Teach Soap

Hi. I have the opportunity to put one of my soaps in a store. The owner wants to know a wholesale price, retail price, and minimum order. Any advice?

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My Soap Box, LLC
Dawn Dering

How much are you selling retail now? Are you paying yourself for your time? My minimum for small businesses is $100, otherwise it's $250. That does not include any special made labels or custom batches.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I typically charge $1/oz. so a 5 oz. bar is $5 plus shipping costs. This soap is a soap for a university so I have to pay a $50 university licensing fee. It will be sold in a University bookstore. The bar I make is typically 4.5 oz.

So, what would be a fair wholesale price?
Minimum order could be $100
Would you keep retail price at $1/oz.?

Thanks.

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My Soap Box, LLC
Dawn Dering

How long does it take you to make one bar? What is your cost making it? How many will you be making?

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

A marketing for idiots and dummies book I had said
30% off suggested retail for the retailers price,
10% more off of that for the wholesellers price,
5% more off of that for the marketer?

so if I suggest my bars are sold at $5.00, then I sell them to the store for $3.50
or to a wholeseller for $3.15

This information helped me have confidence when I went into the store and felt like I knew what I was talking about. Turns out the store owner had gripes because the other soapers didn't leave much room for profit. Some only offering $.50 per bar. As it evolves the store owner is going to clear out the whole inventory and possibly carry my bars exclusively. <big smile> I'm waiting for this to happen. (Only been about 2 weeks)

There are probably other methods out there. This is the only one I knew.

Thanks for the info. That is good to know and does help tremendously. I may not make a whole bunch of money but it's the exposure of my product/company that will be the biggest profit.

Next, I have to get my labels and shrink wrapping to look good. That's the hard part for me.

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My Soap Box, LLC
Dawn Dering

Congratulations! You have already been given good advice. I thought I would share my experience, too. My mom owned 3 retail gift and novelty stores for 20+ years, so I know the retailer's point of view. First, if you are a good soapmaker and an honest businessperson, then the retail shop owner is lucky to have you. Second, it will work nicely for you because once you sell to her in bulk, you are done. I have 4 children, so as much as I would like to stand and sell at shows and markets, it is not always possible. I personally don't have a minimum order, because it still is of benefit to me to sell perhaps $50 of soap. For example, the retailer knows I'm flexible and since my soap is of excellent and consistent quality, I know the retailer will come back and ask for more. This has been the case over and over again. I consented to sell $32 of soap to a local farm market co-op--still worth the time of 5 minutes to drop it off--and it flew off the shelves, so they are now a regular customer. Just some food for thought. Good luck!

I agree. My thoughts: it's easier for me to have 30 people selling my soap, then for me to be the only one selling it.