Hi Neimann marcus is ordering jewelry from me for their christmas
catalog, through a showroom that i am in,It’s about $15,000
dollars worth of handmade cuffs that’ll take me about 2 months to
make. I can’t do all the work and then allow payment upon delivery,
is a 30-50% deposit ever granted in a case like this.
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Is it a cut and dry situation on their end as far as payment
options?
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do i have to give in to their terms if i want the order or not,
or do i become flexible with payment(of course there will be a P.O.
in the showroom)?
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not that it matters, but they did spend considerable time
choosing 3 styles out of 60 for a production run, would they drop
me like that if i needed 1/3deposit and a cod for the rest,does
that happen?
4.one odd thing(of course, not odd at all) that they are trying for
is to get one piece from a 3 bangle set, for the set price, per
piece(which is 15% lower) rather than pay the singles price. (60
bracelets)
thank you now,
dp
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You are taking the risk, you set the payment plan. They aren’t
doing you a favor, if you can’t afford the risk.
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Ask for 50% up front. Unless you are a large manufacturer, and
can afford to effortlessly bankroll “Needless Markup” , or anyone
else for that matter.
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Don’t work from the greed factor. Would you give them all of
these terms if they were asking for 5 bracelets? Do you give your
other stores that have supported you for years through thick and thin
the same terms? Why not?
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Read their terms carefully, including shipping requirements. Some
large chains have reams of requirements, and have hidden or not so
hidden clauses such as " charge backs", wherein they charge you for
not adhering to their requirements. there is the potential to lose
your shirt on that clause.
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Ask what happens if the ordered items do not sell. Have them put
it in writing. Are you then obligated to take them back?
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Don’t sign anything longer than one page without legal advice.
Sometimes a great opportunity, is only a great opportunity for a
large well funded store to take advantage of a small supplier.
Sometimes it actually is a genuinely great opportunity. Wiegh all of
the pros and cons before jumping.
P. S. : After asking myself all of those same questions and
answering them, I have not yet convinced myself that selling to large
chain stores is worth the risk for me. I do know several artists
however, that have been quite sucessful selling only to chain
stores.
Congratulations on the offer, and good luck in your decision.
Lisa, ( garden is now bursting with produce. I almost adopted a wild
mustang colt today. Happy summer solstice everyone. ), Topanga, CA, USA