Would like some information on wholesaling my products

[igbabygirl]

I was a vendor at a local event a couple of weeks ago and a store owner approached me about purchasing my products wholesale for her store. I have never done wholesale and I so want to do this, but I'm not sure how to go about it. She called me today and said that she wanted to carry some of my products and wanted to know what I would charge. I've read where some will only do at least a $200 minimum. I'm not sure if her store is big enough to place that large of an order btw, her store is out of state. I'm also not sure what I should charge per item for my product. I live in a rural area and don't charge as much as I see others charge elsewhere. ie, I charge $4.50 - $6.50 a bar depending on the size and type of soap (luxury, larger bars, etc.) other products I charge about $1 an ounce. I don't how large of an order she wants to make yet and I don't want to lose the chance of selling wholesale by charging too much. I'm also not sure what else I may need to tell her or need to know. Can any of you help me out to give me an idea of what I should do. I would really appreciate it.

 

[judymoody]

I don't sell but I've seen the general rule of thumb that wholesale is half of retail. Ask for payment up front.

 

[wiseleyusedherbs]

I had two people approach me for wholesale. One bought my soap for how much I sell it for...$5 and the other took $4 a bar. They are small sales (around $80 at a time) but for me it's perfect right now.

 

[Lindy]

I do a minimum order of $200 and for that they get my product at 50% of retail, which still allows me 100% mark-up from cost.

Wholesale = cost x 2
Retail = wholesale x 2

 

[delicious]

Well, I've been contacting soapmakers to purchase wholesale in my store and I've seen prices from 1,65GBP (retail price 3,95GBP) to 3,4-3,8€ (with recommended retail price at 6,30-8,50€ :shock: ).
We didn't talk about minimum orders with the first one, I went upfront and told her our approximate needs and she didn't say anything to it, was probably good for her. I would recommend you just ask the lady what her needs would be, what quantity she thinks she will be selling monthly.
The second one said minimum order of 150€ and a minimum of 8 soaps per variety. I've contacted a few others, but I don't remember what the offer was... they weren't interesting for other reasons.
To what I know, generally there isn't a very large minimum order, it's more of a minimum per variety/item.

Again, if you don't want to scare her off, start by asking her what she has in mind. In buisiness, we always try to figure out what the other wants before. That lets you keep all the cards.
If you know what she has in mind, you can set your minimum to her reach.
You could be suprised at how little she wants, then you can say that it would be a minimum per variety (say 4-6?) or a minimum of soaps (20-30?).
Or you could be suprised at how much she wants, then you'll get by and not even have to set any minimum order (I would nevertheless give her a minimum per variety, it simplifies things, but it's as you wish).

ETA: Plus, you can do staircase prices: for a minimum of such and such, you set your price at 70% retail price, for larger quantities it could be 60% retail price and for even larger quantities it could be 50% retail price. (You can tell her that you would have to know how much she's thinking of buying in order for you to make an individual quote, that's what everyone says.)

Also, if she's out of state, will she come and pick up your products or do you have to send them? Ie: will there be any shipping costs? I would say that she should cover them if there are any.

 

[Tabitha]

Shop buyers know wholesale is 50% off in the US. That is the standard. When you go to a world trade center (or any other showroom), 99.99% of vendors there are seling their wares at 50% off retail. Books may be 60% off while perishables have a slightly different rate due to the persihable nature & the waste. The minimum purchase is entirely up to you. If you want to set a $100 minimum that is your choice, it's your business. Maybe you even want to offer a starter pack, 6 bars of each of your top 6 selling soap, $36.00 bars x your wholesale price of $2.50 (or whatever) per bar = $90.00.

 

[turbo]

A large part of the idea of buying wholesale is purchasing in some quanitity. A larger quantity should result in better pricing. For example 1-4 bars $5.00 5 bars $ each = $20 ( both retail quantities). 50 bars $3.00 each and 100 bars $2.50 each. Rember you have the product and they want it. you do set the rules. be reasonable and willing to negotiate. Above all do not give the product away too cheaply. your wholesale price will to some point determine the value in the retail customer's mind.

In business there is a curve where as price goes up sales go up untill it reaches a peak then they go down. The goal is to set the retail price just below the peak and to the right so a few sales are missed but at the highest price possible

Mike.

 

[igbabygirl]

I want to thank each and every one of you for your input and suggestions. I didn't give her a minimum dollar amount, as I learned that she is opening a store and I didn't want to intimidate her if she was not planning on a very large order. I sent her a list at 50% retail as u suggested. I am waiting on her order now as she said she was definitely ordering. Although she is out of state,she is close enough that we can meet to get he order. I will keep .you updated. I had made it my mission to work harder at getting my name out there and grow. It is a lot of hard work and sometimes discouraging but I am not giving up and hope one day i will be able to do this full-time. Again., thank you all. I have learned so much from being on this forum and I appreciate your wisdom and openess and knowledge.

In-Dea

 

[BBrandDesign]

As we all are that to promote our brand the first and the foremost thing is to have good packaging criteria on a product as much attractive the product packaging will look the much more promotion a brand will have.

 

[Lotsofsuds]

I was wondering how your sales worked out with the wholesale? I see you lasted posted in June so thought maybe you would have a update for us??