Handmade bead wholesaling - opinions needed please

This is an incredibly good point. I wouldn't give a wholesale break for items I've already put on my site; it doesn't make sense since I've already gone through the added labor of retailing them. However, if someone looked at my site and said "I want 100 of these", I could give them a discount because I wouldn't have to photograph, measure, describe, and upload each one.

-Kalera

T> >

That's very true. I understand that aspect, certainly. However, I still don't think I could do it just because making so many of the same thing is just not something I can do and stay sane. Plus, I have already put some of the retailing in - doing the website, snapping pictures for the gallery, the mailing list/newsletter, etc. I think wholesaling fits certain types of things and people. If a lampworker doesn't mind making many of one kind of thing, or the customer doesn't mind getting whatever beads a lampworker or jewelry designer decides to make sight unseen, I can understand that. I can also see giving a larger discount to someone who is going to commit to buying a lot at one time. And by a lot, I mean several large sets of beads. I have given larger discounts for that.

Kalera mentioned wholesaling "100 of these". But why would it have to be multiples of the same thing? If I were a lampworker, I think all I'd promise is "100 beads in these colors, or sizes or styles". Like when Tink "hires herself out" for a day.

With your beautiful lime and aqua beads, Kandice, I could imagine asking for

100 beads in those colors with 5 focals around 12mm, 15 around 10mm, 50 accents around 8mm, and 30 spacers. With all clear glass, probably Moretti. 25% flowers with no more than half daisies, 25% scrolls, 25% plain, 25% anything you want to make. Your discretion. I'll buy all of the 100 you make, and what would it cost? And I would probably expect a price break if I did that. (What the break would be, would partly depend on your specific price structure.)

I guess I would call this wholesaling, too.

Tina

I don't think I would give more than 30% off, and it would have to be a pretty large order, for that matter... and I've considered how to deal with the boredom factor, which is a real issue. I think that I could do it by essentially making ten of the beads at every torching session as a "warm up". I often make stringer or work on a floral technique or something else of that sort while I wait for inspiration to strike anyway, so making ten matching beads per session as part of a production run could fit into my routine if I look at it that way.

Making the same bead all day would drive me nuts.

-Kalera

Kandice Seeber wrote:

multiples of the same thing? If I were a lampworker, I think all I'd promise is "100 beads in these colors, or sizes or styles". Like when Tink "hires herself out" for a day.<

All of my wholesale orders have been for a variety of beads, not for multiples of the same thing. I think the most I've done was 4 of each of 10 colors of flutter. That was kind of fun, because I didn't have to stop and think "what do I have to do today?" I had two days of knowing exactly what I needed to do, grooving on technique, and just getting into working with the colors. The order came pretty early in my flutter days and I still credit those days with really getting my act together in using dichro.

I think I *could* make 100 of the same bead, but it would have to be over a period of 2 weeks or so, so I could have other beads to do, as well.

Hmmm - I could do that. Retail for that would roughly be about $550 - $650 (I would really have to sit and calculate to get a more accurate figure for you - this is just off the top of my head). I could give a 30% off discount on something like that. But you would have to agree to buy the 100 as they turned out (of course, no flaws - I only sell my best work no matter what), and I would ask for a 50% deposit.

The set that's up on ebay - the aqua and lime - retails for $200. There are

23 beads there. They are more complex than what you're asking for though. I only have one question - what do you mean by "no more than half daisies"? What would the other half be? I usually only do daisies. I would not be able to do any other type of flower as production work for wholesale because I haven't developed any other floral technique to the skill level I need to be at to be able to make them quickly enough for wholesaling.

Other than that, I have done this type of thing a couple of times before, and it worked out well. I never really thought of this as wholesaling - maybe somewhere in between. For some people 30% would not be enough of a discount, but for me, this is likely as low as I will ever go. Of course, I am saying all this in public, so I will honor this for anyone who's serious about it. I am about ten days to two weeks backed up with orders, though, so there would be a waiting period. Should I change this to an AD?

A lot of folks assume that wholesale means selling mass quantities of something for 50% of its retail price. Not so. It just means selling to a retailer instead of a consumer. The discount really has nothing to do with the definition. When you wholesale at 50% of the retail price, it's called keystoning.

Tink

I would too Tina. I don't think it has to be all the same item duplicated over and over again. That is the charm and uniqueness of a handmade lampwork bead.

I do buy from many lampworkers to supply my store. Most have a minimum dollar amount that I need to reach. I either see them at a show, or they ship me a box of stuff to choose from. (the latter being the most dangerous because I end up keeping way more than I should =o).

It is my job to research whether a product will sell well for me or not. If I get stuck with a pile of beads because they did not appeal to my customers or were too expensive to resell, or whatever, that is on me. All sales are final, with the exception of a flaw.

With the exception of a few artists who are willing to replicate certain styles of beads, the majority of what I carry in lampwork is one of a kind.

Beki

Actually, Kandice, that order is still in the stage of wish list. It's what I'd wish to do but I can't afford it right now. I just combined my wants with a question about wholesaling.

My descriptions in the wish order might have been off, and maybe something else you do reminds me of florals that aren't daisies. What, you expect me to know what I mean? I dure love that set.

But yes, I would think a wholesale order would be, tell a beadworker what I want, letting the beadworker interpret the order and agreeing to buy the full set, and getting a discount for it. And I think if someone wants the exact same bead in multiples they should get the beads from a production company -- like the cottage industries in other countries that have several employees/family members to work on it.

Tina

50 - 60% No Way, Most of the work is in the production Taking pictures and writing ads although time consuming is not worth a 60% loss in sales, I would not set a discount price, evaluate each project and decide what you feel would be fare, if the buyer agrees great if not walk away

We have done projects of 100 - 300 beads and I can say personally *It sucks* for us it is not the same as creating sets for Ebay where as you get to experiment with colors and designs, that's what makes it fun and interesting

The only special orders we will conceder and do are copies of beads we have already made and even then we ask for artistic freedom We have had lots of customers ask us to reproduce work of other Lampwork artists and the answer is always NO! at that point we steer them towards something similar that we have already created

Do not take on any project that you will not enjoy doing or it will not be your best work and take twice as long

I do give 50% for stock on hand with a minimum order. But I don't take special orders. And I won't repeat myself unless I feel like it. Yes, this is a business to me. But I know my boundaries and limits, and repetition spells doom to me. As does custom work.

Even a small set of relatively simple custom spacers makes me catatonic. There's at least one person in this group who can attest to that. LOL! (You know who you are!)

Tink

I think of wholesale as 50% off because, as Tink mentioned, most retailers "keystone" the things they buy at wholesale. In other words they have to think the beads they buy will retail at twice what they pay for them.

This is why I think of all my prices as wholesale. If I sell it to an individual I sell it at wholesale price. Or I could double that amount and give 20% to 40% off retail to someone who buys it from me. For if they bought it in a shop it would be twice what I sell it for.

Tina

I was just using that as an example... it wouldn't literally have to be

100 of the same bead! Even if it were, say, ten each of ten different syles, since I wouldn't have to photograph, measure, describe, and post them, I'd probably be saving enough to pass it on. If *I* had the freedom to pick the styles, I'd make 100 different beads if they wanted! OTOH, no way would I give a wholesale discount if someone asked me to reproduce one each of all the ebads in my gallery, LOL! I just did a custom order like that, and I loved doing it, but it took me several tries to reproduce some of them. With a matched set that's no biggie, because I end up with a couple false starts for the giveaway bin and once I hit it, I'm off and running. When I'm doing one-of-each it ends up being as many failures as successes, effectively doubling my overhead.

Some styles I can reproduce instantly with no false starts, but there are enough that I have to reverse engineer that a large order with just a few each of specific styles is in no way cost-effective enough for me to offer a discount. Of course, a lot of that is because many of my styles rely on reactions between two or more components; glass, silver, copper, layers of frit, etc. and I may always remember what the ingredients are, but seemingly trivial details such as in what order they are added can make all the difference.

-Kalera

Christ> Kalera mentioned wholesaling "100 of these". But why would it have to be

I figured you were speaking of 100 individual beads. And individual beads will simply not be all the same anyway. So I just said the obvious in case it was misunderstood.

Tina