Lenox2k Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 I know a lot of you guys make soft bait both for your own use and to sell. When you are selling in bulk or by the package how do some of you determine your price, or a fair price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint308 Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 What does your material costs? What is your time worth? Somewhere around there you will find your pricing. I fought this battle not that long ago. If you try to undercut the mass, you will be out of business before you start. Saint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 You should investigate the market. Check to see what the others are selling similar/same baits for. You not only have to consider your costs; you have to consider the waste as well as your time.(no one works for nothing). www.novalures.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flabasspond Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 Let us not forget the MAIN reason most of us keep it a hobby. Do not forget to figure 20-25 % for TAXES, and all of the paperwork and related cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Sock Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 I have seen too many people who make their own baits and sell them, try selling them dirt cheap. They never figure in supplies properly or most importantly "time". A friend of mine did it, we calculated he was making about 1.28 per hour of pouring for every hour he poured or something close to that. I think a lot of guys don't figure in their time because they love doing it(pouring), me i'd rather be fishing than pouring anyday Anyway, you also have to factor in quality to your baits. there are quite a few that I have seen that I would never throw because they felt like rocks or the colors were horrible or the suppliers, salt, plastic and glitter they use were far inferior to what is available, so do your research first. This is anything but an easy business to make money in. you can do it if you do it right. Word of mouth is everything, send sombody a bag of rocks and you will never get another order, send them some really good baits, and they will tell others. IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 One thing I can add is invest heavily in molds. This will cut your production time WAY down. I don't care if you only offer one bait.......make sure you have plenty molds (cavities) in that one bait. I have seen many guys go on a mold craze, 'specially with all the high quality aluminum molds being made now. They buy one mold of everything from a vendor and immediately put those baits up for sale on their website. Now they've only got 2 cavities to work with. What happens when they get an order for 500 baits? They're working on that order FOREVER. One or two of those orders and pretty soon that manufacturer is turning down work. Bottom line is if you make a good bait, be prepared to sell it in high volumes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 You should investigate the market. Check to see what the others are selling similar/same baits for. Nova is 100% correct. why sell a bait for dollars less than the going rate? your only hunting yourself. if someone buys senkos for 7-9 bucks per pack you should sell them for 6-9 bucks per pack, anything less and your hurting yourself. now don't forget make sure your making money on them other wise your price will be higher. but thats not a bad thing cause your making a special color or something or your bait is unique in one way or another. too many people have the fasination/dream of being in a "bait shop" so they offer a price way way to low to get in the door. they work for nothing and some times cant even pay the expenses( dont forget to include the shipping of materials to you that all ad's up as well) remember you can always go down in price you can never go up in price. one other tidbit, people need to think about. lets say joe blow has his product in a store for 5 bucks a bag, the only way you can get into the store is if you drop yours to $4.00 per bag. so you drop your price to that. I bet you every dollar you make that the store owner/ or customer will sell you down the river for the next guy that sells his baits for $3.50 per bag. there is no such thing as loyalty when it comes to fishermen and saving 20 cents, if there is its very few and far between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Sock Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 both good points, multiple molds of the same design will definetly make it easier on you, especially if your using a microwave and working with flake that tends to bleed. selling baits dirt cheap just to undercut someone will only lead to minimal profits and unless wal-mart is knocking on your door to buy your baits( which they won't) you will soon find yourself losing the enjoyment you once had making baits for others in the first place. I don't think there are too many people who just woke up and said "hey, I want to manufaturer baits". Most likely it was a hobby born out of necessity, too many high price baits, not the colors you want etc etc. then when they realized that their baits catch fish just as good if not better, they decide everyone in the world would like some. hey everybody needs a dream, but if your gonna dream big, listen to what others are saying. It's a tough business but it can be done succesfully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenox2k Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 As always i have found a wealth of imformation here. Do soft baits have a shelf life before they go bad? And what is the best way to sore them? John Lenox2k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 I don't think there are too many people who just woke up and said "hey, I want to manufaturer baits". Most likely it was a hobby born out of necessity, too many high price baits, not the colors you want etc etc. then when they realized that their baits catch fish just as good if not better, they decide everyone in the world would like some. hey everybody needs a dream, but if your gonna dream big, listen to what others are saying. It's a tough business but it can be done succesfully I am betting one to 2 out of every 10 of my customers buy only to start a business, they never poured before. some are very succesfull at it. As always i have found a wealth of imformation here. Do soft baits have a shelf life before they go bad? And what is the best way to sore them?John Lenox2k Ive had worms sititng in worm box's for 4-5 years and they never turned color. how ever I dont use worm oil or scents, using worm oil or scents will reduce the shelf life big time( depending on the color in a few months) some scents will reduce the shelf life in 3-5 weeks. by reducing shelf life I am meaning change the color Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
