Art Prints Selling Directly to Retail

Shop Talk
1

Hi all

Does anyone have any experience of selling directly to retail? Someone has suggested I do this but I am a little unsure wether this is a good direction to go? Also what typically is the pricing structure you would use? Do they buy the stock at wholesale prices or will they want to use sale or return?

Lots of questions but I would appreciate the help and your experiences.

Thank you x

2

I sell into retail and find it much easier than relying on fairs etc. Yes you have to give wholesale prices to allow them to mark up but it’s worth it for bigger orders. You need to work out minimum order levels and what they will probably sell for retail, then work back to get a price that you can charge. Most shops mark up by around 2.5 but this may vary for different products.

3

Thank you for the reply @Take2Bottles

I think this is a direction I would like to go in. I just need to work out the pricing structure. How many outlets do you sell to? and did you arrange appointments ahead or did you just turn up to your selected stores?

Thank for the assistance

4

Obviously my product is quite different to yours, but I would imagine the benefits and pitfalls would be the same.
Different places have different policies regarding wholesale or SOR, wholesale is great as long as you have priced your work well-as it is an outright sale like any other, personally (having seen the state some of my work has been returned in ) with a product like yours ,that could get easily shop soiled or damaged I probably would avoid SOR.
I currently supply 5 shops , 2 wholesale + 3 SOR. "
The 2 wholesale ones found me via here , the others are more local and saw my work at craft fairs.
If approaching somewhere new I think it is always best to arrange an appointment - as often the person in the shop is not responsible for buying, or the timing could be inconvenient for them to give you any attention.
Good luck.

5

I usually ring to make an appointment, although some I have called in with a few samples. Choose a quiet time though or it’s not very welcome! I can’t comment on SOR as haven’t tried it but I would get guarantees that the retailer covers theft or damage to stock. Good luck.