In need of some advice... anyone at all?????

[crochet_queen_03]

Okay, some of you may remember alllllllll of those bears that I made back in April in hopes of selling them in the Festival... well. I think out of 20+ bears, I only sold 3 or 4 out of the bunch. They're in a store that one of my neighbor owns and they're not selling at all! My question is... would it be wrong of me to tell her that I'm going to take them out of her shop and put them up for sale online (in hopes that someone here may be interested.. ) ... I really need help in deciding this...

 

Oh, and HELLO! bytheway! lol... I've been off in la la land for the past month, I couldn't get into crocheting at all, I guess I got a bit burnt out on it but I'm starting back up again, slowly but surely.. it's killing my right thumb for some reason. Soooo... probably tomarrow.. the next day or something, I'm going to ask for "Baby Bear Pattern Testers" if you're interested, look for it in the Pattern Testing forum soon.

[birdlady1]

I've been in similar situations, much too often I'm sorry to say. When I didn't sell my bears (plush and mohair) at craft shows, I'd put them in a friend's store (actually several friends' stores) on consignment. When the craft shows rolled around again, I took them out of the friends' stores. It's strictly business and the friends should not (were not) be upset. After all, they (probably) would have charged a percentage if/when the bears sold.

 

You (and me) are in a very specialized market and you won't see impulse purchases. :shrugIt's not like we're selling $3 clay refrigerator magnets! That's why it takes longer to sell our pieces; it's not because we don't make wonderful bears!

[Lisaizme]

I have no experience from the seller side of things (other than unloading some things on eBay), but isn't summer traditionally a slow time for sales?

 

I don't know if I'd pull everything out of a bricks & mortar store with fall and christmas shopping right around the corner.

 

JMO YMMV

[crochet_queen_03]

Well that's what I had thought too, about Christmas coming up, but her store isn't exactly in a great location, not very much traffic in those parts of town... which I'm sure she's realizing herself at the moment. So I'm lost...

[mythunderbird]

what about taking half of the bears and try and sell them online or on etsy.com or e-bay.com, either one you might make what you want for them, then could try it both ways, just a thought, good luck too wish you would show us a a picture ,lol

[crochet_queen_03]

There ya go!

 

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b248/ChckLiz/Crochet/102_0899.jpg

[kisha29]

I don't think your friend would be upset about you pulling your bears out. It's business not personal.

[Melibean223]

wow your bears are amazing, I would agree with above and possibly only pull half out of her store and try to sell the other half online. it can never hurt to explore multiple things

[crochet_queen_03]

That is true and something else I had considered doing too. Hmm.. this is going to take some thinking lol

[CraftyShannon]

In addition to selling online, you might try finding another store if you think your friend's store isn't getting many customers. Just because they don't sell in one store, doesn't mean they won't sell in a better location. I'd try selling online and another store just to see which way works better. Your bears are good, so they should sell somewhere.

 

Now, as for your friend, she shouldn't be upset that you're pulling out. Yet, let's face it, people get emotional about friendships, so if she's not getting sales, there is a possiblity she might get upset. I've had friendships sour for a while or dissolve when business is involved. However, I wouldn't let that stop me from doing what was right for me. Tell her this is nothing personal and you don't want it to affect your friendship. Hopefully, she'll be understanding and it won't be a problem at all, because it really shouldn't be.

[Roli]

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for those bears of yours. I wouldn't worry too much about pulling half of them out of your friend's store. I had a shop for many years and the last thing I wanted was to have merchandise taking up space that doesn't sell! I wanted to use the space for something that DID sell. So maybe your friend will be relieved that she doesn't have to tell you to try to sell them someplace else.