All the 'deals' are killing me. Every other offseason, (fall and spring), just as day-to-day business goes into hibernation, the wholesalers start offering us big discounts. On good stuff, too. I don't find that the material they're offering on sale to be all that much worse than the stuff I buy upfront for full wholesale price.

But with revenues on the predictable decline, it mandates that I spend some of my savings.

I hate doing that.

I mean, it make sense that the wholesalers are trying to boost their revenues in the off season. And since I'm in a position to take advantage of the deals, and with Christmas coming up, I'll go ahead. But it kills me, especially since my store is already packed to the gills.

But every time I sell that 'odd' item that I got at a huge discount, I know that its the right thing to do. As long as I subscribe to the 'long-tail' model of business, which has been very effective over the last 5 years or so, it behooves me to keep bringing in as much variety and diversity as possible, and if I can do it at a discount, I need to do that.