Friday, July 24, 2009

More Orders

I cant remember if I ever blogged on here about the huge custom order that I have been working on. A gentleman in Georgia (his wife is a traveling nurse in the hospital where I work) saw one of the bags that I made her and really liked it. He works for Tyson Chicken and they have a big convention in September that he goes to...well he ordered 13 bags from me. He wants all of them to be done in chicken print fabric. He called me yesterday and ordered 6 more bags for Christmas presents. He is so much fun to talk to on the phone. Big southern drawl and all, he sounds so much like my daddys brother that I feel like I'm talking to family. So that is what has been keeping me busy. That and my boys. Also if you remember a post from awhile back about something big going on well it was this. I got asked if I could make a cookie lee bag for a lady to use as a incentive for her sales girls. The highest sellers would win my bag. She told me that there could be orders as big as 50 to 60 bags. Well I was super excited until reality set in. First off to make those bags is an absolute pain in my you know what! It takes ALOT of time and I do mean ALOT!!! Second: the cost to make these bags are outrageous, which cuts into my profit in a big way. To even make a profit off of this bag I would have had to charge her around 95 to 100 dollars. Which she does not want to pay. She wanted to stay around the 35 dollar range. So I told her no. I am only one person and it is not worth my time with my family to spend 3 DAYS making one bag for a profit of 8 dollars! She was very nice and I feel bad but I can only do so much and then it just gets completely overwhelming. I am so glad I listened to my head!

6 comments:

amylouwhosews said...

I totally know what you mean. That's why the busier I get the more my prices go up - as it cuts into my time with my family, my time becomes more valuable! You should always charge more than you think - people barely bat an eye when I tell them what my bags cost - I would never buy one myself for that price (probably why I've never owned a Vera Bradley)because I can make my own - but for people who don't know how to sew, they'll pay more than you might think.

trisha too said...

oh no no no, that would have been crazy! you were wise to listen to you.

what a great guy the chicken man must be--such a fun idea!

:)

trisha too said...

oh my gosh, i worked on that piece i hated, and now i almost love it!

come see!

Stacy said...

When people truly desire what you offer they value your time, your family, and your needs. They do not ask you to work hard for nothing and they appreciate every effort you put into your work.

Tipper said...

Congrats on the Tyson thing! And I'm glad you realized the problems with the other one in time. Sounds like you're really growing-and thats good!

trisha too said...

girl, are you sewing so much you don't blog anymore?

:)