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The Logo Creator - Getting Yourself Into Retail |
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Written by Marc Sylvester
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Monday, 01 March 2010 10:04 |
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I've always wanted to sell things. When I was 10, I remember visiting my local pottery shop on a weekly basis and buying up a few dozen un-baked coffee cups. I'd draw cartoons on them (I was actually pretty good back then) and bring them back the next day to have them baked.
by MarcSylvester
I've always wanted to sell things. When I was 10, I remember visiting my local pottery shop on a weekly basis and buying up a few dozen un-baked coffee cups. I'd draw cartoons on them (I was actually pretty good back then) and bring them back the next day to have them baked.
I'd eventually take them into my local police department or church ... and sell them. I did sell a few, But I never really made a profit. The price of the actual mugs, the kilning and paint all cost much more than what I made from sales. This is the same dilemma I have in the retail world. I've been selling my own logo design software product in retail stores such as Fry's Electronics and Office Depot for a few years now.
Each box will cost (roughly) $3.00 (USDollars) to design. This includes the actual box, the CD inside, the sleeve the CD is put into, burning the CD and putting in the cardboard to make the box thicker.
To design the box's artwork, You can find a professional graphics person. If you're brave, and don't have to meet face to face, you can hire a designer from a company like eLance.com (eLance allows you to choose designers who "bid" on your project). A graphic designer may charge somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,500 to $7,500 to create the artwork for the box! Something to remember: it'll cost, in the end, about $3,000 for 1000 boxes.
1,000 units is the least amount you'll be able to print. This can add up when a large chain like Fry's Electronics for example has 1200 stores around the country). Each store could order a minimum of 5 software boxes. That's 6,000 boxes! ... At $3 a pop! Do the math and it's crazy if you're just starting out.
Once the boxes are manufactured, there is "Shelf Space" to deal with.
Not all fo them, but most retail chains like you to buy this shelf space.
Shelf space can get as pricey as $6,000 for just one software product! (You need to sell a lot of product to make up for this. And THEN, you'll find that the retail chain requires it's cut. Sometimes up to 20% ... it gets crazy.
Why the internet is better
This is why the web is just plain awesome. There's NO overhead (other than your time of course). You can even use an external eCommerce company to handle your shopping cart system. They'll also take a 10 to 20% cut of your sales, ..but it's WELL worth it (for the fraud control alone!)
This is why downloadable software is so profitable. Create it once and sell it multiple times. An eBook or homemade CD as an example. The Retail stores used to be king, but no longer. The Web rules!
It's harder to market yourself on the net beign that there's so much competition. However, that's where your Search Engine Marketing comes in. But that's a topic for a another article.
About the Author:
Marc Sylvester - CEO of Laughingbird Software. Home to the Logo Creator, logo design software for Mac and Windows. Visit http://www.thelogocreator.com for more details! |
