Bulk Orders - An Unexpected Bonus

When I asked my pewter guy to design an Inukshuk pendant, I thought they would be quite popular at events we attend. I was certain of it. Just like I was certain that the Treasure Necklace concept and the Prophets Pebbles would be big sellers too. That goes to show you what I know...nothing.

Products that I expected to fly off the shelves have sat idle, gathering dust, for years. Things that I was almost positive no one would like, sell as quickly as I stock up again. There is no way to predict what people will like or not like, not even from event to event, year to year. There is seemingly no rhyme, or reason to it most of the time.

So, when I received the first bulk order for Inukshuk pendants on Etsy, I was pleasantly surprised. The lady ordering wanted 20 of them, 10 with red gems and 10 with clear gems to use as souvenir gifts from Canada to give to family members when they went to visit them in Europe this month. She was even local enough to me to get personal delivery of them.

Lo and behold, not three weeks later, I got another request for a bulk order of Inukshuk pendants. The order was for 13 of them this time with light blue gems. This lady, in western Canada, wants to give them to family members as Christmas ornaments in memory of her mother who passed away in January of this year. The Inukshuk was her personal totem of strength during a valiant battle with cancer.

Two weeks after that, I was contacted by a woman in Ottawa requesting 20 Inukshuk pendants with aquamarine gems for an international children’s choir coming to Canada for a series of concerts in December. She wants each of them to have a special momento of the trip.

It just goes to show you that it pays to market products to different audiences through a combination of in-person venues and online marketplaces. This Inukshuk pendant, that has garnered no interest at events, has been a hot commodity in multiple numbers on Etsy. Who knew? Not me, that's for sure.

As with any wholesale order to a brick and mortar shop, I offer a quantity discount price to online customers when purchasing 12 or more of a single product. Everybody wins that way.