Keeping track of sales

[Former_Member]

Is it just me or is the whole 'keeping track of everything you sell' thing kind of confusing? I've put the month and year on the tags of what I've made but how do I track who my items have been sold to? If I should sell at a craft fair, would I write down the name and other info of everyone who has purchased or is there an easier way? I don't really work in 'batches'. If I run out of something I just go buy the small amount needed for finishing up.

[Former_Member]

This is confusing, there are many customers at shows that would not provide you with this info anyway... some people just won't.

Would love to know the answer too!

[FayeMaloneDesigns]

You do not need to keep track of your customers. You do write out a receipt at a craft show don't you?

You are not making durable goods eg Baby cribs and the like so you do not have to have a customer registry.

The tracking label is for the customer to identify the seller.

And you don't really need a batch unless you are making bunches of stuff. For example I generally only make 1-2 of an item. Maybe 5-6 at the max. I'm using all the same fabric, buttons, etc. Nothing has changed. But lets say you make 100 identical red bows. All you supplies are purchased at the same time, and the clips you are using are from the same order. Now a month later you get another order for 50 of the same red bows. You have to go buy all new supplies including hair clips. Guess what, you need a batch number, because you have changed supplies. especially the hair clips that you may have bought from a different vendor. Did you get a certificate for the clips? Cause you need one. Because you have made a material change in the supplies. Your first batch could be A, and your second batch could be B. So depending on what you are making , you may need batches.

[Former_Member]

O.k. the batch part of that makes sense. I purchased a large bag of safety eyes so all the toys I make with those eyes could be batch one and the next time I purchase can be batch B. I am relieved I don't have to keep a record of people I have sold to- sounds daunting. Thanks Beverly!

[FayeMaloneDesigns]

Just a heads up, I didn't read all the details of the recall, but Build a bear just recalled thousands of bears with safety eye problems.

[Former_Member]

Yikes! I'll have to look into that.

[Former_Member]

What if you use 100 clips of same batch but all different ribbon?

[FayeMaloneDesigns]

Then the finished product aren't identical therefore aren't the same batch. They need to be the same to be called a batch.

Think of a Mattel little red dump truck. Today they made 5000 dumptrucks with one run of all the plastic pours so everything is exactly the same on those 5000 dump trucks. Then they made 2000 green dump trucks. Are the same batch as the 5000 red ones? They look the same except they used green plastic for the cabs, so no they are a different batch.

Tomorrow they make another 5000 red dump trucks and they remixed all the plastics and put them into all the little parts of the machines and spit out those 5000 new red trucks. That is a seperate batch as they remixed the plastic. Something could be different in batch 2. Now they make 500 green trucks, but they used the parts made yesterday from the remains of the parts from the day before. They just didn't have time to put them together. Are they different from the first batch. Well not really. They are exactly the same componants. They can call it a different batch if they want to, but it could still be considered part of the first batch.

For us. let/s say you bought enough clips and ribbon to make those 100 red bows. But is takes you several days to assemble them. Are they the same batch? I would say yes, if you are putting them together in exactly the same manner. But lets say, you have a friend come in and you show her how to put some of them together for you, but she has never put together bows. I might assign a different batch number to the ones she put together. What if she didn't put as much glue, or the same number of sitches? Maybe that would be a quality difference. The way you decide is your own decision as to how you can identify each item and when how and with what it was made.

[Former_Member]

ok so if I make 5 bows same & not again, I dont need batch numbers? Some days I feel ok about all this & some days I lose it LOL

[FayeMaloneDesigns]

Sounds right to me. If it's all the same materials and they look the same.

Unless you've made 3 bows while you ware "3 sheets to the wind" as my grandmother would say. Then there could be a quality difference since those 3 have the bows upside down. LOL!

[Former_Member]

HAHA Thanks!!