On Selling: Wholesale, Retail, and Consignments

Pay attention to legal details when you sell your goods.

Options for selling your goods
You have several choices when it comes to selling, include working through distributors (wholesale), selling retail, and placing products on consignment.

It's smart to apply standard business procedures to these methods of selling in order to avoid legal problems and protect your business.

Wholesale Marketing
In a wholesale transaction, you sell quantities of your work to a dealer or retailer, usually at a discount. You get a higher volume of business and your buyer gets a discount. That person then resells your work to their clients.  Wholesale transactions can take place at craft shows, directly between galleries and artist's or sometimes with the aid of agents.

A wholesale order can be exciting but you need to think through the terms before you accept it. Items to consider:

• Will you offer credit or other payment terms? If you do, can you "carry" your client until they pay?
• Is the client creditworthy? What will happen to your business if your client goes bankrupt? Are you putting all your eggs in one basket?  When in doubt, don't extend credit.
• Do you have a wholesale order form? Or a signed purchase order or contract?  Make sure it includes an agreed upon cancellation fee. This is very important if you are extending any kind of credit.
• Do you have a volume discount schedule? This allows the buyer to get a greater discount when they buy more units
• Are you selling on a returnable basis or a non-returnable basis? Non-returnable sales will help you reduce returns but clients often expect a greater discount.

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