Hello: I will be exhibiting at the July Buyers Market. I done one
other show before and it was okay to ask for a deposit on all orders
and I really didn’t have a lot of problems. I heard that this is
unheard of at the buyers market. also some designers told me that the
summer show sales are extremely low and I should rethink attending.
Please if anyone can either on or off orchid tell me their opinions
or pass along some useful to me in regard to the summer
buyers market - it would be greatly appreciated.
thanks in advance
dede
dedemetal@mindspring
Dear Dede,
I just responded to another similar letter to yours. I have done the
Rosen winter show several times. I have heard from seasoned
exhibitiors that it has half the buyers attending than the winter
show and that the sales are considerably less.
The plus side it that the show is somewhat new and easier to jury
into and less expensive for a booth space than the winter show.
I no longer do c.o.d. orders for new customers. People can still
write a bad check and it takes several weeks to get it anyway. I now
take credit cards for new customers in lieu of a deposit type of
system like you do. It seems to work, and the small percentage that
I have to pay for the card system is well worth the time I save in
collecting on bad checks and making phone calls. I do mostly net 30
with my regular accounts, but my buyers know that if they do not
treat me with respect and honor their terms, I will not do business
with them again. This rarely happens and it is always very upsetting
when it does because I do not make a lot of production, so the loss
of an order really hurts financially.
I hope this helps you out a bit.
Regards,
Sharon