What Not To Do (And What 95% Of People Tend To Do!)

The biggest mistake I see people make while trying to sell their product into Major Chain Store Retailers is that they start by contacting a retailer’s Vendor Department.

Every Major Retailer has a Vendor Department.  This department is in charge of sifting through all of the new vendor requests.  If the Vendor Department reviews a product and finds a match, they will pass the information on to the appropriate Buyer.  A great example of a Vendor Department is if a retailer redirects you to a page on their website.

If you’ve ever dealt with a Vendor Department, then you know how incredibly depressing and disheartening this can be.  Vendor departments are notorious for asking you extensive financial questions about your business.  I’ve encountered countless product developers/ inventors who’ve given up on selling to Major Retailers simply because they were overwhelmed by this time consuming and frustrating process.

And it’s even more unfortunate that most Inventors assume that going through a Vendor Department is the only way for a retailer to review a new product. The truth is that if I had waited for a retailer’s Vendor Department to get my product into stores, I would have never had the success that I’ve had over the years!

Vendor Departments gets inundated with an endless array of products to review. By the time they review your product, it could take 6 months or a year to get an answer.  What’s the point?  You must go to the Buyers directly to get any traction into the retailer.

I know for a fact that most people start by reaching out to the retailer’s Vendor Department.  This is great for you. You will differentiate yourself from the competition.  By connecting with Buyer’s direct, you will increase your chances of getting your product on the shelves of the World’s Largest Retailers faster than you ever thought possible!

Some of you may be concerned that you might upset the Buyer if you start contacting them directly.  But please know that I have NEVER upset a Buyer by going direct! And I have sold products to Major Retailers for years!

Even if you come across that one random Buyer that gets really angry with you about going direct, know this…the Buyer will forget about you in a matter of days!!!   Buyers are incredibly busy and get inundated with phone calls all day long.  They might get mad for a moment, but I assure you that this will be short lived.

The truth is that Buyers understand how important their job is.  They know that it would be such a huge opportunity for a business owner to get their product into their stores and tend to be sympathetic toward potential vendors who contact them.  So just know that even if the Buyer is in a bad mood, they will get over it!

Ultimately, contacting Buyers directly is the most effective way to get your product sold to Major Retailers.

If you would like to learn more about how to get access to Major Retail Buyers and what to say to them to get them to buy, please join us for a FREE 2 HOUR WEBINAR hosted by Ponoko on Saturday, September 11^th, from 1-3pm PST.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/974838481 

About the author: Karen Waksman (www.productforprofit.com) is a Successful Manufacturer’s Rep turned Author, Speaker and Consultant. She has written a step-by-step guide called ‘How To Sell Your Product, Invention or Craft to Major Retailers…No Sales Experience or Existing Buyer Relationships Required!’

sounds dumb but somehow very cool

The concept was fairly simple: I buy t-shirts online and they always come wrinkled and I always run out of coat-hangers. So I designed a sustainable, reusable way to send and keep your t-shirts. As you open the package you create a coat hanger. The packaging could be made from recycled material whether it is card or plastic and the only waste is the green tear-away tab.

The Hangerpak project won a FIRST prize in the D&AD Student Awards 2007 category ‘What else do you do?’.

Steve Haslip is a graphic designer originally from a small village in the South of England, UK. He has just graduated from the MFA Design course at the School of Visual Arts New York. Since completing his undergraduate studies at Central Saint Martins he has undertaken internships and been working as a freelance designer.

While you are at his site, check out his Bipolar Chair. nasty and nice…

via monogocoro

Delivered flat-packed, very easy to assemble, the Customizable Cardboard Cot with large wheels to make moving it easy, is one of the weirder flat pack products out there. Comes with a 3 – 4 cm thick mattress and complies with all the safety and comfort standards you would expect for a baby’s bed. You can decide to keep it plain – simply stamped with the brand’s logo on the side – for the super chic industrial living look. Or you can customize it, paint it, or simply decorate it with your child’s name.

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by Sruli Recht

r¿ng is a 10carat white gold Möbius band with a hand tapped 16gauge internal [female] thread to receive three uncut rough diamonds set individually into screw-in external thread-form propeller claws.
Housed in a 215-piece hand-painted box with threaded lid for safekeeping the 6.86 carat total weight over three different diamonds*. [Black 3.53ct / White 1.88ct / Yellow 1.44ct]

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the 99 cent iPhone skin

The iPhone 3G / 3GS recession case by Case-Mate
Tough times call for tough cases and that’s where the recession case comes in! The recession case lets you keep cash in your pocket without sacrificing on unique design for your beloved iPhone!
Now with FREE “Sharpie Scriptpersonalization on the recession case! Just leave “Albertus Medium” selected and you will get your very own personalized recession case!

You know I never thought I would see mass customization, sustainable design, recyclable design and the iPhone wrapped up in one neat bundle, but here it is….

Oh and check the Q & A.

Q) Is this case flammable?
A) If you light it on fire it is

Q) Does it come assembled?
A) no, see our animated gif for a step by step demo!

Q) What device does this case support?
A) iPhone 1G + 3G + 3GS

Q) How does this case stay together?
A) It has locking tabs at the bottom and top of the case, as well as an adhesive strip to keep the case held together

Q) Can I use this case to microwave my frozen pizzas?
A) I dont see why not, although we cant insure quality taste

Q) Will this case make me awesome?
A) I think that goes without saying

Q) Is there a warranty?
A) no, it is cardboard afterall

Q) Can I get a paper cut on my ear while using this case?
A) My first guess would be no, but anything is possible, we dont promote unsafe use of the recession case

Q) How long will the case be sold?
A) as long as it needs to be to get us out of this recession! or while supplies last

Q) Does it come with a screen protector?
A) no we are in a recession!

Q) How long will the product last?
A) forever as long as you don’t destroy it!

Q) Is this case made from recycled cardboard?
A) 100% of only the best for you!

Q) Will the product scratch my device?
A) no! its cardboard not brick!

Q) Is the CM logo impressed on the case?
A) this is known as the “peoples case”

Q) Will this product be sold at case-mate retail locations?
A) Nope! The recession case is sold exclusively here at case-mate.com!

Currently sold out but keep checking their site…

via Treehugger

Erik Ku’s Mission Redefinition

Mission Redefintion is a series of exercises by Erik Ku to explore the redefinition of a series of subjects through graphic design.
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Prepare for the Kingdom of Animalia

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Launch Your Line is a new web service that aims to comprehensively support the creation of an original product line. Within the site you build a dashboard by refining your ideas and defining the stage of your product. From your dashboard you can find manufacturers, develop branding and packaging, commission a website, order a prototype, and find interested buyers. Signing up for an account is free, and Launch Your Line collects a percentage from the products and services you order through their site. This all sounds amazing, but is it too good to be true?

I decided to sign up and go through the steps with a hypothetical stationery line to see how this potentially industry-changing service shakes out.

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St. Patrick’s Day partying takes a break today between the weekend and the actual holiday. Monday, for those who still have jobs, usually means early morning work. So how about some customized caffeine?

The U.S. is a coffee country, but you’ll have to look to German based Sonntag Morgen for a customized bag of roasted coffee beans. There are nine beans to choose from originating from countries across the Americas and Africa. After selecting a mixture of beans, you can add up to three flavors for better taste and aroma. There are thirteen total including various fruits, nuts, and sweeteners like chocolate, vanilla and caramel. Give your customized coffee a name (Sonntag Morgen means Sunday Morning.) and place your order. About 12€.

Coffee isn’t my thing, but I love tea. There are three companies I came across that offer customized tea blends. Artisan’s Cup was founded by Lisa Wynn, the owner of Embellish, a tea cafe that opened in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2001. Now living in North Carolina, Wynn offers her customized blends online. Unfortunately, the site is antiquated by today’s standards and not the best for e-commerce. But for flavor selections like “Prozac” and “Pass My Shotgun” it may be worth the extra confusion.

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Here are a few cool examples from some Ponoko users:

Jen Murse shows one lovely way to package jewelry.

Chris Jackson makes excellent use of the so-called ‘waste’ materials [by using the whole sheet of Ponoko supplied material as the packaging for the clock face and the various clock parts - check out the 4th image].

Imagine what else you can do – like engrave your logo or assembly instructions, etc. Here’s another example of clever use of the ‘waste’ material (see 4th photo of Bza’s Soundwave Necklace) – he uses it to package the necklace pieces and has cut arrows to show the direction to thread these sound bite pieces onto a chain.

Also Jason Wright-St.Clair shows us a very simple, very effective use of printed card.

You can also check out what Corey and Zach came up with to package their Chandelier …

Here’s the whole thing wrapped up and ready to go – the lamp parts, cord and fittings:

And here’s what you see when you pull the external wrapping off:

And one more for good luck – check out Sebastian’s Calendar packaging, it makes good use of our cardboard:

Feel free to share other examples in the comments below …