DSF

I am sorry to say that as retailers we are often our own worst enemies. We are often so keen to get business from our competitors that we set unrealistic prices and then we find that we cannot then increase them back up to realistic levels.

As has been said before how can you compete with eBay sellers that offer personalised mugs for just a few pounds each and carriage at below cost.

The trouble with this thread is it has set an idea into our minds that 1m of ribbon will probably only sell for a couple of pounds and that we will remember for the future.

So does anyone want to buy ribbon off me at £15 per metre (and who wants to sell it me for £1.50 per metre? lol)

and does anyone want a nice personalised mug at £10 (and I can buy them off eBay for £2.99)

Surely our skills and the quality of our merchandise deserves realistic prices.

WorthDoingRight;52053 wrote:I am sorry to say that as retailers we are often our own worst enemies. We are often so keen to get business from our competitors that we set unrealistic prices and then we find that we cannot then increase them back up to realistic levels.

As has been said before how can you compete with eBay sellers that offer personalised mugs for just a few pounds each and carriage at below cost.

The trouble with this thread is it has set an idea into our minds that 1m of ribbon will probably only sell for a couple of pounds and that we will remember for the future.

So does anyone want to buy ribbon off me at £15 per metre (and who wants to sell it me for £1.50 per metre? lol)

and does anyone want a nice personalised mug at £10 (and I can buy them off eBay for £2.99)

Surely our skills and the quality of our merchandise deserves realistic prices.

In over 40 years of being in retail, I have never worried about competitors prices. On ebay i have countless compition but i know my products are not A cheap chinese imports are B used by world champions and C quality. I sell 1 to the cheapie sellers ebays 50 and probably over the course of a month show far more profit for the fewer sales I make. I also have my own websites selling at same prices.

Worry about your marketing not your prices. Good marketing of quality product in the end will make you a far better income less work less hasstle and far less worries.

My twopeneth worth

This is an interesting thread for many reasons, not least those about price from Charlie.
At one level, we are suppliers of a product that comes from a 'magic' print technology that SOHO users don't have, and in this respect, a ribbon printer seems to fit the bill.
The important (but missing) detail is our chosen route to market.
While having a complain about bank service to my local bank manager, and while he was chewing fat waiting for the computer to say 'yes' I happened to do a bit of 'ad-lib'
I suggested that my 1 hour t-shirt shop had more in common with a sandwich shop than an online t-shirt printers!
The comment has given me lots to think about, but I maintain it is true. Our remit is all about just in time, customer response, on-demand, how you like it.
We only work face 2 face, and we can only work with the stock and resources we have or our client supplies - just like a sandwich bar!
Does printing ribbon fit your product mix?
If you have an online shop, collect a weeks worth of orders, and do the lot as a batch, snip em up and stuff envelopes, then a quid or two a m is probably ok.
If the hurse is parked outside, and the flies are hovering, then maybe you can charge £10 or £20 for a few m while they wait.

What other product/services are like this?

logobear;52083 wrote:This is an interesting thread for many reasons, not least those about price from Charlie.
At one level, we are suppliers of a product that comes from a 'magic' print technology that SOHO users don't have, and in this respect, a ribbon printer seems to fit the bill.
The important (but missing) detail is our chosen route to market.
While having a complain about bank service to my local bank manager, and while he was chewing fat waiting for the computer to say 'yes' I happened to do a bit of 'ad-lib'
I suggested that my 1 hour t-shirt shop had more in common with a sandwich shop than an online t-shirt printers!
The comment has given me lots to think about, but I maintain it is true. Our remit is all about just in time, customer response, on-demand, how you like it.
We only work face 2 face, and we can only work with the stock and resources we have or our client supplies - just like a sandwich bar!
Does printing ribbon fit your product mix?
If you have an online shop, collect a weeks worth of orders, and do the lot as a batch, snip em up and stuff envelopes, then a quid or two a m is probably ok.
If the hurse is parked outside, and the flies are hovering, then maybe you can charge £10 or £20 for a few m while they wait.

What other product/services are like this?

Likes the comparison with a sandwich bar.