Yesterday was day one of the International Gift Fair at the Javits Center in New York. Not all the booths were open but there were enough to keep us occupied. Since the majority of our inventory is stuffed animals, that's what we shopped for yesterday. We visited some of our favorites - Jellycat & MerryMakers- and found some new things as well.
We ran into something new this year. As we introduced ourselves as an online retailer to new vendors, we found out that many of them are not opening any more online accounts. After the third or fourth dismissal, one manufacturer explained that within the last few years, some online stores are selling their merchandise at hugely discounted prices and are undercutting everyone else. And now, many of the sellers are leery about working with anyone who sells online.
I know, from working in a small, independent gift store, the problems that arise when someone else slashes the price of an item. We would hear that a giant corporation, with a store less than 2 miles away, had the same item for less than what we paid to the wholesaler. Since the bigger stores can buy in such bulk (we're buying 2 or 3 of an item, they are buying 2 or 3 THOUSAND for all their stores across the country), they get a huge discount and can then sell the item for much, much less. How could we even compete? However, that was strictly the choice of the wholesaler.
I also understand that, upon first meeting us, these wholesalers have no idea if we are the enemy or not. Without researching our store and looking at our sales, they would never know if we sell our merchandise for regular or discount pricing. And since that isn't possible in the hustle & bustle of a gift show, they have made a blanket decision not to sell to online stores for now. The person we spoke to said they were trying to weed out the bad sellers and decide where to go from there.
Luckily for us, we didn't find anything we completely fell in love with that was denied us because of our lack of a brick & mortar store. There were some things we would have considered carrying but nothing that we couldn't live without. If we do find that item, I'm sure we can argue our case, and maybe they'll change their minds. And maybe it will be the kick in the a$$ that we need to take the plunge and open a store. I truly believe that, sooner or later, manufacturers will come around again and allow others to sell their items online. Because, really, how often do you buy online compared to in a store? I buy the majority of my items online. But that's just me. How about you?
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