Tuesday, August 21, 2012

So much cool stuff.

While doing my monthly orders, I occasionally let a few extra items slip in, beyond my budget.

I can afford it, I think. It's good to try something different once in a while, shake things up. So then another items slips in and then another.

In every case, I can justify the order because it's an item I think I can sell.

If I do enough of this adding, eventually I'm so far over budget that I throw caution to the wind and start ordering EVERYTHING I think I can sell.

The process got away from me this month, and as I've found in the past, my order basically DOUBLED.

But wait! You said all of this would sell!

Yeah, individually, they all make sense. Problem is, I've found in the past that I can only move the needle from the base average I'm running by maybe 10 or 15%. So, double the orders, and 10 to 15% better sales.

Oh, I have a hell of cool, well-stocked store. But I'm going backward in my cash flow.

Anyway, I decided long ago that there is plenty of good stuff coming in every month, even at the budget level. That sticking to budget makes me pick material I either HAVE to get, or material that I think has a 90% chance of selling, instead of opening it up to material that has a 70 or 80% chance of selling.

The main reason is, I love the flexibility of REORDERING. That is, seeing what's selling in real time and getting more. Seeing whether sales are good or better, and then going out and buying some of the material I passed on.

So I have to go back an ruthlessly cut again.

But, oh, the temptation.

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