Anybody out there thinking of closing shop?
Summary: rdemaree expresses concerns about the viability of their handmade and vintage goods business due to increasing regulations and costs, particularly related to compliance and tariffs. They feel pressured by the dominance of large companies and contemplate closing their shop. hansatrade shares their own experience with decreased income but has found success with changes in their sales strategy. dobo5250 agrees with the sentiment of financial pressure. rainday6 suggests shifting focus to products that don't require extensive compliance costs. intimewithmusic proposes exploring partnerships with Canadian paint companies or considering employment within them to potentially market rdemaree's products.
I dont know how many of you do this for serious income or full time but for me selling my handmade and vintage stuff online has been my serious full time (albeit not a high income, but enough to survive on) since late 2019.
With the USA using tariffs, removing di minimus and aggressive CPSC compliance measures and with the EU adding tariffs and often times international shipping already being sort of strict on what can and cant be shipped im wondering if the writing is on the wall?
It feels like we are moving more and more into a Disney/ Walmart/ Amazon only sort of world anymore.
Anybody else thinking of shutting their doors? I know I cant afford thousands of dollars in toxicology tests for my non-toxic handmade paint products (its incredibly ironic that I go above and beyond TO A FAULT to make nontoxic paint for artists but because im not a millionaire and cant afford a scientist to stamp it I might have to shut my doors!...totally WILD!)
Anybody else feeling crushed?
intimewithmusic
·2 months ago · Edited@rdemaree Have you thought of marketting your paints directly through Cloverdale Paint stores or CIL stores? Both are large Canadian companies with Coorporate offices in Canada. One of them might have a void for art supplies which are perfect in smaller centres or towns that do not have artist supply shops.
Cloverdale: Corporate Office Located in: Croydon Business Centre
Address: 2630 Croydon Dr #400, Surrey, BC V3Z 6T3
Phone: (604) 596-6261
As well ,Cloverdale has stores in Oakville and Missisaugua.
CIL Canadian Industries Limited (CIL) is the largest manufacturer and distributor of architectural paints and coatings in Canada. Headquarts isin Vaughan, Ontario. CIL is the parent company of major brands including Dulux, Sico, and Betonel, operating over 230 company-owned stores and the country's largest paint manufacturing facility.
I mentioned in another post I have a long background with the now defunct General Paint Corporation. Had someone come into our location with the quality of product you represent we would have put them in touch with head office. Paint shops, particularly in smaller centers, tend to cater to residential paint customers of course but also the artists in the area see "Paint" on the sign and come in anyway.
Another option might be to get in the "back door" by gettting a part time job in one of their locations. Not all store jobs involve slinging 5 gallon pails. There are also counter sales jobs that cater to designers and there are office jobs. When designers go into paint stores their eyes search for anyone who looks like they know something about color. During my lengthy stint at General Paint I got to know all of the sales reps and most of the folks at head office that created good opportunities.
Just a thought!
rainday6
·2 months agoDo not give up. Start selling things that do not require extra costs like toxicity tests or storage costs. Small hard goods or clothing. That way you can sit on your inventory without extra costs and weather these downturn storms. As a formulator myself, I do not sell my formulated products because of the testing barriers. Wishing you the best!
dobo5250
·2 months agoWHO HASN'T ?????-- IF YOU COULD AFFORD TO DO SO
hansatrade
·3 months agoI am at half of my normal traffic / income. It's frustrating, but I still have a decent income from Ebay. I have invested a lot of money during last few years into my inventory, so I have to sell that stuff anyway - no other choice. I am trying to experiment a little bit. Recently, I stopped to promote and terminated the "free" shipping. I also regularly shut down my listings and then "sell similar" - at least once every 5 days. It works well, and I was able to double my income last week. Do not surrender - you will always have time to do that. Fingers crossed! ;-)
rdemaree
OP3 months agoMy products are all hit by the new cpsc rules and I’m not a millionaire and can’t afford 20,000 $ or more for lab tests and losing the USA as a market I lose 75% of my business.
Might literally have no choice but to shut down slowly due to red tape.