Reaching Out to Gift Shops

As I remain productive with my clock making, I come back to my wife’s question: “What do you plan to do with all of these clocks?”

They will likely eventually be family & friends gifts, but my first instinct is to try to sell them. On that front, there are so many options. Business website, social media, Etsy, craft fairs, art fairs, etc.

Each come with their challenges. I’ll probably eventually have some kind of web presence (maybe) but the idea of shipping clocks… I don’t know. Plus, everyone wants a cut but, short of selling to people directly, every sales opportunity comes with a cut. Etsy wants a cut, PayPal wants a cut, art fairs charge for a table.

One of the venues some LJs suggested to me was reaching out to gift shops in Michigan to see if they would like to carry the clocks. Sure, they will take a commission… probably 30 to 40%. But, they know their audience so they can help me determine the right price, and they will get multiple eyes on the product. I don’t mind a road trip, so if I could get several shops to bite, I’d make a swing through towns like Traverse City, Suttons Bay and Petoskey and then visit with friends up there.

In any case, on a lark, I reached out to five shops by email this morning. I sent the following email:

Dear [Name of Shop],

Jeff “Van”

I then attached three pictures of various clocks.

Truthfully, it’s a terrible time of year for me to send such an email. Shop owners are busy with Christmas shoppers (at least that’s what I’ll tell myself when I get zero responses :) )

In any case, for those interested, I’ll post a follow-up blog if I get any bites or learn anything.

-- "What do you mean, 'Give me some wild cherry gall?' What do you think, this stuff grows on trees or something?"