Gibraltar trade show part 2

Ok, so show #2.  We had to move tables and it was just me and my mom moving each basket and crap to our new space.  Something cool we did though was got a banner made to put behind our booth and can be used for future trade shows.  Made one sale already, and its only Friday night. Hopefully tomorrow will make this worth it.  Here's a pic of our new booth:

Gibraltar trade show

So, im at the trade show, day 2, and it sucks.  sold 2 suckers at $1 a piece yesterday and today sold 2 more suckers and a small candy buck at $7.  Definitely thought there would be more foot traffic here but it is snowing a lot outside and people have been saying that the trade show next weekend usually does really well.  So, I have reserved two tables for next weekend to do this whole thing over again.  I feel really bummed out because i have put so much work into making these baskets and have barely sold anything.  Our table looks great and our inventory is pretty good compared to the other junk being sold here.  Here are some photos of our booth:

Let me elaborate on what i mean by "other junk being sold here."  There is a woman at the table next to me who makes lanyard keychains with people's names on them who is selling them like hot cakes, she already made back her money from the table reservation for the show ($75).  What kind of world are we living in?  what have we come to?

I was sooo excited for this show to finally make some money because the website and eBay were not doing great and now all i get is another let down.  I wanted some sort of sign that this new business (Sugar High) was a good idea and is worth pursuing to the end.  I want to open the store more than anything and am willing to do the work required to do so.

I would say at least i have my health, but i just had back surgery 2-3 weeks ago (my third one).

one more sale...

Sold one more basket on eBay - a Christmas hatbox, sold for $13.50.  No sales on the website yet, but I check google adwords and google analytics daily to see how many people have gone to the website and which products are being looked at.

On a separate note, I have reserved a table at the Gibraltar Holiday Trade Show to sell my baskets at and have been making Christmas baskets like crazy.  I've gotten a lot of baskets and Christmas decorations at Target and Joann Fabric at really good prices.  Here's one of my favorites that I made last week:

I want to sell them at the trade show, but am also posting them on my website and eBay for purchase.  The trade show isn't for another month or so, but I've been keeping very busy, which is good.

No More Sales ...

Well, I haven't had any more sales since that one on eBay.  And I've been adding to my inventory. I ended up buying the bulk candy I needed to make the Sugar High mix plus the decade boxes.  I was able to make special occasion baskets, another movie night basket, and a few more Christmas baskets.  Here's one of the special occasion baskets:

I think the added inventory makes the website look a bit more legit because there is way more to choose from than a few lunch box baskets that I started with.  On another note, I am trying to find out information to sell my baskets at a local farmer's market.  That would be pretty cool just to gain the exposure even if no one buys.  I should really try to find out information on other trade shows nearby-I haven't really thought about that because all my energy has gone into this website that hasn't made any sales.  Still waiting ...

Adding to the Inventory...

I decided I need more inventory.  I added 2 Christmas gifts and 1 additional gift basket.  I'm hoping to add even more when I can save enough money to make my own "Sugar High Mix" to put into bags and sell with mugs and tote bags from vandorgifts.com.  I'd also like to sell the decade boxes that my vendor sells.  I figure this will give potential customers a good price range from which to choose from.

 

I also signed up for Google AdWords to promote the website.  It's pretty easy to set up but can be pricey.  I'm paying per click of the website, so anytime someone clicks on the ad when it appears after someone Googles "retro candy basket" or something similar to that, I am charged a certain amount.  The amount is different every time the ad is displayed, but I was able to choose a maximum of $10 per day - I'll have to lower that value after a week or so since that is crazy expensive.  But, bottom line - it increases traffic to the store, especially considering the site does not show up on Google without the ad.

Website is Up

Well, the website is up and running - shop.emilyssuarhigh.com.  And I have inventory...exciting stuff. 6 different retro candy gift baskets and 4 retro tin lunboxes to choose from.  I also submitted the site to google, but apparently it could take up to 3 months to be approved or accepted or whatever, according to Go Daddy.  I purchased a search engine optimization package from them for the website, to get more traffic to the site, another monthly expense.  It took a while to figure out because there is some computer code stuff involved (meta tags, keywords, carrots, etc.) which I have no experience with.  I also submitted the site to yellowpages.com - www.yellowpages.com/ann-arbor-mi/mip/sugar-high-482007341?lid=482007341. 

I guess it's just a waiting game now...

I have Candy!

My credit application was accepted by the vendor I met at the Philly Candy Show and I placed an order for all the candy I need for the baskets, which was delivered today!  I had to order the Cracker Jacks from a different company, so I'm still waiting for that to be delivered.  I also need to purchase popcorn and pretzels for the movie theater basket which I think I'll buy at Costco.  YAYY CANDY!!!

Here's the plan - make the 80s baskets and tie-dye buckets this weekend, then make the 60s basket, Betty Boop basket, I Love Lucy basket, and movie theater basket after the Cracker Jacks are delivered, which is scheduled for Monday.  Then I need to take pictures of each of the baskets, erase the background and replace with white, then upload to Amazon and eBay.  The next step is to sell the baskets on my own website - www.emilyssugarhigh.com.  It will cost 24.99/month from GoDaddy with a 20% discount and you have to purchase 12 months at a time.  This will be approximately $240 to run the website for a year. 

Hopefully the website will do well and after I sell a good number of baskets I can expand my inventory to the items I found on Vandorgifts.com, which I already have an account with.  Vandor sells the Dr. Seuss items as well as Hello Kitty and The Beatles.  I'd like to make my own mix of retro candy to sell with the Vandor items.  The retro candy mix will cost about $225 and I have to make a minimum purchase of $250 with Vandor.  This comes to a total of $475 and then with the website fees it will be $715.  This will wipe out all my savings and I'll have to start from zero to save up for the store.

I Made A Sale!!!!

On eBay of all places!  whatever, super exciting stuff.  I never would have thought that someone would want to buy my gift baskets on eBay, which is why I hadn't posted them on there until last Thursday.  But I figured, why not?  they don't charge to list your product, only a nominal fee when you make a sale.  And 24-36 hours later, I sold the Movie Theater Gift Basket to a lady in Maryland.

She bought it on Saturday, and I FedEx-ed it on Monday morning.  I made sure to pack it really well, wrapping the entire thing in bubble wrap and then using plenty of Kraft paper to fill the empty space in the box.  I made sure to include a note that thanked her for her purchase (on the back of my business card).  I hope she writes a good review of the sale on my eBay profile.

Everyone seemed really excited for me, which made the whole thing feel pretty good, like I had accomplished something awesome.  Even though it's just a gift basket, it's really part of this new business which I feel like is a part of me.  So, if my business fails - I fail.  I feel like I'm really putting myself out there and risking a lot to start this business, so the sale of 1 gift basket really means a lot.

Retro Tie-dye Gift Basket

A new basket to add to the inventory and now selling on Amazon - the Retro Tie-dye Gift Basket:

 

 





Now I have 4 example baskets and am still waiting to hear back from the vendor about whether my application has been accepted.  I'm also sending an sample retro gift basket to a friend who just had surgery as a get well soon present.  I'm shipping it to her and will find out if my shipping method will work out.  I filled the bottom of the basket with Kraft paper, then wrapped the basket in bubble wrap, put it in the box, and filled the rest of the empty space in the box with Kraft paper.  We'll see if it get's there in one piece...

Selling on Amazon!

Finally selling on Amazon.com!!!  Now I can sell the example baskets I made and be able to sell the rest of my inventory when the rest of the candy is ordered.












http://www.amazon.com/Retro-Nostalgic-Gift-Basket-80s/dp/B00FD95H9W/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_tnr_1



How exciting! super stoked.  I think I will still sell on my own website as well to have another outlet to sell in and to boost the Sugar High brand.  I'll have to wait though until I have my inventory all set up to launch the website.  Hopefully I'll find out about my credit application from the vendor soon.

I have also been thinking about different shipping options - to make sure the gift basket gets there in one piece.  At first I was thinking packing peanuts, but that has turned out to be very expensive, I think I paid about $70 for 7 cubic feet, not knowing how many boxes that would fill.  I'm hoping it will fill 15-20 boxes, but we'll see.  I'm thinking I might, instead of packing peanuts, wrap the gift baskets in bubble wrap and then stuff the empty space in the box with craft paper/packing paper - I think this will be a lot cheaper and still hold everything in the basket together during shipping.  I also learned about Glue Dots to use instead of double-sided tape, apparently it will stick a lot better and stay.

Another trick is the gift basket shrink wrap system, checkout this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4WdRb6Eduk

This is kind of expensive though, for a 24" system, it is something like $350-$399.

Anyways, many things to think about in the gift basket making world.  Can't wait to sell more on Amazon!!

Gift Baskets - Vendor

So, I'm planning the logistics of selling gift baskets online.  I have bought some of the inventory but have not yet bought the majority of the candy.  I'm waiting to find out if my credit application has been accepted by a vendor whose rep I met at the Philly Candy Show in Atlantic City a few weeks ago.  They carry all the retro candy that I'd like to sell at a lower cost than I've found on most wholesaler sites online.  It might take another week or two to find out.  In the mean time, I'm doing everything I can to plan ahead.  I've created spreadsheets for each type of gift basket I want to sell which will tell me how much it will cost to make the basket, that way I can reasonably price my products so that I am making a profit.  It also allows me to plan exactly what candy will go into which gift basket.

 

Originally I wanted to sell on Amazon.com but that has proven more difficult than expected.  Apparently, in order to sell gift baskets on amazon.com, one needs a UPC label for each type of basket or a UPC exemption approved by Amazon.  Another way to get around the UPC requirement is to get approved on Amazon's brand registry program.  But that's for people who manufacture their own goods, not for a gift basket which contains items manufactured by others.  I was rejected when I applied for a UPC exemption for some reason, so the only option I have left is to buy UPC's from a number of online company's at about $89 per bar code.  Although, I just saw a website where you can buy 25 UPC codes for $50 and the codes are accepted by Amazon - www.instantupccodes.com.  Maybe I will be able to afford to purchase UPC codes after all.

Regardless of whether I can sell on Amazon, I can still sell them on my own personal website - www.emilyssugarhigh.com at $24.99/month.

Right now my inventory consists of lunch boxes (boom box, Woodstock, Betty Boop, and I Love Lucy), popcorn buckets, and tie-dye buckets:

 

Now I'm starting to think of other items to add to the inventory (mugs filled with a "Sugar High" retro candy mix and gift bags):

The Beginning

I've always wanted to own my own candy store, ever since I was a kid.  I decided to finally put it into action after a long time of going back and forth, weighing the pros and cons.  I'd like to open the store by late winter or early spring of next year in Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti.  I've decided to save up money and then apply for a small business loan by the end of this year.  I have a lot of ideas for the store and hope that they will work/pan out.  I want to sell retro candy gift baskets online, provide a candy buffet service, and have a store front with all sorts of reasonably priced retro candy and retro gifts like clothing, bags, and collectables.  My ideal store would have a couch for people to hang out and rest on and room for parties and events.  It's going to be a long journey and take a lot of work, but I'm super excited and have become really passionate about it.  I started writing a business plan to present for financing, here is a excerpt of my Mission Statement:

Mission Statement:  To provide a unique candy lover’s experience of childlike wonderment.  We are dedicated to selling nostalgic candy and goods and providing an experience to customers unlike any other candy store.

 

And a little bit about the products and services that will be provided:

Sugar High will provide an experience to the customer of stepping back in time by offering nostalgic candy from the 60s, 70s, and 80s at competitively low prices.  The store will be the main attraction, it will not only be a shop to buy things in but a piece of installation art with interactive candy art pieces.  The window displays will be small replicas of a world made of candy, much like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.  Special emphasis will be placed on the one-of-a-kind gift baskets and their aesthetic quality.  The overall presentation is what will be unique about the store and its products.  The store is meant to be an attraction as much as a place of business.