'm not too hopeful.

That's what I get for living in a small town (: There's one more store that I could try, but I'm not sure if I'd want to sell my bags there, so we'll see.

Drag drag drag. I was really hoping the first store was going to take some of my bags!

Oh well, next goal!

Thanks for all your best wishes for this attempt though! It was really encouraging!!

I'll write more later...after I have my coffee (: Hope everyone had a great weekend!

2 comments:

Tara Bren said...

Congrats on gathering the nerve to make the attempt! That is a success in itself.

As a resale and consignment store owner, I am approached often about hand crafted products to sell on consignment and I carry several different products that are made my local and not-so-local artisans.

First off, don't give up. Just because that one store isn't into your bags doesn't mean the next store won't be...and you don't have to limit yourself to local stores. Check out this link www.howtoconsign.com for a list of resale and consignment stores across the US and Canada, often with links to their website from which you can email them, send pictures, and your pitch.

Second, the larger inventory you have, the more likely a store will pick up your product. It's better looking to customers to see a display of 15 handmade bags than a display with 3 bags. The larger display will sell more faster (and need to be replenished). If you can also show the store owner that you have other inventory that you haven't brough it (pictures), they will feel more comfortable that you will be able to replenish the displays as your bags are sold.

Best of luck,
Tara
http://www.bornagainresale.net

katelynjane said...

Wow! Thanks for that amazing advice!! I really appreciate it Tara (: I'll definately take what you've said and apply it! And I'll be checking that web site out. Being in a small town sure limits the amount of stores that would be willing to take my items. It'd be great to reach out to other communities! Thanks again!