Consignment – meeting the owner/buyer

When approaching the retailer keep several things in mind:

Prepare for the meeting

• Make an appointment, as the retailers’ focus is on selling. Buying is done in down time from the sales.
• Explain how you came to select the shop – this can include recommendations from people already represented by the store.
• Provide a brief description of the kind of work you do.  If you sell at other locations – craft shows, online, etc. – include that and be prepared to say how well they sell.
• Be prepared to talk about the inspirations behind your work.
• Prepare yourself with the points you want to make about your work and its relation to the shop’s offerings.
• Remember that you are providing retailers with unique items that fit with their customers interests and needs.
• Be prepared with suggested retail price ranges for each line, remembering the commission the shop takes.
• During the meeting, the retailer will be assessing both your work and the potential working relationship.
• Be prepared for the retailer to ask for time to consider whether to stock your work.

Bring a range of materials to support your presentation.

• Take a small but representative sample set of your work in its packaging.
• Back up the samples with good photographs, which are essential, especially if the pieces are too large for practical transport.
• Bring business cards, a resume relevant to the shop, marketing materials, photographs, and samples you are prepared to leave with the shop if asked.

Presentation

• Dress to make a good impression. You are presenting yourself as well as your work.  You don’t need to be super smart.  Dress neatly in a way that suits your personality.
•  Present your work at its best along with its packaging.

Follow up

Follow up is essential. A week or so after the meeting contact the premises with further information or even questions.  If the response is to decline to carry your work, ask for feedback about your work and its relation to the shop’s offerings. This will assist your future presentations.

Selection of a gallery or shop in which to place your work is a complex interaction of commission levels; the value you place on your time in preparing for and attending craft fairs or putting your work online; the perceived prestige of the shop/gallery; the potential relationship between you and the outlet; and the relationship of the consignment, wholesale and retail prices.

Other posts on consignment:

Consignment

Consignment Agreements

Consignment Rates

Consignment Venues

Packaging Glass

Wrapping the item

Panels –
Wrap each panel in several layers of bubble wrap or corrugated paper, then add a layer of foam board insulation at least 12mm on each side.

3-D -
Make sure you have padding (bubble wrap, corrugated paper, or foam sheets) between each item. Then make sure they are fastened tightly together in one bundle. Make multiple nested pieces into one big unit, then wrap that so it's well padded.

Boxing

Panels -
Ship stained glass panels in a wooden crate. Make a wooden box and line it with foam, on all sides. The ends of the box should be of substantial timber, making the box at least 100mm (4") thick. Use lightweight, thin wood, but stiff enough that it remains durable. Screw wood on the front and back of the edge of the framing timbers. Fill the space so the glass is in the middle of the box. The most important thing is to minimise flex. You also must minimise shock from a drop.

3-D -
Line the box in bubble wrap or corrugated paper. Put a layer of filler in the bottom.
Set the piece in the middle of the box, then fill all around with more filler. Press the filler firmly so the packaged items can't move and shift in the box. Allow at least 50mm of packing around the contents and ensure the contents cannot settle through the box filler perhaps by placing a cardboard pad on top of the fill before placing contents in the box.

Filler

Filler is material that will fill the space between the wrapped items and the sides of the box. This can be shredded paper, bagged peanuts or foam sheets. Bubble wrap with peanuts is sufficient, but don't use peanuts unassisted. They have a habit of vibrating off to one side of the package, leaving the cargo unprotected on the other side. Mix the peanuts with either wrapped newspaper or excelsior (shredded paper) or place them in numerous small bags so they can't shift.

Double boxing

Many people double box everything. This involves putting the boxed items inside another bigger box. Suspend the inside box within a larger box, bigger by at least 50mm on all six sides. You can use cardboard strips to make an 'X' to put in the bottom and top and small pieces of foam on the four sides to keep the inner box from shifting. Fill the spaces in between the two boxes with something that will absorb shock or impact, like shredded paper. For a very fragile piece the outside box might be made of 6mm plywood.

Caution

One caution on packing: Don't overdo it. If you force so much packing material (peanuts, bubble wrap, etc.) into the boxes, the whole thing (inner and outer box) becomes a solid mass and the force may still transfer to the piece and break it. When packers say "float," they mean it. You want enough packing material to hold the stuff in place well, not so much that it becomes part of the piece.