ok, i trust you i'll tell you !!!

[stokey]

ok, i trust you, and i'm going to tell you what i was thinking of selling

so, cos i trust you, i need honest opinions if my idea is sh#t !!!


it's (wait for it )


CHARACTER BIRTHDAY CARDS !!!!! (eg, thomas tank, barbie etc)(not homemade don't panic if you sell homemade stuff)

OK is that rubbish?

when i go looking in shops for cards i can never find what i want eg, barbie with 5 or thomas with 3 , i hate traipsing round loads of different card shops.


its something lemon said to me, think of something that doesn't cost loads to post.

Am i wasting my time?:unsure:

[Ravenfire]

Its not rubbish, and I dont want to rain on your parade, but I think you will find that the images are copyrighted which means they shouldn't be used without expression permission from the creators.

[Macaroni]

I think its a great idea. Buying cards with kids in tow is a nightmare and you cant really go wrong with character ones , as long as you buy the 'in' character at the mo LOL

[vikki]

could have done with you on ds birthday, looked every wear for starwars cards. thats great and cheap on P&P well done,

[stokey]

Its not rubbish, and I dont want to rain on your parade, but I think you will find that the images are copyrighted which means they shouldn't be used without expression permission from the creators.


can't i just buy cards from wholesaler and sell them for a small profit ?i'm not in it to make millions, jack is starting school full time next year, and i don't want to go out to work (the thought of doing that scares me silly) so really its like what kerri said, its for a bit of pin money and to stop boredom and missing him, but if i make millions i could live with that !!!

[Ravenfire]

You could, as obviously it doesnt have the same restriction as you making them, however, I dont know how much of a profit you would make as obviously you would have to take into account p&p. Also are you aware that you will need some sort of insurance? Im pretty sure even with pre-made cards you do, Im sure one of the other WAHP's will know a bit more about this than me though (will look into that and let you know). Sorry, like I say dont want to put you off, but better you go into it with your eyes wide open.

[stokey]

of course, thanks, thats why i trust you lot, you'll tell me the truth !!

[Tinkabell]

Good idea, have you searched on the internet to see how many people are doing this kind of thing already.

Dont rush into buying stock, take your time and consider what is popular at the moment.

Good luck.

[jimblies]

Good idea - I know what you mean about trying to find the right card!! Barbie and Thomas are definate all time faves that don't tend to date. Have to say though that my 7 year old has already gone off barbie and refuses to wear any Barbie logo clothes!! LOL!

[stokey]

cryingsmil cryingsmil cryingsmil cryingsmil


i don't know where to start.

i thought once i had the idea of what to sell i'd be halfway there!!

i have absoutely no idea and feel like everyone was right, i'm just stupid.

big ideas, no brain.

please help me. so much sh#t has gone on the last few weeks (the crash, jack needing one-to-one) i thought this would be brilliant, something to focus on, but now i just feel worse.

please tell me the first thing i need to do ?is it order stock? do the website? open e-bay shop? get insurance?tell tax people?


i know you've all got stuff going on in your lives, and i should just get on with it, but i genuinely don't know where to start xxx

[stokey]

right, i've given myself a slap round the face, and now it's down to business!!


is anyone a member of 'wholesalepages.co.uk?'

is it worth joining? i think bronze is £3.99.

anyone heard of it?

[jimblies]

No - it is a good idea!!! LOL!

The trouble is - I always find that I feel like I'm reinventing the wheel when it comes to looking for wholesalers. I've been lucky with ebay to a point but if the sellers are getting it that cheap then there must be cheaper out there!!

I do have a few wholesalers on my list that I have though - great there prices are fantastic! But never felt confident enough to jump in and spend £100+ on stock (although I must have near £1000 sitting around the house anyway!!)

I always look online at http://www.thewholesaler.co.uk/ but also do a search for what I want. e.g. 'wholesale cards' - don't just use google use differnet search engines I mainly use msn and google.

http://www.thewholesaler.co.uk/trade/distributor/Stationery_and_greetings_cards_wholesale_suppliers _directory/

http://search.msn.co.uk/results.aspx?q=wholesaler+cards&FORM=QBRE&rf=1

Good Luck!!

[Patti odoors]

No practical advice and wouldn't know where to start but just wanted to say GO FOR IT, it doesn't cost anything to make enquiries and Rome wasn't built in a day. Try the library and see it they have any books on starting your own business. Good Luck""cutey""b

[kathyhinsh]

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/kathyhinsh/YouGoGirl20blinkie20220small.gif

[Sarah]

I found all my wholesalers online but I didn't join a paid for information site thingy. I was going to say the same as Toni about the copyright thing but if you are thinking of buying them rather than making them then that's different, as the wholesaler may have a licence so you will be ok.
Go for it, it's better to try something and fail than never to try and always wonder what might have been..............

[newlittleperson]

Yeah I agree that I've never bought wholesaler info. You can search on http://www.kompass.co.uk/ which might help a bit, or do a search for the product your after.

There is so much other stuff to set up, not sure I could advise on which to do first. I got setting up a business for dummies, which was quite useful!

I would definitely advise planning planning planning before you start spending. Probably set yourself a live date a few months down the line.

[Whassat]

go for it Stokey..as snowfairy said.. it's better to try something and fail than never to try and always wonder what might have been...
don't give up if it starts looking downhill..i've never done anything like it before so can't offer any advice, but its certainly a good idea...wishing you all the best xxx

[stokey]

Yeah I agree that I've never bought wholesaler info. You can search on http://www.kompass.co.uk/ which might help a bit, or do a search for the product your after.

There is so much other stuff to set up, not sure I could advise on which to do first. I got setting up a business for dummies, which was quite useful!

I would definitely advise planning planning planning before you start spending. Probably set yourself a live date a few months down the line.


thanks, just ordered the book 'starting an online business for dummies' off amazon, hopefully that'll help !!!:crossfing

[babybiz]

Good luck :) It takes a lot of time to get it right and it's really worth the effort rather than just jumping in. I would start up by learning as much as you can about what running an online business entails and you can look for wholesalers while you do this (look for party wholesalers too who will often stock these things and sometimes florest wholesalers do as well). Take your time there's no rush :)

Huge heaps of luck to you :)

Tashxx

[Lemon]

I would definately agree with the others about not rushing into things. It's very exciting when you finally 'find something' to sell and get great ideas and then you bump to reality when you realise what leg work is ahead !! I suppose that is the downside to working for yourself and running your own business some days you feel really great and want to conquer the world and other days you feel like your not getting anywhere. I wish you tons of luck and stay with your good ideas, I have never read that book but I am sure will give you lots of good advice. I spend 3 months just looking about and researching everything before I actually started up. Good luck hun x

[vikki]

161


Rome wasn't built in a dayxx:happy72:

[stokey]

Thanks everyone for your support, but the idea has been shelved .
Not only cos of DH's total lack of support (had big argument last night cos he thinks its a duff idea and i should concentrate on jack's problems at the moment !!:no: )but also spent all day yesterday looking for wholesalers who sold character cards and could only find people selling homemade stuff or normal birthday cards. So maybe in a year when jack is in school i will think of something else,

thanx again for all your support, at least its nice SOMEONE thought i could have done it xxx

[Ravenfire]

Aww Im sorry to hear that and what a shame you DH is so unsupportive.

[vikki]

just keep your fingers in the honey pot, check things out now and again and i am sure something will fall in place, I am exactly the same, when i set my mind to something i want it to happen there and then. Then feel really defeatedxx take care xx

[stokey]

thanx hun, i think after all thats happened recently hubby is just worried that i'm rushing into it without really thinking (which is what i usually do with stuff then regret it) he's also worried about tax and it affecting our tax credits, so maybe i will calm down a bit !!!




and for my next project .......:cheesy:

[vikki]

back to the sherry

[stokey]

:happy72: 20061010 :party35: :exactly:

[Mary Poppins]

Take a look in your Yellow Pages or Thompson Local for card wholesalers and pay them a visit. If it is something you want to do, then don't let anyone put a damper on things for you.

It might take a while for sales to start coming in. I have only sold 3 bracelets, 2 necklaces and 2 of my baby boxes for twins. I am a little disappointed to be honest as I thought it would have been busier.

Go for it, you might regret it if you don't follow your dream.

[Tinkabell]

Keep looking and thinking about other ideas Im sure the right thing will come along soon.

[Lemon]

Yeh, give yourself the next year to be thinking about it and maybe doing a little research so by the time your ready to start, you've got some of the leg work already done. You know the saying 'from little acorns ..... x

[jimblies]

Also look for a magazine called - The Trader (I think!!LOL!) Has loads of wholesalers in it.

[stokey]

Also look for a magazine called - The Trader (I think!!LOL!) Has loads of wholesalers in it.


thankyou ""cutey""b

[babybiz]

Yeh, give yourself the next year to be thinking about it and maybe doing a little research so by the time your ready to start, you've got some of the leg work already done. You know the saying 'from little acorns ..... x

I'd second this :) If you've got a year use it to prepare, it took me two years and I still wasn't totally ready when I launched. You'll be so glad you did, clouds and silver linings and all that - maybe it's fate ;)

Oh another note I'm really sorry your DH wasn't supportive that's not nice :( All the more reason to show him though huh ;)