Lesson's Learned

Today I had to make the sad decision to pull my stuff from a brick and mortar shop (B&M) It was my first experience having anything made by me in a shop and I was very flattered when the owner actually contacted ME about vending in her shop.

Her deal was that to have items in the shop was a flat fee of $30 and any sales of my items then go to me. So I paid to ship off the items requested along with the check for the first month's rent. They arrived with much excitement and were placed in the shop. I even got a photo of the items in the shop in a cute little nook.

All month I resisted the urge to ask how sales were going. So today the e-mail arrived letting me know that rent was due for the next month and that there have been no sales of my items.

It was a blow to say the least. While I wanted my stuff to succeed in this shop and that was going to take time, there was no way I could do it for $30 a month. So I have asked for the return of my items, which I will most likely have to pay for.

So what lessons are learned?

1. Keep the early dealings with B&M shops local.
2. Either have the items bought outright for wholesale or do a consignment.
3. Do NOT pay for shipping, that is the responsibility of the shop
4. Keep trying.

The last lesson is the most important. I about an hour I will be walking to a fabulous neighborhood shop that wants to carry some of my items. It will take time for my stuff to sell especially in this economy and this time of year. But I will not give up. I make cute, quality natural items and they will sell.

I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and dog gone it, people like me.