kidlizard Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 Al, I was clicking around on your site, and man you have really got it going on!!! Cudos to your selection and colors!! Its obvious that you have been doing this for a long time. But enough kissing butt What I want to know is do you keep an inventory for all those styles and colors, or is it just on a per order basis? We try to keep a small stock, but we are going to increase our lineup this year with colors and styles, but I dont know how we can do it. Thanks Al, Anyone else who tries selling thier stuff, do you keep a stock on hand? Just want to know what everyone else does. Thanks John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 Hi John, Thanks for the cudos. My biggest problem is having too much of a color list, but I'm a firm believer in color patterns. Having said that, it's pretty hard to keep too much in stock. I have a couple thousand baits on the wall right now in some of my more popular baits and colors, but overall it's pretty much on a "per order" basis. It's really hard to guess which will be the next "hottest" bait. The only thing I can recommend is make sure you keep a bunch of baits in stock if you're running a special on a particular one. For example, if you offer a deal on your huffer, be prepared to sell 'em fast! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRPLASTICS Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 Todays hot color may not be hot tomorrow, stock only the bread and butter colors, the ones that will sell day in and day out. Its nice to have a menu of hundreds of colors but you have to let possible vendors or customers know that custom colors are poured on an as ordered basis. They usually do not have a problem with that. As you know colors are infinite. Try to always deliver on time and let customers know if you are running late. I have had some issues where I was late on an Ebay order, due to stores putting in a rush order, which always take priority. I have almost stopped all ebay stuff because potential bid winners want baits for dirt cheap, and I rarley make profit on that stuff example, 50 baits ebay for 5-6 dollars or 5 ten packs to a store for 10-15 dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Splash Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 Ebay can be a fickle friend when it comes to selling tackle. Have you seen how many pages of tackle are on there every day? On the other hand It is a great way to get your name in front of many customers. I just ran across Al's stuff the other day... wow! In fact, I'm sure I've seen kidlizzard's baits, and SR plastics as well, so if it isnt a good idea for sales, ebay is definately good advertising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 You are so right Big Splash. I have considered many many many many times to end ebay sales, but I'm still on there and probably will be for God knows how long. The reason is simple: it draws customers to your website and/or other product line. I can't count the number of times a person buys a pack of baits on ebay (usually dirt cheap like Scot said), and order other products from my website. You may sacrifice on a pack or two, but you have that chance of obtaining a lifelong customer. A good rule of thumb is to never consider ebay as income, especially when selling custom tackle like most of us do. Simply use ebay as a hobby or an alternate form of advertisement, and list items that are already made and ready to be shipped. That way you avoid the chance of having an upset customer due to slow shipping. Try to make it fun and everybody wins. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubeman Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 Humm...learn something new everyday on this site...thanks fellas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidlizard Posted September 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 Thanks for the replys guys. I kind of figured thats what most of you would say. We try to stock the everyday colors, and I guess all the new colors we offer will be on a per order basis. I have not tried the ebay thing yet, but we have talked about it. Seems like most people benefit from the return customers. The way I look at it, lots of people give out free samples for advertisment. At least ebay gets your costs covered in most cases. Thanks again John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
