Don't 'Over Expose' Your Business

True story - have fun with it...

So - I was doing a craft show in my home town last December. I had just bought a fabulous new blouse from Coldwater Creek with the coolest tiny metalic buttons. Loved the blouse so wore that to the show.

Things were slow and I was sitting down and a couple of people walked by. For some reason I looked down and EVERY SINGLE BUTTON was undone and my shirt was WIDE open.

Let's just say I had 'over exposed' myself!

My face turned every shade of red there was. I honestly don't know if anyone saw me or not. If they did - they didn't say anything. I had my hand on that blouse for the rest of the day and took it back the next week.

So - dress for success - but maybe stick with a pull-over! Carla!

The Economics of Selling Floss

I've been surveying my customers to see if they thought I should start selling embroidery/cross stitch floss in addition to the cross stitch designs I sell. The consensus was an overwhelming YES - especially if it could be sold at a discount like I do with my charts.

So - I spent most of two days looking into wholesale sources for floss. Well here's what I found:

1.) DMC floss is sold in boxes of 12 skeins per box.
2.) The WHOLESALE price (what I pay) of a box around $3.96 - which comes to .33 cents per skein.
3.) The SUGGESTED retail price for a skein of floss is .66 cents.

Wow - I never knew this. Most people tell me they get it at stores like Hobby Lobby or Michaels for anywhere from .35 - .50 cents - but it can be on sale for 4 for a dollar or even 5 for a dollar.

So - what does this mean?

Well - you're local LNS is probably making little or no money when they sell floss. .05 - .10 cents at most. So how can Michaels or Wal-Mart afford to have 5 for $1 sales? They buy 100's of thousands of boxes of floss as opposed to a couple of thousand a year (if that) by a small independent LNS store. So - they most likely get a GREAT deal, at far below wholesale. OR - they can afford to offer a great sale on a low-cost item like floss, because they know you'll most likely come in and purchase something else in addition to floss. This is called a 'loss-leader' and means they're willing to take a small loss on one item to gain a larger overall sale.

So - next time you have the luxury of visiting a local LNS - you'll have a better understanding and appreciation of why their prices on floss are what they are. I certainly appreciate it more!

Now - will I be selling floss? It's a tough call. Let's say I buy all the colors at .33 cents a skein and I offer it for .43 cents a skein. A customer shops at my store (yeah!!!) and purchases 3 skeins of floss for $1.29. I would make .30 cents - that's good!

But then the customer pays with a credit card or PayPal (which I encourage). The minimum fee for a transaction this size would be approximately .45 cents - so I would actually LOSE .15 cents.

This is why you're seeing the minimum shipping costs of $5.00 and minimum purchase amounts of $10 or more on many sites.

I am going to keep pursuing the issue - but I need suggestions. How can I offer this GREAT service to my customers, and not lose money doing it?

Regardless - I thought the whole story might enlighten you as it did me. I always figured floss cost the store maybe .10 or .15 cents and they were really marking it up - but not so.

You're ideas, comments, input etc. are GREATLY appreciated.

And so ends your lesson in economics for today! Thanks for reading! Carla

Customer Spotlight - Beverly

This is the seventh in our series Cobweb Corner Customer Spotlight. Enjoy the interview and the fabulous photos chosen especially to share with you. Please comment after reading the interview - the featured stitcher will be thrilled to know you took the time to admire and comment on their craft.

Tell us something unusual about your self: My husband and I have been full-time RVers for 29 years. We winter in Southern Arizona and have spent the last several summers working at Bryce Canyon, Utah and prior to that we worked at several other national parks in the southwest.

How long have you been stitching and how did you start? When we first went on the road in 1980, I was doing lots of plastic canvas. But while in Silver City, New Mexico one summer in 1990, friends talked me in to trying cross stitch. So I made a 50th anniversary project for my parents in cross stitch. Wasn't sure I liked doing it because it took so much longer to complete than a project in plastic canvas. But eventually I became hooked and have been a cross stitch addict ever since.

Why did you select the pieces you did to share with us? These are just three of my favorite projects. The first one is called Native American Fashion and was a kit from Design Works. The second one is called A Friend Is and is from one of the issues of the Cross Stitcher magazine. The third one is called Wake Up Prayer and is a Stoney Creek design.

Do you have a favorite designer or style that you prefer? I love Stoney Creek designs. I like to do both large and small projects and I love florals, especially pansies.

Is there anything you wish would change in the cross stitch industry? I would like to see some of the kit designs be made available in just a leaflet. Many of us buy kits because that is the only way we can get some of the patterns and then we end up not using the floss or fabric that comes with the kits.

How often do you stitch and where do you do it? Since we live in our RV, I do almost all my stitching in the chair in the living room part of the trailer. Sometimes I take it outside on the patio when it is a nice day. I spend a minimum of 3 hours a day stitching.

Are you embarrassed to admit to friends and family how much stash you have on hand? No, I am proud of all the great patterns I have collected over the years.

Do you have a favorite quote? No

Thank you Beverly! Please post comments/questions for Beverly below.

Customer Spotlight - Susan from Tempe, AZ

This is the sixth in our series Cobweb Corner Customer Spotlight. Enjoy the interview and the fabulous photos chosen especially to share with you. Please comment after reading the interview - the featured stitcher will be thrilled to know you took the time to admire and comment on their craft.

Tell us something unusual about your self: I am a single parent with an 18 year old daughter and a devout Anglophile!

How long have you been stitching and how did you start? I started stitching when I was pregnant with my daughter; she decided to come early at 33 weeks and I was in the hospital trying to keep her as long as I could. I wanted to stitch a birth announcement for her anyway. That was 18 years ago and I haven't stopped!

Why did you select the pieces you did to share with us? The pieces I chose are some of my favorites. One I call the Psychedelic Pirate Ship by Amanda Loverseed; another is a Railway Station by Charles Wysocki; there is a Pirate (the pirate ship and pirate are for my daughter; she loves pirates!) with a parrot on his shoulder and the last one is called, I believe, Snow Quilts by Linda Myers.


Do you have a favorite designer or style that you prefer? My favorite designers are Charles Wysocki, Paula Vaughn, Judith Kirby and Linda Myers. I love designs that represent Americana or Victorian, the simpler times. Most of the projects I stitch are fairly difficult and are mostly cross stitch.

Is there anything you wish would change in the cross stitch industry? Not really but I do wish sometimes that there were more cross stitch stores near me. The only one near me is Michael's and most of the time they don't have what I want!

How often do you stitch and where do you do it? I try to find time every day to stitch; it's my sane time! I have a nice little niche in my bedroom where I can get comfortable and make pretty things. Sometimes I work on three or four projects at once!

Are you embarrassed to admit to friends and family how much stash you have on hand? I'm kind of embarrassed to admit to myself I have such a huge stash. Not really--everything I have I love and can't wait to stitch it. I collect stitchery like other people collect stamps or coins.

Do you have a favorite quote? Yes; "grow old with me, the best is yet to be."

Anything else you would like to add? I really love to stitch. It's calming and what you produce is so rewarding.

Thank you Susan! Please post comments/questions for Susan below.

My Thoughts on 9/11

I can barely bring myself to even think about today. It was/is so overpoweringly sad and terrifying. Part of me shattered that day and will never be put back together.

If I dwell on it I am lost in sadness and lack of understanding. If I put it out of mind I feel guilty. I wonder how long it took for Americans to 'get past' Pearl Harbor?

Images, other than the planes, that I can't get out of my mind are the people in the Middle East dancing in celebration of our loss. I still work hard to forgive and forget that image.

The other is of President Bush sitting with school children and receiving the news. I remember thinking about the burden of the country that had just been placed on his shoulders.

I had never been more proud, or more scared to be an American.

Another image I will never forget is going out in my yard mid-afternoon. It was a beautiful, sunny day and there was not a single plane in the sky. I sat in the grass looking at the empty sky and cried while I waited for my daughter to get home from school so I could talk to her about what happened. We live just a few miles from the airport and can always see mulitiple trails of jets zig-zagging across the sky. I pray I will never see a sky empty of jets again.

I still don't know why people across the globe hate me and my child without ever having met us. It took me years before I was comfortable flying again, and I still get nervous.

But - I welcome the messages of peace and friendship that President Obama has sent out in his speeches when he goes abroad. It needed to happen and I'm proud of him for trying to send a new message to the world. I know in my heart that 9/11 was the act of insane extremists. I feel we'll change the minds of those who hate us through acts of love, acceptance and understanding and not acts of war (although I'm all for defending ourselves and catching the creeps who continue this).

I support President Bush's descisions to fight this war that was started by others and I am SO proud of the soldiers who protect me every day. I do hope they all can come home some day soon.

I hope we continue to build hospitals and schools etc. I also hope our military hospital ships continue to go around the world where they are needed. Somehow the world needs to see just how good Americans really are.

I wish we could stop this bickering and hatred going on amongst ourselves. We so need to show a different side to the world.