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sleight-of-sound New user Los Angeles 30 Posts |
Howdy All,
I'm a new business owner selling a CD of original, royalty-free music for magicians, entitled "Sonic Sorcery". You might have seen my ads here in the Café. I'm now receiving inquiries from magic dealers both in the US and abroad, and suddenly I find myself in the role of "supplier" to various retailers. It's great, but...yikes! Frankly, I know very little about being a supplier to dealers, and I want to handle the situation with professionalism and integrity. I realize that when a dealer orders items from a supplier, a "volume discount" applies -- but what percentage discount is expected? For example, let's say a dealer wants to order 500 copies of Sonic Sorcery from me. What kind of discount should I offer? Is there an "industry standard" which applies? Also, I realize that larger orders get a higher discount and smaller orders get a lower discount. I just don't know where the "line" falls between the various kinds of dealer discounts. In addition, I'm sure there is some basic terminology I should know to present myself properly in this situation. Selling an individual product to customers is pretty straighforward, but again, I'm new to the role of a supplier to magic dealers. If someone could offer me some basic "Cliff Notes" advice in this area, I would be VERY thankful! Sorry for the long post, but I sincerely appreciate any help offered! Your in magic & music, Steve Saunders "The Conjuror's Composer" http://www.Sleight-of-Sound.com |
mrunge Inner circle Charleston, SC 3716 Posts |
Hi Steve, Welcome to the Café!
Check with Bob Sanders, a Café member. You can do a search for him and send him a private message. He should be able to help you. Good luck, Mark. |
Julian Franklin Regular user Houston, TX 139 Posts |
I PM'ed you about how I handled by book sales for Kid Control. Different media, but I hope it helps. Please contact me if you need more info.
--Julian Franklin |
mrunge Inner circle Charleston, SC 3716 Posts |
Yep...Julian is a great guy as well. Very knowledgeable about business.
He also writes a fantastic monthly column for the IBM's Linking Ring magazine called "The Business Of Magic." I never miss reading it! Mark. |
magicofCurtis Inner circle Los Angeles 2545 Posts |
Sleight-of-sound welcome to the world of retail....
The past year I have learnt much about retail since the release of my own instructional DVD which is on Amazon.com, Overstock.com and handful of retailers. Retail stores you usually give about a 50% to 60% off Distributors 55% to 70% off
Curtis Lovell II
http://www.CurtisLovell.com http://www.MagicofCurtis.com www.facebook.com/curtislovellii Los Angeles, California - U.S.A. |
Rodney Palmer Inner circle 1317 Posts |
As a rule of thumb discounts to Magic Retailers should be in the 40% -50% range. To your large suppliers like Murphy's it should be around 50% -55%. I hope that this helps. When selling to Magic Shops (Brick & Mortar) they usaully will order arouund 2-3 of each DVD or Royalty Free Music. Murphy's on the other hand possibly will order anywhere from 100-500 copies.
Rodney
"Creating Memories That Last A Lifetime"
In order to keep "MAGIC ALIVE" Please become a Mentor to a Young Person. |
sleight-of-sound New user Los Angeles 30 Posts |
Hey Guys,
Thanks so much for the info and quick response! Now at least I have a basic grasp of the situation, in case orders DO arise with magic dealers. Another question: Let's say a dealer would like to order 200 copies of my CD. Since I personally can't afford to "warehouse" that many copies, I'm planning to ask for payment up-front, so I can THEN pay my manufacturer to press the CDs. Once my manufacturer ships me the CDs, I will then ship the order to the dealer. Is this accepted practice in the industry? Seems logical to me, but hey...I'm new to all this. Again, any comments or suggestions are sincerely appreciated! Steve Saunders "The Conjuror's Composer" http://www.Sleight-of-Sound.com |
magicofCurtis Inner circle Los Angeles 2545 Posts |
Sleight-of-sound
It is better to have a thousand copies on hand and send out demos as well. Distributors usually do not prepay for any orders. They are on a net 30 or 90 days. The longer the net the small the discount rate will be for example net 30 days, they will take 65%, net 90 day they will take 55%. Each is a bit different. I have been working with Passion River Film, Quality Books, and a few others. They have placed my DVD with many great retailers. Now stores will buy your product and some will prepay their shipment or some will want net 30 days or consignment terms. Getting at least a thousand copies will reduce your cost per unit and shipping time.
Curtis Lovell II
http://www.CurtisLovell.com http://www.MagicofCurtis.com www.facebook.com/curtislovellii Los Angeles, California - U.S.A. |
gadfly3d Special user 963 Posts |
MagicoCurtis is right about what the norm is, but since you have a niche you can set your terms.
Gil Scott |
magicofCurtis Inner circle Los Angeles 2545 Posts |
Gadfly3d
Buyers are not worried about how much they can sell it for but how much they can buy it for... Keep in mind there are companies like stock20.com that will sell you music for $7.00 per song... So it is not as niche as one would think, plus, his item just focus on MAGICIANs for the most part...
Curtis Lovell II
http://www.CurtisLovell.com http://www.MagicofCurtis.com www.facebook.com/curtislovellii Los Angeles, California - U.S.A. |
Bill Douglas New user El Paso, TX 90 Posts |
S-O-S,
I am not affiliated with these guys in any way (hence no affiliate link), but you should check out Customflix.com. They developed the company for independents to sell their wares. They have point of purchase drop ship type plans as well as replication plans if you want to get bulk and ship out to who you like. Perhaps you could do both by sending dealers and distributors clumps of product and market and direct sell to smaller niches. Cruise through their site and see what they offer. It will only take a few minutes and they may have some options that you like. Bill |
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