Just back from the new warehouse where we checked in the shipment ... handled by the new shipper ... and I am so very pleased to write this: Everything happened just as it was supposed to, if not better!
Amazing, really, to think how long we have wrestled with control over the boxes, how I have battled with the freight company, how I have actually micromanaged every aspect of my business.
When the proposal was made, the question was asked, 'What could you do with the time, once the warehousing is removed from your control?' I was speechless, started a couple of sentences but could not form just one thought because my mind was racing with ideas!
Today it all made perfect sense. Thank you, Vector Industries, for making my business more efficient and for giving me more time to work at the things I need to work at. Wonderful.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
March incoming Re-Stocking on Monday, 3/24/2012
This post lists the shipment contents for March which arrive on Monday, and give a list of upcoming April and May shipments. All in the spirit of planning ahead!
Cash DK MCN & cones
Cash Sock MCN & cones
Euro 500
Platinum Sock & cones
Single & Stunning
Ultra Meirno 3Ply
W2D4 Merino DK-SW & cones
W2D4 Merino Worsted-SW & cones
Cash Sock MCN & cones
Donegal DK
Euro 500
Platinum Sock & cones
Sheila's Glitter
Sheila's Sparkle
Sheila's Sock cones
Silk DK 50/50 & cones
Sparkle Select Lace
Traditional Merino Aran & cones ... new
Ultra Merino 3Ply & cones
W2D4 Merino Worsted-SW & cones
... SO .... where is Sheila's Gold? We had a scheduling change with this popular yarn which was moved from the March shipment to April, and pre-sold immediately when that news was released. I am sorry for this. BUT it is coming back in May in good quantities. Here are the lists for the two May shipments, which will catch us up and put all yarns back into good position.
Cash Sock MCN & cones
Platinum Sock & cones
Sheila's Gold & cones
Traditional Merino Aran & cones (new in April)
Ultra Merino 3Ply & cones
W2D4 Merino DK-SW & cones
W2D4 Merino Worsted-SW & cones
... The first May shipment will boost the popular yarns and restock several in cone presentation, especially Sheila's Gold. Go ahead and reserve now for April. (email your request to Yarnie@Wool2Dye4.com) Traditional Merino Aran will improve it's position, just in case it gets the notice it deserves. While it is a 4Ply and on the heavy side, we would expect it to perform better towards the cooler months, but there has been lots of interest in this replacement to Sheila's Aran. So, we are giving it a little more warehouse space.
Platinum Sock & cones
Sheila's Gold & cones
Sheila's Sock cones
Ultra Merino 3Ply & cones
W2D4 Merino DK-SW
W2D4 Merino Worsted-SW
... cones again take a prominent place in the order, with Sheila's Sock cones returning. We have been overstocked, really, with this yarn on skeins, but entirely out of cones. This should give us plenty of cones to last into the summer.
Speaking of the summer, we ordered ten tons to last the three summer months, and will be drawing down on this order once a month from June to August. If you did not pre-order for summer months, but have some events or clubs planned, please eMail your needs to Yarnie@Wool2Dye4.com.
Plan Ahead.
You can do it.
March 2012 Re-Stocking
... (skeins, unless otherwise noted)Cash DK MCN & cones
Cash Sock MCN & cones
Euro 500
Platinum Sock & cones
Single & Stunning
Ultra Meirno 3Ply
W2D4 Merino DK-SW & cones
W2D4 Merino Worsted-SW & cones
April 2012 Re-Stocking
Cash Aran & conesCash Sock MCN & cones
Donegal DK
Euro 500
Platinum Sock & cones
Sheila's Glitter
Sheila's Sparkle
Sheila's Sock cones
Silk DK 50/50 & cones
Sparkle Select Lace
Traditional Merino Aran & cones ... new
Ultra Merino 3Ply & cones
W2D4 Merino Worsted-SW & cones
... SO .... where is Sheila's Gold? We had a scheduling change with this popular yarn which was moved from the March shipment to April, and pre-sold immediately when that news was released. I am sorry for this. BUT it is coming back in May in good quantities. Here are the lists for the two May shipments, which will catch us up and put all yarns back into good position.
May 2012: First Shipment
Cash DK MCN & conesCash Sock MCN & cones
Platinum Sock & cones
Sheila's Gold & cones
Traditional Merino Aran & cones (new in April)
Ultra Merino 3Ply & cones
W2D4 Merino DK-SW & cones
W2D4 Merino Worsted-SW & cones
... The first May shipment will boost the popular yarns and restock several in cone presentation, especially Sheila's Gold. Go ahead and reserve now for April. (email your request to Yarnie@Wool2Dye4.com) Traditional Merino Aran will improve it's position, just in case it gets the notice it deserves. While it is a 4Ply and on the heavy side, we would expect it to perform better towards the cooler months, but there has been lots of interest in this replacement to Sheila's Aran. So, we are giving it a little more warehouse space.
Late May 2012: Another re-stocking shipment
Cash DK & conesPlatinum Sock & cones
Sheila's Gold & cones
Sheila's Sock cones
Ultra Merino 3Ply & cones
W2D4 Merino DK-SW
W2D4 Merino Worsted-SW
... cones again take a prominent place in the order, with Sheila's Sock cones returning. We have been overstocked, really, with this yarn on skeins, but entirely out of cones. This should give us plenty of cones to last into the summer.
Speaking of the summer, we ordered ten tons to last the three summer months, and will be drawing down on this order once a month from June to August. If you did not pre-order for summer months, but have some events or clubs planned, please eMail your needs to Yarnie@Wool2Dye4.com.
Plan Ahead.
You can do it.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Time to talk about price increases
We have a price increase coming up, effective May 1st. Over the past two years, we have seen the prices of some of our basic materials increase quickly. At one point, there was a change every week in the price and it was difficult if not impossible to plan ahead.
The fibers which have increased this year are the same list that I quoted last year: Superwash Merino, Silk, Cashmere, and Nylon. Now, most of our yarns contain some of each of these fibers, so we will see an increase on all yarns. In truth, up the line a bit we have had some help from both our yarn broker and the mill who have absorbed some of the cost increases we would expect. They did this because of our volume purchases.
I have been studying the list and trying to come up with a way to keep the increase as small as possible. We have had increased shipping costs, too, and everyone who ships has probably had fuel surcharges tacked onto their frieght bills. We will come up with a way to cover the fuel surcharge, yet include the courtesy discount from my manufacturers in the final pricelist.
This post is informational only, to get the word out of the planned annual price increase, effective May 1st
The fibers which have increased this year are the same list that I quoted last year: Superwash Merino, Silk, Cashmere, and Nylon. Now, most of our yarns contain some of each of these fibers, so we will see an increase on all yarns. In truth, up the line a bit we have had some help from both our yarn broker and the mill who have absorbed some of the cost increases we would expect. They did this because of our volume purchases.
I have been studying the list and trying to come up with a way to keep the increase as small as possible. We have had increased shipping costs, too, and everyone who ships has probably had fuel surcharges tacked onto their frieght bills. We will come up with a way to cover the fuel surcharge, yet include the courtesy discount from my manufacturers in the final pricelist.
This post is informational only, to get the word out of the planned annual price increase, effective May 1st
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Pricing and Undercutting the Competition
It's March, and time to talk about pricing and, yes, price increases. Over the past year, we again have seen the cost of the raw materials for our yarns and their production rise. Superwash Merino has risen almost $6 per kilo. Cost of transportation has risen. Silk, Cashmere, and nylon have all gone up in price.
So, we have to make some decisions around here, and eventually they will be passed to our customers who will go through the process, too, of deciding if or how much of a price increase they will institute; or, why they will not and how that will affect their business.
First, here's what we are doing. We are absorbing some of the materials costs and not passing all of the increases to our customer base for the third year in a row.
Now, what will my customers do with the new prices? I am going to guess that the larger customers will raise prices, the smaller ones will dig in and stay at the same price. The reason I say this is because the larger customers are able to stay large because they operate within the parameters of acceptable business practice, they understand profit, and they know about how to run their handdye business with solid business principals. Some of the smaller ones may know this and are purposefully controlling the size of their businesses, but many of them do not understand business or profit. I hear it every day. Many of my small customers are desperately trying to create a home business and to wring out every penny to contribute to the household earnings.
What is their approach? They price low, in hopes of snagging sales. And when they price their yarns at too low a point, they hurt us all. Why? Because they undervalue the product.
Let's face the fact that lots of people buy our yarns, dye them up, and put them on Etsy, or sell the at fiber festivals, or at their local yarn shops. The yarn bases may be the same, but the end products differ enormously depending on the ability of the dyers, their sense of color, their sense of current color trends, packaging and labelling, and the price put on the yarns.
When people price out of fear, they are not doing anyone favors. Yes, they'll get a few sales from knitters looking for a bargain, but they devalue our wonderful yarns by pricing them down with yarns of lesser quality. I am talking about the poorer quality of many of the commercial yarns, too.
My advice is to take a good look at the prices the competition is charging in the market where you sell. If it is on Etsy, look at all the handdyed yarns, see if you can spot our yarns there and start a careful list of prices, and note the dyers' names beside the prices. Then move to the big sites which sell mosty handdyed yarns. (You know them; I just cannot say their names here in the blog.) Go through those sites carefully and make the same kinds of notes. I will tell you what the timid pricers will find through this exercise. They'll find that they are undercutting the experienced and professional dyers. They are debasing the quality of our yarn lines by doing so, and they are pinching themselves into a corner and the only way out will be to give up. They will never make a profit if they price in to stingy a manner. They will lose their enjoyment of the craft, and they will get depressed and yell at their children.
Here is my business advice:
Don't under price.
Research the market and know the prices that are being charged for equal product.
Price accordingly.
So, we have to make some decisions around here, and eventually they will be passed to our customers who will go through the process, too, of deciding if or how much of a price increase they will institute; or, why they will not and how that will affect their business.
First, here's what we are doing. We are absorbing some of the materials costs and not passing all of the increases to our customer base for the third year in a row.
Now, what will my customers do with the new prices? I am going to guess that the larger customers will raise prices, the smaller ones will dig in and stay at the same price. The reason I say this is because the larger customers are able to stay large because they operate within the parameters of acceptable business practice, they understand profit, and they know about how to run their handdye business with solid business principals. Some of the smaller ones may know this and are purposefully controlling the size of their businesses, but many of them do not understand business or profit. I hear it every day. Many of my small customers are desperately trying to create a home business and to wring out every penny to contribute to the household earnings.
What is their approach? They price low, in hopes of snagging sales. And when they price their yarns at too low a point, they hurt us all. Why? Because they undervalue the product.
Let's face the fact that lots of people buy our yarns, dye them up, and put them on Etsy, or sell the at fiber festivals, or at their local yarn shops. The yarn bases may be the same, but the end products differ enormously depending on the ability of the dyers, their sense of color, their sense of current color trends, packaging and labelling, and the price put on the yarns.
When people price out of fear, they are not doing anyone favors. Yes, they'll get a few sales from knitters looking for a bargain, but they devalue our wonderful yarns by pricing them down with yarns of lesser quality. I am talking about the poorer quality of many of the commercial yarns, too.
My advice is to take a good look at the prices the competition is charging in the market where you sell. If it is on Etsy, look at all the handdyed yarns, see if you can spot our yarns there and start a careful list of prices, and note the dyers' names beside the prices. Then move to the big sites which sell mosty handdyed yarns. (You know them; I just cannot say their names here in the blog.) Go through those sites carefully and make the same kinds of notes. I will tell you what the timid pricers will find through this exercise. They'll find that they are undercutting the experienced and professional dyers. They are debasing the quality of our yarn lines by doing so, and they are pinching themselves into a corner and the only way out will be to give up. They will never make a profit if they price in to stingy a manner. They will lose their enjoyment of the craft, and they will get depressed and yell at their children.
Here is my business advice:
Don't under price.
Research the market and know the prices that are being charged for equal product.
Price accordingly.
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