Large order?

[mowerman1193]

How do you all handle large orders as far as bidding of the job etc? I had someone contact me through my etsy store wanting 6-8 dozen 3-4 piece stand-up puzzles like the giraffe ones I have and other shapes like tree, dogs, cats, star, moon, etc etc.. He wants no finish on them just sanded. He claims to make bird houses and sells at farmers markets and would like to ad the puzzles to his table..


Most all my puzzles I have I made from scraps that normally would have been tossed..So I have no idea as for how much wood I would be needing for this if I was to get the order.. I am thinking the fellow thinks maybe he would get a discount for a larger order but I still make these one by one whether he orders one or 5000, LOL..I am thinking $4-5 ea.

I am not sure how to handle this..Wouldn't mind the work but on the other hand I am not too crazy on making the stand-up puzzles..6-8 dozen is a lot of puzzles ( for me anyway, LOL)

Any suggestions? Short of being paid at least half in advance, LOL That would be a lot of puzzles for me to have if he was to stiff me on the deal, LOL

Kevin

[wood-n-things]

Be certain you do get paid in advance as most of those offers as far as I have encountered are scams.
How much are you selling those puzzles per/each now?
Will he want them all at one time?
Is he prepared to pay the shipping?
I would not discount them too deeply, perhaps 25-30%.

Just my 2 cents.

Keep us informed.

[KTravis]

Hey Kevin that's a nice potential order. Mike is right on target ( as per Usual ).

I would add to consider the wood you will use and its cost per board foot. Unless it's cheap, your price point is probably to low. My recommendation would be to estimate how many you can cut per hour including the prep work. Depending on the wood probably 2 to 4 puzzles. Then decide what you want per hour for labor and add wood cost. I would figure 3 puzzles a board foot.That should keep you reasonable without running the risk of shorting yourself. Throw in a few extra $$$'s for pattern print outs, spray adhesive, sandpaper, blades, etc. Definitely get full payment before shipping. I would settle for half up front. Then you can email him a picture of the finished puzzles when your done and get shipping rates to add to the remaining balance.

Hope it goes well!

(edit) Upon rereading your post I realized I originally missed the part about the puzzles only being 3or 4 pieces. I'm sure your output will be much higher then 2 to 4 per hour.

[Mayo Farmer]

Hi Kev

I'm like a moth to the light on all of these "what to charge" threads, and there have been a few. Some good advice above.

I liked your site but did I read right that you charge 4USD for the giraffe on the site? So could you really stick this guy with a 4-5USD?

I think it would inform your price calculations to know what sort of distribution of your puzzle types he wants and also how many at one time and over what timescale?

Good luck and do keep us informed.

[NC Scroller]

For a large order I think you need to account for all costs. I know that the puzzles are small but I would think you would get no more them 2 per bdf. Sure you might get another one or to by "playing with pattern alignment' but that will add to your time. I would also account for blades assuming one blade per puzzle. Then you need to add shipping and packaging cost. Finally your time. Remember when working this large order it might be the only work coming from your shop for weeks or months. Will your other customers wait?

[mowerman1193]

Hi Kev

I liked your site but did I read right that you charge 4USD for the giraffe on the site? So could you really stick this guy with a 4-5USD?

You should be careful how you word your opinions. I take things with stride so no issues here from me...but some people would be very offended by a comment like this..

That being said...Yes I do charge $4 for that puzzle..have not sold one either so that tells me something..Don't make anymore, LOL..

Seriously there is a lot of time involved in doing online sales that to me doesn't make it profitable to sell low cost items..On top of my cutting and materials expence I have listing fees, final value fees and paypal fees. That takes my price down to about 3.20 for the puzzle..Not to mention the time it takes to take pictures of the items and creating the listing etc etc..Then take the time to package items print shipping lables etc etc..it all ads up and to you $4 is a good profit..To me I am giving it away at that price..

Now if I had a way to pump these out of a machine and take a general photo ( rather than actual photos ). and list 50 -100 puzzles in one listing and sell them for a 1.00 like china does... LOL

Kevin

[wood-n-things]

Kevin,
I'm sure that mayo farmer meant nothing derogatory by his remark, I'm thinking he was saying how can you charge full your retail to a wholesale customer. I looked at your site and your prices are in my opinion very low as well. If it were me I might consider raising your prices on the site by at least double. Just my opinion...

[Mayo Farmer]

Kevin

Sorry if I caused any offence I did not mean to.

What I perhaps didn't ask very well was if it cost $4 retail, how can it be $4-$5 wholesale.

I wasn't suggesting that price was high or low.

[mowerman1193]

No offence taken, I do agree with what you mean, however yes I can't make those puzzles any cheaper for the guy..I am not worried about getting the job one way or the other as I have work to do..If I even bid on the job at all..Not sure I am ready to take on that many puzzles after the busy holidays I had..May ask him how soon he needs them, LOL

BTW, Thanks Mike for your clarification of my price's..I may have to raise some of them as I even have customers saying great prices....

Kevin

[Forester21]

What kind of wood does he want the puzzles made of?
Even though you now use "scrap" wood to make them, you should figure your prices by what it would cost you to make them by purchasing the wood.

Somewhere I read to price stand up puzzles by the piece - $5 + $1 a piece. So a 3 piece puzzle would sell for $8. (retail). Wholesale price would be about 1/2 that or $4 Not sure if making them from oak at that price would give you any profit.

T

[mowerman1193]

What kind of wood does he want the puzzles made of?
Even though you now use "scrap" wood to make them, you should figure your prices by what it would cost you to make them by purchasing the wood.

Somewhere I read to price stand up puzzles by the piece - $5 + $1 a piece. So a 3 piece puzzle would sell for $8. (retail). Wholesale price would be about 1/2 that or $4 Not sure if making them from oak at that price would give you any profit.

T

You make a good point about charging for the wood..I get a lot of pine scraps from the neighbor who has a pallet repair shop. He gives me more boards than I could use. But I am not to king on cutting pine..I use it from time to time..He sets it out for me and if I don't take it he puts it in his big outside wood burner after a few days..

I have always just passed on the savings of my free wood to the customers..But I need to stop with that because one day someone will say to me they bought something at one price a couple weeks ago and now its double the cost, LOL...I think from now on I am just going to charge for the wood that is used and not by what I paid for it..

Thanks,
Kevin

[pokeberry mary]

Just a comment..I had a whole sale order that was over 100 pieces and no finish in my etsy shop. I charged a little more than 1/2 price. It was a big mistake for me personally. I'm not geared up for that much cutting and I am a small business--so long story short--I got some custom orders at the same time for much pricier stuff and got the flu and nearly collapsed trying to finish it all. I just decided whole sale is for china. I'm not up to that kind of competing--I do things that are unique so I can charge more per item. A different approach, but much easier on me.

[JimSawyer]

In my own opinion..You're giving them away at that price...

I give myself $30 an hour. It takes me an average of 1/2 an hour to cut a standing puzzle.
So that makes $12.50 to $15 per piece....

....Just saying.....

[pokeberry mary]

Cutting is only part of the job..

I did time myself several times on my stuff. I'm not making $30 an hour for sure..but there is more than cutting time involved. You also sand, probably transfer a design once or twice, in my case once it is well sanded its also woodburned, painted, sealed and finished.. then packed and shipped, and I have to do my billing, taxes, purchas supplies and work on my marketing chores--and some $ for paypal and for etsy. So... wow--gotta get whatever I can for the actual pieces I sell to cover all that stuff and try to make a profit too.

[JohnB]

I can't figure out what is meant by "Wholesale" and "Retail" in our hobby.
As we make and sell the pieces, we are selling at "Wholesale" prices anyhow. If we made an item and sold it to another person who than resold it, they would be selling "Retail" and putting a mark-up on the pieces to get their pound of flesh.

My prices don't change, as I am already selling Wholesale. For a large order of the same type of item, I may reduce prices slightly as the time taken to finish is reduced slightly by doing them in bulk.

Just my 2 bobs worth