Advice on bulk orders

[dj_doubler]

Dont get me wrong I fully understand where John is coming from... as mentioned this is my first order so want to "test the water" I have explained to them already for this batch this is what the cost will be... I can put the price up slightly next time... I said this is a "promotional offer" Im sure when they see the quality they will be happy to pay the little extra...

Anthony

[Lee]

Good thinking batman! I wish you luck, it would be great to bag this order! Fingers crossed!

[mrs maggot]

nope you wont be able to "put the price up" once they have seen the quality of the order - they will expect you to put the price down, or keep it the same, have a look at ebay 100 mugs is still £3 a mug. i have recently done 75 mugs at £3.75 each - no postage the order was collected - a simple logo not a full photo. to go under £3 a mug imho is just plain daft - and will not give you the business reputation you might be looking for. with john all the way on this

[John G]

Well, I've had a night to sleep on this and I'm still in the same opinion. You're ranking yourself in the same league as the ebay sellers that are selling full wrap mugs, delivered, for just over £4.00. It was only the other day that people on here where calling these cheap ebay sellers but now everyone is agreeing with it. Nothing wrong with selling on ebay but its the prices people are willing to go down too. Crazy

Once word of mouth goes round, yes, you'll be busy - a busy fool, as you haven't thought about the future, depreciation, and especially your taxes that you should be paying as this is extra income on top of your allowance if you're employed.

Anybody that wants to start a new business should always work out the costs involved and not sell themselves short. If you're going to make this into a business I wish you every success but at those prices you'll be very busy, have a high T/O but very little profit to speak about.

Cheers John

[Lee]

turnover is vanity, profit is sanity.....!

(yes, I watch dragons den!)

[Kaz]

No point in turnover if no profit in it for you.

And I agree with John aswell

[Andrew]

All depends what market you are aiming at as to which approach will suit. Doing mainly singles and very small runs then you obviously need to be making a decent profit per mug. Doing runs of 50/100 plus is a different kettle of fish.

[AdamB]

I can see both sides of the fence here, but I agree with JohnG.

Anthony is in a position that he wants to build some kind of business up and be recognised, and getting large orders like this can only lead onto larger things and each item goes to an individual that could bring in more business.

However, if you sell yourself off to cheaply you have to realise that the one purchasing items from you doesn't know you from Adam ('scuse the pun). So 'too cheap' could be seen as 'cheap goods' in their eyes when the actual fact of the matter is that you are providing quality goods at an affordable price to get repeat business.

What 'I' would do in your position is work out a base price for mugs in 10's - 25's - 50's - 100's etc giving a price for each that you would like to sell and would be your prices if you had been going for a number of years. Then, if you can afford it you could throw in a special promo - say 10/15% off that price as a one off, making sure that the customer knows the exact price for repeat business.

Yes, if you get repeat business then they will try and get it as cheap as the first deal but you need to stick by your guns and hopefully, the quality of your first order won't need any type of discount.

And also, please remember that a large number of people are trying to make a living from this type of business - and 99% of those are using the right gear (pukka inks, supported systems etc) so if you're not using the pukka stuff, and after some pocket money, great - but remember, without the big boys a 'hobby' of making a few mugs for mates would soon be beyond the budget of being a 'hobby'.

My thoughts entirely

[accdave]

And also, please remember that a large number of people are trying to make a living from this type of business - and 99% of those are using the right gear (pukka inks, supported systems etc) so if you're not using the pukka stuff, and after some pocket money, great - but remember, without the big boys a 'hobby' of making a few mugs for mates would soon be beyond the budget of being a 'hobby'.

My thoughts entirely

They aren't your thoughts entirely, I share the same view. In my opinion the sooner it becomes too expensive for hobbyists the better, but then again with a family of five to support I guess I'm bound to say that

[dj_doubler]

Hi all,

I do agree with parts of the feedback... I understand where everyone is coming from... But just to let you know where I am (excuse the Dragon Den) I have decided and going in with £3 per unit as "first time order" - customer fully aware about this "offer" (if they order again happy days if not im not going to loose sleep)

@AdamB - I am using supported inks etc... all package bought from BMS not cheap ink or mug press..

This order sprung out of nowhere... so cought me slightly on the hop.. hence why I asked for advice, I am currently working out how much I need to be charging to cover cost's etc... again you guys have given me alot to think about...

Thanks all again for all your comments and advice... Ill keep you posted and let you know what happens

Anthony