Help! How Much of a Discount Should I Offer?

[twinebindery]

I just had a customer inquire about my bucket list.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/102647245/bucket-list-pocket-journal

She wants pricing on 75-100. What should I do? I really want to make this sale.

~Eileen

[CopperLeafStudios]

sounds like a wholesale inquiry. Typical discount would be 50%.

[Rt9NJvintageFun]

First of all you need to calculate what you pay yourself per hour, how much time it takes to make each notebook , add in the supplies and what your profit needs to be on each notebook. I know it sounds like alot of numbers, but just take each one and figure out what price would be, that would be your wholesale price. Plus maybe a little extra $.

I strongly advise you to listen to the Etsy Success Lab, given by Megan and Tara, Pricing For Profit. This subject is covered from a to z.

Feel free to convo me and I will help you pull up the Lab, no problem.

Congrats and Good luck, (just don't give these away you need to make your profit to grow your business)

[papercraneheartshop]

congrats! it does sound like wholesale, but have they outright requested it as such? have they requested wholesale prices? if not, then 50% is a huge discount.

[Former_Member]

Wow, that's a big order. It depends on the cost of your materials and the time you will spend on making them. Make sure the price you offer her makes the order worth your time.

[Former_Member]

well, you have to figure, out how much you would save on shipping to me thats step one. so with shipping you want to figure how much it would actually cost you to send 75 to 100 all in one shipment vs shipping 1 - 100 times, (dont forget to figure in packing too) - pass those savings on. Next you need to figure, are you saving money by printing them in bulk? if so you can pass on those savings. Also, figure in listing this item 100 times, so there is $20 that you can pass on in savings. Figure how much time it cost you to list the item and how much you expect to be paid an hour, so if it takes you five min to post the item then based on 100, you are saving your self 8.3 hours of work, you may also pass on those savings. After all of that figure if you are willing to put out a few more extra % points....

[twinebindery]

I hand stitch my books one at a time, so I am trying to take into consideration my time and supplies.

Candy, if you would't mind sending me a link to that Lab, I would be so grateful!

I was thinking 20-25%, but I would hate to lose the sale.

[twinebindery]

I also print all of the pages in house.

[Former_Member]

Did your customer ask you for a discount? I think 20-25% is generous. You can't work for free. :)

[aubabi78]

I would say 10% 50% is WAYYY too much of a loss for you. I bet you would still make the sell taking 10% off!

[aubabi78]

BTW you have some super cute things! I just favored you for gift ideas for Christmas!

[twinebindery]

Aww, how sweet Aubrey! Thank you. You have some really nice things yourself!!

[Former_Member]

I also think that you should take into consideration how quickly they want it, if they want you to rush on it and you have to put in double time to get it out in time make sure to charge accordingly...

Make sure that you are being a sales woman, and point out why you are able to pass on the savings to them, what corners you can take and what corners you can not take, such a personally hand stitching each item, and explain to them how labor intensive your process is, make sure they see the value, and give 100% on your customer service and im sure that you will land the sale!

[twinebindery]

Thanks Gallo! I appreciate all of the smart advice. I never thought of passing on the savings for shipping or re-listing before. Makes sense!

[Former_Member]

I offer free shipping on bulk orders, and have never lost a sale. My profit margin is so thin, I can't afford to do much more than that. I ship priority (so my coasters don't end up with huge boxes), which means it is like getting a set of coasters or more free, depending on the order.

[MaryMorrisJewelry]

I like to offer free shipping as a discount. I wouldn't offer anymore than a 10% discount, 5% would even be better. All she can do is negotiate for a better rate. Also, get a deposit on an order this large. That is a lot of work if she backs out. Good Luck!

[Former_Member]

This depends on if they are buying as a wholesale order: just to clarify if these people are on the up-and-up you should ask for their wholesale liscense when conversing with the person; if they don;t have one I would be warry. It's possible the person just wants to order a bunch for gifts, which means a 5-15% discount should be sufficient. Personally, i would think your product should be priced in the $16 or $18 range, so you may want to reconsider your price after this transaction. In the mean time, if this is a wholesale order, you can start at a higher number (say, $7 per book) and go down from there. Most people will expect a 50% discount for retail, but with the ball in your court you can go higher than that and go down. You never know, they may be happy with the higher price.