Sell your Beaded Jewelry to Stores

Here is a question that I received about pricing items to sell to a store:

I have an opportunity to show some of my pieces to a retailer. She deals in what I would call the "higher end" of clothing and accessories and is located in a primarily tourist town. My question then is, how do I determine a price when selling direct. She has already told me to remember that she will have to "double" my price in order for her to make a profit. I understand the consigning arrangement (I have sold several pieces in a local store) and I believe I understand how to price for craft shows ( I will have my first booth in June ) but have no idea how much of a profit margin I should have when it comes to selling direct.

Answer:
When you sell to a retail store, the goal is to have your items sell through that store. Some stores double the price they buy items for and some triple the wholesale price. It is important to know what mark up the retail store is going to put on your items. The best thing to do is to work backwards from the price that your item should sell for in their store.

If your jewelry would sell for $100 in their store, and they are doubling the price of your item, then you would price your item at $50. If this gives you a markup that you can live with, and your items move through their store, then everyone is happy.

The most important factor is the price that the item will sell for. If the store buys from you and can't sell your pieces at the price that they have to mark them at, you will be making a one time only sale.

Let the store buyer help you determine the best retail price for their store and if you can make money at 50% of that price, then you have found the right price. As much as we would like to price things by a formula, pricing is more of an art than a science.

Be sure to check back with the store to see how things are selling and to show them new pieces. We always did a guarantee program with store that purchased from us. If they could not sell a piece, we would exchange it for something else. This makes it much easier for the store to purchase your items.