christmas card business

[ZCP]

Username checks out

 

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[G-Man]

Now if someone could just make snarky greeting cards directed at vegans, I could have passive aggressive revenge at this year's company Christmas party.

 

[amp0193]

It's always good to find out your new coworkers are vegans BEFORE casually (and jokingly) mentioning going hunting as a child.

I'm anti-vegan.

They are eating my food's food.

 

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[AllenCrawley]

i need some opinions.

uk christmas card market it is 1 billion cards sold each year and growing

- 900 million cards are sold in sets
- average pack size = 10
- so this means around 90 million christmas card sets are sold each year
- 65 million people live in uk (1.5 sets each)
- if i create a good quality card and market it via leaflets (100,000 leaflets) what response rate do you think i would get?

<0.0000001%

 

[MJ DeMarco]

<0.0000001%

Fake news. It's .0000423% !

 

[G-Man]

better be sure they are indeed atheist, or you might have some issues there XD

I actually don't think so - If you make cards that aren't crazy hardcore (like the one with all the people drowning), but just snarky, I think you could sell them to both people buying for atheists, and atheists looking to send a barb to their friends.

 

[amp0193]

Now if someone could just make snarky greeting cards directed at vegans, I could have passive aggressive revenge at this year's company Christmas party.

You should make this pizza and bring it to the party:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MpL1KfYEJg

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

@pipedream2017 Don't get discouraged by this thread. People are giving you a hard time because they think you're a troll. The reason they think that is because your username is "pipedream" and your marketing strategy is also highly unlikely to work.

What you need to do first before pursuing a business is educating yourself more. Spend more time on this forum reading progress threads. Study sales. Study what value for a customer actually means.

Once you have a better grasp, go out and try stuff. Fail. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Good luck.

 

[ThirtyOne]

@Puppy is right. no on the leaflets.

better to place a bunch of empty envelopes that say "Merry Xmas" on people's mailboxes, with a tiny piece of paper on the inside that says, "Sucks to not get a xmas card, doesn't it?" *url*

url options: cardsforchristmas.com
or you could go with pleasespendyourmoneyhere.com, makemyxmas.com, suckithallmark.com

 

[amp0193]

and atheists looking to send a barb to their friends.

haha, I think these folks would be 90% of the sales.

 

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[amp0193]

im thinking sell the product based on the value it adds to their customer base and in return for giving me space they will get a percentage of the profit. so commission based.

F*ck that.

Get paid upfront in full.


Cash flow is everything.

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

i am in no way disagreeing, i belive you are correct. end goal will be selling it for flat fee/flat fee + commission. i want to start with commission because it will be more fun and will engage me more in learning and growing my business. im the sort of person who is motivated by what is fun for me. i believe my product will be profitable but if i dont make the process fun (for me) i wont stick with it.

two questions i put to any idea i have are
1. is it fun? how can i make money off of it?
2. can i make money off of it? how can i make it fun (for me)?

You need to learn how to grind.

You really think there's a "fun" way of doing sales?

It's not fun, but the people that do it learn to appreciate it for what it is - a game of persuasion that can drastically alter your life financially.

as of now... none. im not at that stage of the game yet. i will be able to answer this question by june 2018.

 

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[pipedream2017]

i need some opinions.

uk christmas card market it is 1 billion cards sold each year and growing

- 900 million cards are sold in sets
- average pack size = 10
- so this means around 90 million christmas card sets are sold each year
- 65 million people live in uk (1.5 sets each)
- if i create a good quality card and market it via leaflets (100,000 leaflets) what response rate do you think i would get?

 

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[amp0193]

This sounds like a kickstarter project to me.

Here's the #1 website: Atheist Cards - Free Funny Holiday Cards

Shouldn't be too hard to topple.

Their cards are ugly, and their website is uglier.

 

[amp0193]

when i saw this my first thought was, true, but still not as bad as vegans are about it. thanks g-man for going there first. ill be in line right behind you to buy those cards.

I think this is because atheism isn't as cool as it used to be. Now it's just kind of normal. Back in the day, you were on the fringe if you were an outspoken atheist.

I definitely agree that vegans (and many similar sub-sets of people with a focus on environment/natural living) are way worse about it.

Which is why I think that youtube channel is so damn funny.

 

[amp0193]

thanks for the replies guys. i was also thinking about hitting up local shops and asking if i could have a small space in the shop for 50/50 profits on the cards? opinions?

A better option would be to design and print 20-30 cards, build out an endcap, and try to sell the whole she-bang to shops. The model you're looking for is wholesale to retail.

 

[amp0193]

never thought of that. i think it could be a good model to use in the process of testing a product and building a brand. i think i need to seriously consider trying this for my own product project. question - how would i approach shops? who would i talk to? do i make an appointment? have a presentation? i understand the process up to selling it to the shop, then i dont know what to do.

You talk to the owner or manager of the shop.

Cold call, walk in, appointment, however. All will work, some will be more effective than others.

If you have cards that are in some way unique from what's out there and the price is good, and you have a nice little end cap display, then you just gotta tell people about it.

It's not nearly as complicated as you think it is.

 

[Puppy]

You talk to the owner or manager of the shop.

Cold call, walk in, appointment, however. All will work, some will be more effective than others.

If you have cards that are in some way unique from what's out there and the price is good, and you have a nice little end cap display, then you just gotta tell people about it.

It's not nearly as complicated as you think it is.

my project isnt for cards but its still a product i could bring to retail locally. initially i had amazon, a web page, and social media as how i would sell it but im thinking getting it in a store locally would be a good way to test my product and the market and i could get some good info from it.

i dont think its at all complicated, and i feel dumb for asking how to sell it. once ive made contact i think i can present and sell my product to the store, if they say no then i can find out why and overcome it or try another store. its the making contact part i just dont know how to do. i dont know how to contact appropiately or what is appropiate and whats not.

i can see myself walking in and being like hey i have this product and no one in the area carries it. if you carry it will bring more business to you and set you apart as you will be THE place to go to get this product. here is how my product will appeal and add value to the consumer and to your business [quick bullet points of benefits/value]. i have created a display to use or can configure it to be used in shelf space allotted. i would like a 6 month spot/trial. so what duya say? ...and i also see that not working. i think i have the right idea and concept but my excution plan is still flawed because i simply dont know and have no experience in that aspect of the process

 

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[amp0193]

i dont think its at all complicated, and i feel dumb for asking how to sell it. once ive made contact i think i can present and sell my product to the store, if they say no then i can find out why and overcome it or try another store. its the making contact part i just dont know how to do. i dont know how to contact appropiately or what is appropiate and whats not.

You're not dumb for asking. 1.5 years ago, I felt the same way. Wholesale to retail was a mystery. Now it's not. I get it, there's no guidebook, and there's not a lot of writeups online about selling to retail.

You won't learn any of that stuff until you just do it. Go make a fool of yourself and have some awkward conversations, and yes, you will quickly learn what to say and what not say. There is no substitution for just trying. Just pick a method and give it a go. I was working a full-time job when I started the wholesale side of my business, and got all my leads via cold emails, as I couldn't get away during the day to call or meet with people in person. The conversion rate was low, but it got my foot in the door.

i can see myself walking in and being like hey i have this product and no one in the area carries it. if you carry it will bring more business to you and set you apart as you will be THE place to go to get this product. here is how my product will appeal and add value to the consumer and to your business [quick bullet points of benefits/value]. i have created a display to use or can configure it to be used in shelf space allotted. i would like a 6 month spot/trial. so what duya say?

Sounds fine. Before any of that, the first question you need to ask is, "I'm so and so with XXX company. Who's the appropriate person to speak to about new product lines?". Don't waste your time pitching to a non-decision maker.

i simply dont know and have no experience in that aspect of the process

Dedicate a week to attempting to sell. You will make a fool of yourself, but after a week, you will have experience.


See all those other products on the shelves? The owners of those companies didn't know what they were doing either. Until they did.


Alternatively, hire some sales reps. See the link in my signature about distributors. All of my new wholesale accounts are now coming to me with no work being done on my part.

 

[Scot]

i need some opinions.

uk christmas card market it is 1 billion cards sold each year and growing

- 900 million cards are sold in sets
- average pack size = 10
- so this means around 90 million christmas card sets are sold each year
- 65 million people live in uk (1.5 sets each)
- if i create a good quality card and market it via leaflets (100,000 leaflets) what response rate do you think i would get?

Why should I buy your cards? What makes them different?

 

[TheCj]

Reminds me of young millionaire who started young selling greeting cards... The First Million: Cameron Johnson

So it has been done... guess the question is can you be successful doing it..

 

[Puppy]

market for christmas cards? YES
using leaflets to market them? good god. no. just..no

just an idea here
market using children as your sales people to raise money for their school. like those popcorn sales or girl scout cookies. sure, you split the profits but its for a good cause and there is no need to be a greedy bastard. youll still be a bastard tho because you use child labor but hey, its also possible to do it and come out looking like princess di

 

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[Puppy]

i kinda like suckithallmark.com. but idk is an online business the way to go with greeting cards? funny thing, years ago i thought there needed to be breakup/i hate you greeting cards. i planned it all out. and then took no action. i still think its viable if someone took it and ran with it

 

[Almantas]

 

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[amp0193]

Xmas i hate you card? Judas could work.

What about Christmas/holiday cards for atheists?

That's gotta be a Million dollar idea right there.

 

[ThirtyOne]

What about Christmas/holiday cards for atheists?

That's gotta be a Million dollar idea right there.

Merry hoaXmas

But who would you buy this card for?

 

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[amp0193]

Merry hoaXmas

But who would you buy this card for?

I'd buy it for my atheist friends as a joke.

 

[Puppy]

lol i prefer meanness to at least hold on to the spirit of fun. mean = ok hatefull = not ok. overall tho i would just be confused if i got your card because i see judas different than most so i dont 'get it'. im pretty sure everyone else gets it so it works as intended. that idea could be so much fun. drat dont get me all distracted chasing that one again

 

[Puppy]

Merry hoaXmas

But who would you buy this card for?

me!

p.s. not an atheist

 

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[amp0193]

better be sure they are indeed atheist, or you might have some issues there XD

Believe me, I know who my atheist friends are.

Many athiests' favorite hobby is telling everyone how atheist they are.

It's only a funny gag, if everyone knows that that person is overtly atheist. It'd be downright awkward if you made someone come out of the atheist closet in front of everyone.